Autumn 2020 Issue

Explore all the stories in the Autumn 2020 issue of Stanford Business magazine — our first digital-only edition.

(Don’t worry: Print is not dead. It’s just sheltering in place for a few months.)

Dean’s Letter

Fixing the Trust Deficit

We seek to educate business leaders who take seriously their social responsibility.

The Research Revolution

Access to superabundant data has transformed the methods of scholastic inquiry — and possibly the basic tenets of inquiry itself.

Stanford Economists Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson Win the Nobel in Economic Sciences

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences cited the pair for improvements to auction theory and inventions of new auction formats.

The Good and Bad of Measuring Worker Output in Real Time

Quantification boosts productivity if the task is simple, but demotivates if the task is complex, a Stanford study finds.

Don’t Let Politics Poison the Workplace: Some Advice from Business School Experts

Political polarization may creep into the workplace. Here are some ways managers can become peacekeepers.

Office Artifact: Saumitra Jha’s Arabic Astrolabe

How a medieval navigation tool symbolizes the link between world trade and inter-ethnic harmony.

Peer to Peer: Michael Bush, MS ’94 on How to Keep Presidential Politics out of the Office

Lean into corporate values and insist on mutual respect, advises the CEO of Great Place to Work, Inc.

Stanford GSB’s Allison Rouse Named Director of Diverse Alumni Communities

“We have to make sure people see that they belong,“ says Rouse. “That’s ultimately what this work is intended to do.”

Diversifying the Pool of PhD Students Will Require Systemic Change

Underrepresented PhD students from around the country gathered at the inaugural Rising Scholars Conference to claim their place in academia.

What Elite Donors Want

Big-money donors, both Democrat and Republican, not only have more political influence than the average voter, they also have more extreme beliefs.

You Might Be Trying to Get the Wrong People to Vote Your Way

If you want to be efficient when it comes to influencing others, focus on those who are already (sort of) on your side.

The Costs and Benefits of Supply Chain Transparency

Should firms be required to disclose the negative social impacts of their suppliers? A new study investigates that question from the perspective of investors.

Maker: La Monarca Bakery — The Smells and Flavors of Home

Ricardo Cervantes and Alfredo Livas both grew up in Mexico but didn’t meet until Stanford GSB. They agreed on one thing: They missed the bakeries of their youth.