This Week in Business

In 2017 there were over 47,000 opioid-linked deaths in the United States – a six percent increase from 2016, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Massachusetts is now suing Purdue Pharma, maker of Oxycontin, and members of the Sackler family, one of the wealthiest families in America and owners of Purdue Pharma. The suit alleges the Sacklers made billions of dollars as their company pushed doctors to prescribe the pain killer, assuring the drug had a low risk of misuse, even though they knew it was highly addictive. Purdue is also accused of failing to report doctors who were overprescribing the drug. The company is facing hundreds of different suits by state and local governments across the country. Host Dan Loney is joined by Rob Field, Professor of Law and Professor of Health Management and Policy at Drexel University and a lecturer in the Health Care Management Department of the Wharton school, and Keith Humphreys, Professor and Section Director for Mental Health Policy at Stanford University and Senior Research Career Scientist at the VA Health Services Research Center, to discuss these allegations and more on the opioid epidemic on Knowledge@Wharton. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

David Reibstein, Professor of Marketing at the Wharton School and host of Measured Thoughts, joins host Dan Loney to discuss his recent B-School Seminar presented to congressional staffers that focuses on nation branding as it applies to the U.S., and why a country should care about their brand globally and the role that public policy plays in shaping and communicating that brand to the world. They will also discuss the 2019 U.S. News and World Report list of the best countries that rates a country’s wealth and success, the policies that create opportunities, and the people who lead the change and its history. This seminar is part of the Penn Wharton B-School for Public Policy, a new monthly series of faculty-led seminars for policymakers on Knowledge@Wharton. For more information about how to get involved with Penn Wharton B-School for Public Policy, visit: https://publicpolicy.wharton.upenn.edu/b-school/get-involved/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

James Bell, Director of Corporate Communications and Social Media at Kia Motors America, joins host Rob Coneybeer to discuss Kia's work with self-driving cars on Launch Pad. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jon Carter, Chief Digital Officer & Chief Technology Officer at Snap Kitchen, joins host Rob Coneybeer to discuss how this startup makes healthy, handmade meals for busy people on Launch Pad. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bob Anderson, Founder, Chairman, and Chief Development Officer of The Leadership Circle and the Full Circle Group, joins hosts Jeff Klein and Anne Greenhalgh to discuss his new co-authored book "Scaling Leadership: Building Organizational Capability and Capacity to Create Outcomes that Matter Most" on Leadership in Action. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last week, the U.S. Justice Department has filed charges against tech giant Huawei alleging they have, among other things, violated the Iran Sanctions, stolen industrial secrets of American carrier T-Mobile and obstructed a criminal investigation. The Chinese telecom company is the biggest supplier of phone and internet network equipment in the world and is the second biggest cellphone producer. The indictments come two months after Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, who is also daughter of the company’s founder, was arrested in Canada. China's foreign ministry yesterday called on the U.S. and Canada to release Wanzhou. The timing coincides with top officials from China holding a two days of trade talks with the Trump Administration in Washington. Host Dan Loney talks with Jacque DeLisle, a Professor of Law and Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania, Director of the Center for East Asian Studies, and Deputy Director of the Center for the Study of Contemporary China, and Richard Dasher, the Director of the U.S.-Asia Technology Management Center at Stanford University, to discuss how this case might play out on Knowledge@Wharton. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The 35-day partial government shutdown left 800,000 workers either on furlough or working without pay. It also affected nearly 10,000 companies who contract with the departments that were shutdown. Many people picked up other jobs during the closure, and others were moved from government contracts to working in the private sector. What we don’t know yet is whether these people will return to their jobs or whether there will be a mass exodus from the public sector, particularly as the president is warning another could happen as soon as next month. Host Dan Loney talks with Paul Light, a Professor of Public Service at New York University and Bill Resh, an Associate Professor at the University of Southern California’s Sol Price School of Public Policy, about the repercussions of the longest US government shutdown on Knowledge@Wharton. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're featuring a series this month called “2019: A Look Ahead” and conclude our series with a look at women in leadership positions and how the Me Too movement has influenced businesses. A December report by The World Economic Forum said it would take 202 years for gender parity in the workplace – much longer than the 170 years estimated in 2016. But a study by the annual Women CEO Report said that 2018 was a great year for women, who made up over one-fifth of the newly installed CEOs last year. California took a bigger step than other states when it passed a law requiring publicly listed companies with headquarters in the state to have at least one woman on their board by the end of this year. And 2019 has started with an increase of women sworn in to the 116th United States Congress. So what might we see in the year ahead for women in 2019? Host Dan Loney is joined by Katherine Klein, a Professor of Management at the Wharton School, Vice-Dean of the Wharton Social Impact Initiative, and co-host of Dollars and Change, and Janice Madden, University of Pennsylvania Professor of Regional Science and Sociology, to discuss the implications of these shifts for women on Knowledge@Wharton. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosts Dave Reibstein and Suneal Bedi talk with AnneMarie Suarez-Davis, Vice President of US Snacks Marketing at Kellogg Company, and Luke Cole, Head of Brand Build and Marketing for at The Kraft Heinz Company, about their Super Bowl LIII ads and their brand strategies for 2019 on Measured Thoughts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gillette released a new one minute, 48 second commercial on Twitter recently that has generated a lot of divided, emotional reactions from consumers. The ad tackles the issues of “toxic masculinity” – bullying, sexist talk, and violence – linking them to their signature tag line “the best a man can get.” It's the latest example of a brand taking on social issues of the day. While the ad has generated some criticism, with some men saying they will no longer use their razors, has this move been overall a win for them? Host Dan Loney is joined by Michael Kehler, a Professor of Masculinity Studies at the University of Calgary in the Werklund School of Education Research, and Hank Boyd, a Clinical Professor in the Marketing Department at the University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business, to discuss the strategy behind the commercial on Knowledge@Wharton. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.