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Management

Top 10 most read articles in 2024

The naughty girl’s feminism, ethical social media dilemmas, open plan offices and generative AI. Here are our most read stories of the year.

They say that good things come in threes. We do not know about that, but we know that for the third year in a row, our most read article of the year is Øyvind Kvalnes and his guide on dealing with digital dilemmas. 

1) Ethical Dilemmas of Social Media – and How to Navigate Them

“Social media provide opportunities for organizations and employees to publish their opinions, without an editor. But tempo, trolling, and tricky role confusions leave social media officers with digital dilemmas. How should they deal with them?”

Grabbing the silver on our most-read-article podium, is a nine-year-old article from Christine Myrvang on a 100-year-old phenomenon. 

2) How flappers rebelled through feminism and consumerism 

“Flapper feminism rejected the idea that women should uphold society’s morals through temperance and chastity. The rebellious youth that these girls represented hailed materialism and the flappers were the ultimate consumers.”

Sustainability is a big hit among our English-speaking audience. Despite efforts to become “greener”, the fast-fashion pioneer H&M is not out of the woods yet, according to BI graduates Torger Dyrnes, Herman Rognaldsen, Martine K. Nilsen and Vy H. Nguyen. This article won BI’s Opinion Essay Competition in 2021. 

3) Does H&M genuinely contribute to a sustainable future? 

“The company should bear the responsibility to reduce production to a sustainable level and make their clothes more durable. However, this is not in accordance with the definition of a player in the fast fashion industry. To comply with Goal 12, H&M would need to change their whole business model.”

Most companies never expand outside their home markets. So what drives the ones that do? Gabriel R. G. Benito and colleagues Irina Surdu and Henrich R. Greve discuss why some companies decide to branch out. 

4) Why companies internationalize 

“Internationalization may become a goal simply because top managers see their competitors doing it. Especially because international expansion is associated with a range of positive outcomes such as enhanced reputation for the firm and individual decision makers.”

Are you one of the people who are destined to live your work life in an open plan office? We assume Linda Lai and her article on maximizing attendance at work might hit close to home. 

5) Open plan offices are bad for business 

“Many managers who are work office enthusiasts try to regulate attendance through strict rules on how often and when an employee is permitted to use the home office. Coercion is however unlikely to be effective in motivating employees and fostering a stimulating work environment.”

Another BI Opinion Essay Competition-winning article engaged our readers this year. Is Apple continuously tempting customers to pick the unsustainable choice? Yes, according to BI graduates Anita Engelstad Thorsen, Hannah Sofie Kjellevold, Pernille Sæther-Larsen, Ellen Vik and Isabelle Steine Bendriss.  

6) Is Apple becoming a rotten fruit? 

“Apple strategically launches new models every year and reduces the performance of older ones, ultimately forcing users to upgrade their phones. Through the struggle of maximizing their profits, Apple takes advantage of their market power and acts in an unsustainable way that harms the global environment.”

Do you enjoy the sound of your own voice and prefer babbling in front of colleagues? Chances are you might just end up in top management, according to Mads Nordmo Arnestad and his article on why the path to leadership is paved with a lot of blah, blah, blah.

7) Those who talk the most, become leaders

“Speaking up frequently does not necessarily indicate that someone cares, it can also be symptomatic of confident individuals who love to hear their own voices, don’t recognize the limits of their knowledge, and don’t bother listening to others. These are not good leadership qualities.”

Once again, a BI Opinion Essay Competition winner secures a spot among our most read articles of the year. This time, a 2021 article on Coca-Cola lack of sustainability, from BI graduates Chi Quynh Tran, Léa Ermini and Hau Hai Nguyen

8) Coca-Cola still fills the ocean with plastic 

“The launch of Coca-Cola’s new bottles made from ocean plastic turned out to be nothing but a greenwashing tool. Instead of investing further and making marketing campaigns out of this, Coca-Cola should start to deal with the core problem – their overproduction of throwaway bottles.”

Can a nine-year-old article on climate change still be thought-provoking and interesting in 2024? Yes, according to you! Per Espen Stoknes presents five solutions to bypass the sustainability barriers by doing more of what actually works. 

9) Five ways to climate action 

“We’re tired of the climate apocalypse story with drowning polar bears and being told we’re wrong. Hell doesn’t sell.”

Last but not least, an article from BI graduates Philipp Athanasiadis and Johannes Javorsky on the ongoing AI revolution generated a lot of interest among our readers. This article also won this year’s BI Opinion Essay Competition. 

10) Generative AI: A bright future ahead of us – but for whom? 

“Increased social inequality, displaced jobs, and undermined democratic institutions will overshadow unregulated AI’s era of economic prosperity. Current development and spread of AI are driven recklessly by the profit-oriented big-tech industry that neglects any social responsibility.”

Published 16. December 2024

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