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What they won't teach you at Harvard

Haji 2003

Entry posted by Haji 2003 in Black box

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In a spacious, glass-walled conference room at the prestigious Maxwell Business School, a group of professors and industry experts convened for their annual syllabus planning meeting. The late afternoon sun cast a golden hue across the table, reflecting the serious expressions of the gathered educators. At the head of the table sat Dr. Caroline Evans, the school’s Dean, known for her visionary yet pragmatic approach.

“Thank you all for being here,” Dr. Evans began, her voice steady and authoritative. “As we strive to keep our curriculum relevant and comprehensive, we must address the evolving landscape of business. Today, we’ll discuss new topics to include, but also recognize the challenges of integrating certain crucial aspects that cannot be codified into a business degree.”

Dr. Jonathan Harris, a senior professor of finance, was the first to speak. “I believe we need to delve deeper into the impacts of digital transformation on traditional business models. It’s not just about teaching the latest technology, but understanding how these innovations disrupt and create new opportunities.”

The room murmured in agreement. Dr. Sara Patel, an expert in organizational behavior, nodded vigorously. “Absolutely, Jonathan. Alongside that, we should enhance our focus on ethical leadership and corporate social responsibility. Students need to be prepared for the growing expectations on businesses to act sustainably and ethically.”

“Good points,” Dr. Evans affirmed, jotting down notes. “What other areas should we consider?”

Mark Weston, a guest speaker from a top consultancy firm, raised his hand. “We’ve seen a significant shift towards stakeholder capitalism. It’s no longer sufficient to prioritize shareholders alone. Our students should learn how to balance the needs of various stakeholders, including employees, customers, and the community.”

As the discussion progressed, Dr. Evans noticed the elephant in the room. “While these topics are critical, we also need to acknowledge the limitations of our syllabus. There are aspects of business success that we cannot teach directly.”

Dr. Maria Sanchez, a professor of business ethics, leaned forward. “Interpersonal relationships with stakeholders, for instance. We can discuss their importance and provide case studies, but the nuances of building trust and managing these relationships come largely from experience.”

“Exactly,” Dr. Evans agreed. “And then there’s lobbying. We can explain the mechanisms and legalities, but the influence and behind-the-scenes negotiations that shape policy decisions are too complex and often too opaque to be fully captured in a classroom setting.”

“Not to mention the softer skills,” Dr. Harris added. “Like intuition in decision-making, the art of negotiation, and cultural intelligence. These are vital for leadership but are difficult to codify into a structured course.”

Dr. Patel sighed. “And let’s not forget resilience and adaptability. We can simulate crises, but the real test comes when students face actual setbacks in their careers.”

Dr. Evans smiled. “This is why we emphasize internships, mentorship programs, and experiential learning. These experiences complement our curriculum and help bridge the gap between theory and practice.”

The meeting continued, balancing optimism with realism. By its end, the group had outlined a refreshed syllabus that integrated emerging business trends while acknowledging the intangible elements of business success. As they adjourned, the educators felt a renewed sense of purpose. They were not just imparting knowledge but preparing their students to navigate the unpredictable and often unteachable realities of the business world.

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Haji 2003

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My prompt:

Write me a short story 500 words. The scenario is a planning meeting at a business school about their syllabus. The discussion centres around topics and issues that they can cover and also aspects of what they cannot. The latter would include material dealing with things like interpersonal relationships with stakeholders, aspects of lobbying (and any other things you can think of) that affect business success but which cannot be codified for a business degree.

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  • Latest Blog Entries

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      https://contemporaniablog.wordpress.com/2016/11/18/god-hypothesis-ii/
    • Haji 2003
      'Penniless' East African Indian Migrants coming to the UK
      By Haji 2003 in Contemporania - AI enhanced
         0 comments
      Summary
      Over the past decades I had observed reference to the word penniless when the UK media referred to Indian migrants who came to the UK in the 1970s. The anomaly was the fact that in subsequent years I had seen their increasing purchase of retail stores (often corner shops and pharmacies) in Britain. How can penniless people get into businesses that require capital?
      First off some evidence for the penniless trope:
       
