Alison Taylor is a clinical associate professor at NYU Stern School of Business, and the executive director at Ethical Systems. She has written a book about the new landscape for business ethics, for Harvard Business Review Press called Higher Ground.
With ideas changing on what it means to be a good business, Alison Taylor says we need collective agreements on what is good and what is bad. And we need the right words to talk about these subjects. Her interview was part of our full story on activists and innovators in business.
We talk about what is needed to be an ethical organisation, which according to her doesn’t exist without employee participation, understanding and belief that speaking up lines are actually real – and not just performance the senior leadership is putting on.
In fact, Alison sees a huge expansion in what employees want in terms of raising their voice, making their opinions felt having a role in shaping the values and priorities of the organization. So, why are organizations not responding very well tot his? And what should they be doing?
Listen to the full interview with Alison Taylor and hear about best practices by organisations who see the advantage of including employee voice and employee opinions.
Alison’s previous work experience includes being a Managing Director at non-profit business network Business for Social Responsibility and a Senior Managing Director at Control Risks. She holds advisory roles at ESG and risk consultancy Wallbrook and sustainability non-profit Business for Social Responsibility.
She has expertise in strategy, sustainability, political and social risk, culture and behavior, human rights, ethics and compliance, stakeholder engagement, anti corruption and professional responsibility. Alison received her Bachelor of Arts in Modern History from Balliol College, Oxford University, her MA in International Relations from the University of Chicago, and MA in Organizations Psychology from Columbia University.
https://www.ethicalsystems.org
Twitter: @FollowAlisonT
Selected links from episode
Re_generation Canada - Canada’s largest platform to inspire youth in sustainability
Clean Creatives - A movement of advertisers and clients cutting ties with fossil fuels.
Undercover Activist - A learning hub for employee-led change.
