Topics Column Our expert columnists offer opinion and analysis on important issues facing modern businesses and managers. More in this series subscribe-icon Subscribe Share Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images Here are some things I bet you can’t say at work, no matter how much you believe them and how much they affect your own motivation, engagement, or ability to make good strategic decisions: “I’m not motivated to work harder…
The brewing proxy fight between activist Starboard Value and pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has already taken a hostile turn. Anonymous sources have been disparagingly suggesting that Pfizer CEO Dr. Albert Bourla should be removed. After news reports suggested they initially sided with the activists, former Pfizer CEO Ian Read and former CFO Frank D’Amelio switched sides, abandoning their erstwhile Starboard allies and expressing their support for Bourla. Then, Starboard Value founder…
As we transition from “The Great Resignation” of 2022 to what might be called “The Great Layoff” of 2024, many companies are grappling with the challenge of reducing their workforce. While no layoff process can fully eliminate the associated pain, there are strategies to handle it with greater compassion and respect. Take Airbnb’s approach in 2020, for instance. Faced with the pandemic’s impact on the travel industry, CEO Brian Chesky…
Do the math on generative AI (gen AI), and the numbers can seem heady. But according to recent research, only a small percentage of companies are beginning to deliver meaningfully on its promise—and many have succumbed to “death by a thousand pilots,” in the words of Rodney Zemmel, global leader of McKinsey Digital. In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Rodney and fellow senior partners and coauthors Eric Lamarre and Kate…
Secondary sanctions have now become one of the key political risks facing the foreign partners of Russian businesses. Attention to them has increased significantly since the start of the Special Military Operation and the use of large-scale economic sanctions against Russia by the United States and other Western countries. Russia has quickly adapted to the restrictive measures. Moscow has built a new system of relations with the states and associations…
Be it making deals for multimillion-dollar penthouses, corporate office suites or cosy suburban homes, negotiations often involve multiple stakeholders, long-term engagements and high stakes. This requires professionals to navigate incompatible interests in a conflict-prone environment.In the first part of our practice briefing published in the Journal of Property Investment & Finance, we elaborated on the industry’s challenges and made a case for professionals to depart from entrenched win-lose strategies and embrace more…
Apple debuts the first scripted film captured in Apple Immersive Video and reveals new immersive films for Apple Vision Pro New episodes, films, series, and concerts captured in Apple Immersive Video are set to debut later this year, with more coming early next year Today, Apple revealed new episodes, films, series, and music performances captured in Apple Immersive Video that will debut on Apple Vision Pro for free. Apple Immersive Video is a…
For Cybersecurity Awareness Month, Warren Kumari, Google’s Director of Internet Standards, shares 3 easy steps to build a secure website.
In a judgment published on 19 April 2024, the Italian Supreme Court (“SC”), provided some interesting guidance about exclusive licences granted by joint owners of a trade mark. The case concerned a long-standing Italian company, Legea S.r.l., and its founding family (Acanfora). Legea S.r.l. has operated in Italy since 1966, and is involved in the manufacture, production and marketing of sportswear, sports apparel and related articles under the following trade…
Half of the world’s population will experience a mental health disorder — but the median number of mental health workers per 100,000 people is just 13, according to the World Health Organization. To help tackle this disparity — which can vary by over 40x between high-income and low-income countries — a Madrid-based startup is offering therapists AI tools to improve the delivery of mental health services. Therapyside, a member of…
Samsung Electronics, the world leader in advanced memory technology, today announced it has begun mass producing PM9E1, a PCle 5.0 SSD with the industry’s highest performance and largest capacity. Built on its in-house 5-nanometer (nm)-based controller and eighth-generation V-NAND (V8) technology, the PM9E1 will provide powerful performance and enhanced power efficiency, making it an optimal solution for on-device AI PCs. Key attributes in SSDs, including performance, storage capacity, power efficiency…
By Romtin Parvaresh and Daniel C. Whang Seyfarth Synopsis: In line with recent anti-arbitration trends, the California Court of Appeal recently decided two cases – Doe v. Second Street Corp. and Liu v. Miniso Depot CA, Inc. – that apply the federal Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act to limit the enforceability of arbitration agreements in cases alleging sexual assault and sexual harassment. Second Street Corp.…
Hillary Rodham Clinton has spent a lot of time thinking about life’s setbacks as well as its opportunities. She shared some of those reflections – and the lessons learned from overcoming challenges – to students in the Continuing Studies course POL 68: Election 2024: Democracy on the Ballot on Oct. 6. “Have a longer perspective, both on your life and on the history of your country,” Clinton urged. “There are so…
