EXPERT ADVISORY

The world is awash in information, but the technological tools we use to gather and process all the data in our personal and work lives could lead to more confusion, disinformation and distorted perceptions.

That encapsulates the latest research by Jerry Davis, a professor of management and organizations at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. He focuses on the numerous ways in which corporations serve as social and economic vehicles.

His recent work highlights corporations’ moral and ethical challenges in the 21st century, and how they should adapt to meet the needs and expectations of customers and stakeholders in an ever changing global landscape.

Davis shares highlights and insights on the latest episode of the Business & Society podcast, a joint production of the Ross School of Business and Michigan News.

Scientific publishing and generative AI

Open-access publishing idealistically makes research free and accessible to the public. However, it creates a business model that allows journals to publish endless amounts of work while charging authors a fee.

Now, with generative AI so readily available, articles are easier to write, edit and publish in bulk, and it becomes difficult to assess the quality of any given study.

Davis stresses the goal of science isn’t to publish PDFs; the point of science is to engage in a conversation so that science can continuously improve. This, he argues, is not something to hand over to machines.

“If a couple of people and a bot can write 288 presumably publishable papers, we’re just going to be surrounded by a sea of publications,” Davis said.

Distortion and inaccuracy in corporate annual reporting

Companies continue to disclose information in 10Ks as laid out in the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. At the time of creation, these filings were primarily focused on tangible assets. Today, most company value is usually intangible.

Corporate annual reports continue to measure aspects of companies that aren’t as relevant when looking at today’s economy. However, people rely on these reports when trying to understand the modern economy, resulting in a distorted picture of reality.

“We’re still largely stuck with the kind of information that made sense during the Great Depression,” he said. “We created a set of requirements for companies during the ’30s and early ’40s, and we’re still living with the consequences.”

Business & Society is co-produced by JT Godfrey of the Ross School of Business and Jeff Karoub of Michigan News. The audio engineer is Jonah Brockman and editorial production is provided by Mads Henke. Listen to all episodes of the podcast.