Classifieds

When Wharton announced the creation of majors in "environment, social, and governance" (ESG) and "diversity, equity, and inclusion" (DEI) in the summer of 2022, it represented the fruit of seeds planted decades earlier on its hallowed grounds.
Traditionally, it was understood that the purpose of a business was to maximize value for shareholders. But in recent decades, some academics began to question that premise. Among the pioneering contrarian business ethicists was Professor R. Edward Freeman.
As a postdoctoral student and then faculty member at Wharton in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Freeman developed a management theory that stressed the imperative for business managers to create value not just for owners, but numerous parties with which they interact, resulting in a 1984 book seen as foundational to the stakeholder theory titled "Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach." Freeman's theory would come to prevail over corporate America....