Question

Micheal Porter is a university professor at Harvard Business School, where he leads the Institute

on Strategy and Competitiveness, studying competitiveness for companies and nations—and as a

solution to social problems. He is the founder of numerous nonprofits, including The Initiative for

a Competitive Inner City, a nonprofit, private-sector organization to catalyze inner-city business

development.

Fortune magazine calls Michael Porter simply “the most famous and influential business professor

who has ever lived.” His books are part of foundational coursework for business students around the

world; he’s applied sharp insight to health care systems, American competitiveness, development in

rural areas. Now he’s taking on a massive question: the perceived disconnect between corporations

and society. He argues that companies must begin to take the lead in reconceiving the intersection

between society and corporate interests—and he suggests a framework, that of “shared value,”

which involves creating economic value in a way that also creates value for society.15

Visit TED.com to watch Michael Porter’s video on why business can be good at solving social

problems.

https://www.ted.com/talks/michael_porter_why_business_can_be_good_at_solving_social_problems

Questions

1. In today’s global business environment, does the physical location of a business matter?

2. Do you agree or disagree that business can solve social problems? Justify your answer.

Answer 1

1. Yes, the physical location of a business matters a lot even in this global business environment. Different regions and cities are be coming specialised in certain areas , so people want to migrate to these locations to work. Therefore companies should choose their location wisely so that they can increase their competitive advantage. The business location affect the income and expenses of the organization. Even in this internet era , business location plays a very crucial role in success or failure of the organization.

2. Yes, Business can solve social problems. Many people thinks that business is creating social problems and tend to see the solutions in NGO and the government. But the reality is that NGO's and the government doesn't have the enough resources to solve the social problems.

Earlier we used to think that Business makes profit from causing social problems. But now the reality is that companies make profit by solving social problems. Reducing pollution means reducing the waste in manufacturing process. Companies need to address social problems with an economic model by creating social and economic value at the same time. Hence yes, business can solve social problems I effective way if necessary changes are implemented.