      Now the ChatGPT analysis
       

      Why the “penniless” story took hold
      Material losses were real and easily visible. Idi Amin allowed each departing Ugandan Asian to take only the equivalent of about £50–£120 in cash and one suitcase; more than 5,600 firms, farms and homes were confiscated en.wikipedia.org. The UK tabloids and ministers therefore greeted the first charter flights in September 1972 with photographs of bewildered families clutching a few bags. Those images became the master-narrative picked up in subsequent scholarship and the media.
      The label also served political purposes. Portraying the arrivals as destitute refugees helped the Heath government win public support for the Uganda Resettlement Board and for access to welfare benefits lordslibrary.parliament.uk. At the same time, it masked anxieties in parts of White Britain about receiving another non-European group (a point Ram & Jones later called the “politics of disguise” in South-Asian business debates) tandfonline.com.
      How retail entrepreneurship became possible in spite of that start
      Pre-migration human and cultural capital
      East-African Asians were an archetypal “middleman-minority”: more than 90 % had worked in trade, accountancy or light industry before 1972, often in family firms en.wikipedia.org.
      Long commercial apprenticeships, multilingual ability and kin-based management routines transferred intact to Britain and dramatically shortened their learning curve once a market niche (convenience retail) emerged. Portes, Robson & Yusuf’s 2021 cohort analysis in Journal of Refugee Studies shows that by 2011 East-African Asians had occupational distributions equal to—or better than—the UK-born population lordslibrary.parliament.uk.
      Hidden or delayed-access financial capital
      Channel Mechanism Typical time-lag Overseas bank deposits Many Gujarati merchants kept sterling balances in London and India to pay suppliers; funds became accessible once new accounts were opened in the UK. 6-24 months Compensation & insurance British diplomats negotiated partial compensation for expropriated assets (Hansard, 12 Mar 1975) hansard.parliament.uk. 3-5 years Property collateral Families that purchased modest terraced houses in the mid-1970s used rising equity as collateral for shop mortgages in the 1980s. 5-10 years Ethnic community finance
      Rotating Savings and Credit Associations—known to Gujaratis as committee or visis—re-emerged in Leicester, Wembley and Southall almost immediately. A recent Elsevier scoping review confirms that ROSCAs remain widespread among Asian diasporas in high-income countries and routinely supply lump sums of £5–15 k for micro-enterprise starts sciencedirect.com.
      Because participation is reputation-based, newcomers could mobilise capital without conventional collateral—something mainstream banks denied to many immigrants in the 1970s.
      Family labour and sweat equity
      Convenience stores, newsagents and petrol-station kiosks demanded long hours more than large fixed investments. As Basu’s survey of 163 London immigrant firms shows, Asian businesses substituted unpaid family labour for scarce cash during the start-up phase researchgate.net.
      Push and pull from the wider economy
      Discrimination in salaried employment nudged professionally-qualified refugees toward self-employment (Ram’s “blocked mobility” thesis, Ethnic and Racial Studies) tandfonline.com.
      At the same time, Britain’s small-shop sector was being vacated by retiring native owners as supermarkets expanded. Buying leaseholds or goodwill for corner shops often cost < £10 k in 1975 prices—an attainable target through the mechanisms above.
      Reconciling the two pictures
      The newcomers were genuinely cash-poor on arrival, but they were not capital-less. Their stock of human, social and transnational financial capital—plus an institutional repertoire (ROSCA, family firm, rotating kin credit)—allowed them to assemble the modest funds retailing required within a few months or years. The “penniless” trope persisted because it captured first impressions and suited government messaging, whereas the slower, largely invisible mobilisation of diasporic resources unfolded off-stage in kitchens, temples and community halls.
      In migration research terms, the case is a textbook illustration of “migrant capital”—the idea that mobility converts pre-migration resources into new economic value (Ryan, Erel & D’Angelo, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies) research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk. Far from contradicting the initial narrative, their later retail success simply shows how quickly intangible assets can be monetised when opportunity structures permit.
       
       
    • Haji 2003
      British colonial policy - designed to disadvantage the colonies?
      By Haji 2003 in Contemporania - AI enhanced
         0 comments
      Introduction
      There is a school of thought that argues that British colonial policy favoured some subjects rather than others. This was to advantage Britain and disadvantage the colonies. This had an impact on the colonies even after the end of the Empire even after its dissolution.
       
       

       

       



       
    • Haji 2003
      Prophet Nuh (عليه السلام) an early social entrepreneur V2
      By Haji 2003 in Qur'an Semantic Field Analysis
         5 comments
      Same methodology as before, but more specific prompts on my part - and better answers
       