Delta Air Lines today reported financial results for the September quarter and provided its outlook for the December quarter. Delivering industry-leading operational and financial performance year-to-date Expect record December quarter revenue and an 11% - 13% operating margin, expanding over prior year Generating strong Return on Invested Capital, exceeding cost of capital by 5 points Upgraded to investment grade credit rating by Fitch, recognizing continued progression on debt reduction Delta…
On September 26, 2024, the Department of Defense (DOD) issued a proposed rule to amend the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to implement sections of the National Defense Authorization Acts (NDAA) for Fiscal Years 2018, 2021, and 2022 that update requirements for contractors to submit cost or pricing data. This proposed rule looks to create uniformity for the Truth In Negotiations Act (TINA) threshold for submission of certified cost…
Quick Hits Five critical areas HR may want to assess for potential risks related to data breaches include inadequate privacy frameworks, training for employees regarding their data privacy duties, data flowing out of the organization, internal data transfers, and key employee life cycle moments. Even organizations with established policies may struggle with their implementation and enforcement. Well-designed training programs, including refresher courses, can help clarify employees’ data privacy and security…
A free press is essential to healthy democracy, and local journalism is a critical component of a free press. Microsoft’s Democracy Forward initiative works to preserve, protect, and advance the fundamentals of democracy by safeguarding open and secure democratic processes, promoting a healthy information ecosystem, and advocating for corporate civic responsibility. Four years ago, we launched a journalism initiative to explore ways in which we could help address the growing crisis facing independent local…
Companies are entering a new phase with generative AI (gen AI), as they realistically ponder how to deploy the potent technology responsibly and profitably. The answer, says Navrina Singh, founder and CEO of Credo AI and today’s guest on this episode of the At the Edge podcast, is proper governance in the form of continuous human oversight. Singh speaks with McKinsey senior partner Lareina Yee about the importance of monitoring, measuring,…
At Google’s Responsible AI Summit in Paris, our VP of Trust & Safety Laurie Richardson spoke about our ongoing work to build responsible AI.
Learn more about the 21 startups from across EMEA selected for the Growth Academy: AI for Education program.
Climate technologies play a crucial role in the net-zero transition, with their potential to abate 90 percent of man-made emissions globally by 2050. According to McKinsey estimates, a successful transition will require the creation of 1,000 unicorns (start-ups valued at $1 billion or more) and 300 decacorns (start-ups valued at $10 billion or more) in the climate tech space by 2030. This is a massive challenge, especially as the fundraising and…
The Global Immigration and Mobility Team launched its first podcast, as part of a collaborative cross-practice series, airing on Seyfarth’s Health Care Beat. In this episode, our Seyfarth team had a fireside chat with Fred Chereau, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Business Development at Alexion Pharmaceuticals, to discuss Fred’s career trajectory and how business immigration programs have impacted his success and can help companies to attract top talent. Tune…
Introduction | Security snapshot | Threat briefingDefending against attacks | Expert profile Education is essentially an “industry of industries,” with K-12 and higher education enterprises handling data that could include health records, financial data, and other regulated information. At the same time, their facilities can host payment processing systems, networks that are used as internet service providers (ISPs), and other diverse infrastructure. The cyberthreats that Microsoft observes across different industries…
The world’s refugee population has exploded over the last decade, straining the resources of international resettlement agencies as staff struggle to keep up with manually matching millions of refugees and asylum seekers to host countries.Artificial intelligence and machine learning—which have transformed several industries over the past two years—may offer solutions for overwhelmed resettlement programs run by both nongovernmental organizations and governments, according to a study by Harvard Business School Assistant…
It’s an easy mistake to make. When you look at a graph of the number of public firms in the U.S. between 1980 and 2020, and you see a 50 percent decline after 1996, it’s natural to think that companies don’t see the benefit of going public in the U.S. It causes one to question the competitiveness of the U.S. economy and stock markets. Tuck Centennial Professor of Finance, Bjorn…
Volatiles are elements or compounds that change into vapour at relatively low temperatures. They include the six most common elements found in living organisms, as well as water. The zinc found in meteorites has a unique composition, which can be used to identify the sources of Earth’s volatiles.The researchers, from the University of Cambridge and Imperial College London, have previously found that Earth’s zinc came from different parts of our…
This commentary was adapted from episode 145 of the Health & Veritas podcast. Trachoma is a disease I am certain I learned about in medical school and probably forgot sometime after I took part three of my boards in 1990. Why? Because it doesn’t occur in the United States—or at least rarely enough that I would never see it as a student or intern—and it is not a disease that…