      Summary
      An important motivation for exploring this topic was my previous blog post about Prophet Yusuf's ((عليه السلام).) policy options. The overall theme of that post was the role of the State (Egyptian) that would intervene in the national grain market on the advice of Prophet Yusuf ((عليه السلام).). That was an example of how (in my opinion) Islam presented a non-market based solution to an external shock. This might not be well received in circles that favour 'private enterprise'.
      My proposition is that Prophet Nuh's ((عليه السلام).) story, on the other hand, deals with a type of individual that free marketers and capitalists etc. hold as a hero of the economic system - the entrepreneur. However he's a specific type of entrepreneur since he was not driven by the profit motive, but he's an entrepreneur nevertheless. In this post I substantiate that proposition. This post refines some of the issues initially explored in V1. This is still work in progress and the references to the Qur'an that gpt4 makes need to be researched.
      The stories of the two Prophets I think are interesting insofar as they show solutions to external shocks (famine and flood) being provided by Prophets and those solutions have similarities with economic philosophies that are today considered to be ideological opposites. That opposition perhaps reflects a weakness on the part of modern thinking.
      My prompts in bold and gpt4's answers in plain text.
      Imagine you are a scholar of Islam with an interest in management. How could the story of Noah in the Qur'an be seen through the lens of social entrepreneurship?
      Social entrepreneurship is about recognizing societal problems and using entrepreneurial principles to create, organize, and manage ventures to bring about social change. In the context of the story of Noah (Nuh in Arabic) as it is told in the Qur'an, we can extract various lessons related to social entrepreneurship.
      Vision and Determination: Noah had a clear vision and was determined to build an ark despite the ridicule of his people. This reflects the characteristics of a social entrepreneur who has a clear vision for a social change and is persistent despite challenges and criticism. Resourcefulness and Innovation: Noah was not a shipbuilder, yet he was tasked with building an ark to withstand a great flood. He had to be resourceful and innovative in his approach, just like a social entrepreneur who often has to work with limited resources and come up with innovative solutions to societal problems. Leadership and Teamwork: Noah had to lead and manage his family and the animals on the ark. He needed to ensure everyone's survival during the flood. This highlights the need for strong leadership and team management skills in social entrepreneurship. Resilience and Patience: Noah faced a lot of opposition from his people. Despite this, he remained patient and resilient, demonstrating the ability to withstand a lot of negative pressure. This mirrors the challenges faced by social entrepreneurs who often need to maintain their resilience and patience in the face of obstacles and opposition. Social Impact: Ultimately, Noah's mission was about saving mankind and animals from a catastrophic event. This aligns with the ultimate goal of social entrepreneurship, which is to create a positive social impact. It's important to note that religious texts like the Qur'an are interpreted differently by different people, and the above is one possible interpretation. These lessons extracted from the story of Noah can be used as a source of inspiration and guidance for social entrepreneurs.
      Thank you. Noah was not selling anything for money. How could his enterprise be viewed in terms of exchange theory?
      Exchange theory, which has roots in economics, sociology, and psychology, is a social psychological and sociological perspective that explains social change and stability as a process of negotiated exchanges between parties. It posits that human behavior is driven by the exchange of rewards, both tangible and intangible.
      In the context of Noah's story from the Qur'an, the 'enterprise' he was undertaking was not a typical business venture aimed at monetary gain. Instead, it was a mission with a spiritual and moral goal, to save humanity and the animal kingdom from divine retribution. The exchange happening here was not of goods, services, or currencies, but rather of faith, obedience, and survival.
      Noah, as a Prophet, was tasked to communicate God's message to his people. He 'offered' salvation and divine mercy in exchange for faith and righteous behavior. Those who accepted his message and acted accordingly were 'rewarded' with survival in the face of the cataclysmic flood.
      This kind of exchange—where the 'goods' are intangible and the 'currency' is faith, trust, and obedience—is not typical in the world of business, but it is common in religious and spiritual contexts. It also exists in social entrepreneurship to some extent, where the 'reward' for supporting a cause may be an intangible sense of satisfaction, community belonging, or moral fulfillment.
      In this interpretation, the 'profit' Noah was seeking was not material wealth, but the salvation of his followers. Similarly, the 'profit' for a social entrepreneur may not always be monetary but can be the social impact and positive change that they are able to bring about.
      Again, it's important to remember that this is just one interpretation of the story. Different people may have different perspectives based on their personal beliefs, values, and experiences.
      Please elaborate on Noah's entrepreneurial role as a risk-taker.
      An entrepreneur, by nature, is a risk-taker, and social entrepreneurs are no exception. They are willing to take on significant risks to bring about positive social change, often venturing into uncharted territories and challenging the status quo.
      In the story of Noah from the Qur'an, Noah can be seen as a significant risk-taker in the following ways:
      Challenging the Status Quo: Noah challenged the prevailing norms and beliefs of his society by preaching monotheism in a largely idolatrous community. This was a significant risk as it made him a target of ridicule, rejection, and even threats to his safety. Long-Term Commitment Despite Uncertain Outcomes: Noah was tasked with building an ark—a monumental task—despite the lack of any immediate signs of a flood. This uncertainty could be likened to the risks that entrepreneurs take, as they often invest considerable resources in projects without a guaranteed outcome. Stakeholder Resistance: Noah faced significant opposition from his own community, including from some of his own family members. This resistance is similar to the pushback social entrepreneurs often face from various stakeholders who are resistant to change. Resource Allocation: Building an ark required significant resources, both in terms of time and materials. Allocating these resources for a purpose that many deemed pointless was a significant risk. Similarly, social entrepreneurs often have to make tough decisions about resource allocation with no guarantee of success. Personal Risks: In addition to the societal risks, Noah also undertook personal risks. His unwavering commitment to his mission resulted in personal loss, including the loss of some family members who didn't believe in his message. This is akin to the personal sacrifices and risks many entrepreneurs take on—financial, emotional, and physical—in pursuit of their vision. In all these ways, Noah embodies the risk-taking nature of an entrepreneur, demonstrating the courage, resilience, and determination that are key characteristics of successful entrepreneurship.
      As a social entrepreneur, Noah was both taking risks in his enterprise and expecting others to take risks as well. For what reasons would his potential stakeholders be willing to take those risks?
      In the context of the story of Noah from the Qur'an, potential stakeholders—those who listened to Noah's message and chose to support his mission—were expected to take significant risks. Here are some potential reasons they might be willing to take those risks:
      Belief in the Vision: The stakeholders who joined Noah likely believed in his vision of monotheism and the impending divine punishment. Much like stakeholders in a social enterprise, they were likely moved by his message and felt that the cause was worth the risk. Trust in the Leader: The stakeholders likely trusted Noah as a leader, believing that he was divinely guided and would lead them to safety. This level of trust is also crucial in social entrepreneurship, where stakeholders need to trust that the entrepreneur will use their resources wisely and effectively to achieve the desired social impact. Desire for Salvation: The primary 'reward' that Noah's followers sought was divine mercy and salvation. This was a powerful motivator for them to take the risk and join him on the ark. Sense of Moral Duty: Some of Noah's stakeholders might have felt a moral obligation to support his cause and stand against the prevailing societal norms of idol worship. Community and Belonging: By joining Noah, the stakeholders became part of a community of believers. This sense of belonging and community can be a strong motivator, especially in times of adversity. In social entrepreneurship, stakeholders often take risks for similar reasons. They believe in the entrepreneur's vision, trust in their leadership, desire to contribute to a positive social change, and find value in being part of a community that shares their values and goals.
      Is there any evidence in the Qur'an that Noah was a trustworthy man?
      Yes, the Qur'an does present Noah as a trustworthy and righteous man. The Qur'an refers to Noah as a Prophet, which in Islamic belief denotes someone chosen by God to deliver His message to the people. Prophets in Islam are seen as models of moral and ethical conduct.
      In the Qur'an, Noah is described as a grateful servant of God (Surah Al-Isra, 17:3) and a messenger who was inspired by God (Surah Al-Shu'ara, 26:105). His dedication to the task given to him by God, despite immense ridicule and opposition from his people, further underscores his trustworthiness and commitment.
      Moreover, the Qur'an describes Noah as patient and steadfast in the face of adversity. In Surah Hud (11:36), God tells Noah that no one else will believe in his message beyond those who already have, suggesting that Noah had done his utmost to convince his people. Noah's response to this divine decree, and his continued dedication to his mission, further underscores his trustworthiness.
      It's important to note that the depiction of Noah as a trustworthy figure is based on the Islamic belief system, which sees the Qur'an as the word of God and Noah as a prophet. Different people may interpret these texts in different ways, depending on their cultural, historical, and personal contexts.
      Your last response has made some useful references to specific Qur'anic ayats. Can you please substantiate the previous points you have made in his conversation with reference to specific ayats?
      Absolutely, I'd be happy to provide references from the Qur'an that can support the points we've discussed in this conversation about Noah's role as a social entrepreneur. Here are a few examples:
      Vision and Determination: Noah's vision and determination can be seen in Surah Hud (11:36-37), where God instructs Noah to build the Ark under His guidance and in His vision. Despite the ridicule of his people, Noah remains determined and committed to his task. Resourcefulness and Innovation: Surah Hud (11:37) also speaks to Noah's resourcefulness and innovation. Despite not being a shipbuilder, he is able to construct an ark capable of surviving the flood. This required significant innovation and resourcefulness. Leadership and Teamwork: Noah's leadership is apparent in his efforts to gather his followers and the animals onto the Ark, as described in Surah Hud (11:40). Resilience and Patience: Noah's patience and resilience can be seen in Surah Nuh (71:5-6), where he mentions calling out to his people day and night without them increasing but in flight. Despite his people's rejection, Noah continues his mission with patience. Social Impact: The ultimate goal of Noah's mission was to save his followers from the impending divine punishment. This is clear in Surah Al-A'raf (7:64), which mentions that Noah was able to save a group of believers. Risk-Taking: Noah's risk-taking is evident in Surah Hud (11:38), where it is mentioned that he began constructing the ark and whenever the chieftains of his people passed by him, they ridiculed him. Despite the ridicule and societal pressure, Noah took the risk and continued with his mission. The above references are translations and interpretations from the Qur'an and reflect the points discussed in the context of social entrepreneurship. The interpretations of these verses can vary among different scholars and readers.

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