McKinsey: How have European banks started to implement gen AI? Gökhan Sari: Since we spoke last year, we’ve seen a tremendous effort to implement gen AI across most of our clients. Last year, it was more about, “Should we try it? Are we going to have hallucinations? What about the regulatory aspects?” But this year, it’s all about, “OK, it’s working in a few places, how can we scale this…
What does the Employment Rights Bill mean for organisational health? The Employment Rights Bill introduces key reforms to UK labour laws, including a ban on exploitative zero-hours contracts, expanded day-one employment rights, and restrictions on ‘fire and rehire’ practices. These changes aim to enhance worker protections, but they also present challenges and opportunities for businesses, particularly in workforce management, organisational structure, and cultural shifts. Reading time: 7 minutes The UK…
REDMOND, Wash. — Oct. 10, 2024 — On Thursday, Microsoft Corp. is unveiling several Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare innovations that connect care experiences, enhance team collaboration, empower healthcare workers, and unlock clinical and operational insights. Through new healthcare AI models in Azure AI Studio, capabilities for healthcare data solutions in Microsoft Fabric, the healthcare agent service in Copilot Studio, and an AI-driven nursing workflow solution, Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare is…
This galaxy is one hundred times smaller than the Milky Way, but is surprisingly mature for so early in the universe. Like a large city, this galaxy has a dense collection of stars at its core but becomes less dense in the galactic ‘suburbs’. And like a large city, this galaxy is starting to sprawl, with star formation accelerating in the outskirts.This is the earliest-ever detection of inside-out galactic growth.…
The last few years have been among the most successful in the recent history of retail banking, with a confluence of macroeconomic trends driving growth and profitability. In some geographies, pandemic-era government stimulus lifted economic growth, fueled consumer spending, created favorable conditions for balance sheet expansion, and helped keep credit risk in check. Following the pandemic years, rising interest rates improved banks’ net interest margins as loan interest grew faster…
In the best traditions of a Persian epic, Tehran has long been able to play on the fear and curiosity of the great powers, leaving them in the dark about the true contents of its “box”. Against this background, all sorts of assumptions arise about whether Iran really needs nuclear weapons, which will almost certainly lead to international condemnation and even greater isolation, or whether it is more focused on…
The rise of English wine over the past 30 years, is a remarkable story. Award-winning drinks expert Henry Jeffreys shares insights on England’s newfound prominence in the wine world and discusses his latest book, ‘Vines in a Cold Climate,’ which explores the pioneers behind this revolution. What first piqued your interest in English wine? I’d enjoyed English sparkling wines for quite some time but hadn’t really fallen in love with…
Over the past century, home appliances have evolved to reduce the burden of household chores and add convenience to lives. The accelerated development of these appliances is marked by the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) technology that analyzes usage environments and executes optimal functions to significantly alleviate inconveniences associated with household tasks. To that end, Samsung Electronics is updating its home appliances every year. With software at the core, these…
Carbon emissions are a global challenge, but the way each company responds to the risks and assesses new opportunities should be highly case specific. While compliance is critical, strategy should matter most of all. CFOs must ensure that their organizations meet customer priorities, adapt to regulatory changes, and develop an informed view of carbon management tools. Too often, companies can have multiple, inconsistent, and ineffective carbon data and analyses across…
Human resources needs to rethink its role as an agent of management and become a passionate advocate for employees and their interests. Ashley Goodall October 10, 2024 Reading Time: 9 min subscribe-icon Subscribe Share Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images For the human resources profession, this has been the best of times and the worst of times. Early in 2020, as the realities of the pandemic set in, all the…
Quick Hits The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) published technical guidance for employers on 26 September 2024, after a short consultation on a draft version earlier this year. Alongside the full guidance, the EHRC produced the Employer 8-step guide: Preventing sexual harassment at work. Under the act, employers will be held accountable for addressing sexual harassment after it occurs and for proactively mitigating the risk of such conduct occurring.…
Whenever a compelling new AI model emerges, I like to put it through its paces. Recently, I’ve been experimenting with the preview of OpenAI o1 (formerly known as Strawberry), an astonishing new LLM that’s capable of solving complex and layered problems, especially in math, science, and coding. For businesses, o1 model and a slew of others in the works represent a clear opportunity. But they also reflect a less obvious challenge:…
Q: What is space law right now and what developments can we anticipate? Space law is a very underdeveloped field of international law. That’s understandable because until recently, activities in space were quite limited and primarily state led. The boom in commercial space companies and the plans by a number of nations to establish bases on the moon will necessarily lead to filling in the gaps, because the main legal…