Dr. Peter Cappelli, one of the world’s foremost experts on human resources and workforce management, joins as the George W. Taylor Professor of Management at The Wharton School and Director of Wharton’s Center for Human Resources, sharing key insights from his acclaimed book Our Least Important Asset: Why the Relentless Focus on Finance and Accounting is Bad for Business and Employees, which challenges prevailing corporate priorities.
This book argues that modern corporations increasingly treat employees as expendable costs rather than core assets, largely because financial accounting rules and investor pressures reward headcount reduction and short-term savings over long-term people development. It describes a shift back toward Theory X-style control and surveillance, highlights how policies like “unlimited vacation” and AI initiatives often prioritize balance-sheet optics and cost-cutting, and calls on HR leaders to quantify hidden people costs and advocate directly with CEOs for more employee-centric strategies.
This podcast is brought to you by Global Management Consultancy. For more information, please visit www.globalmanagementconsultancy.com.
Disclaimer:
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B. Dr. Peter Cappelli offered thoughtful perspectives from his book, "Our Least Important Asset: Why the Relentless Focus on Finance and Accounting is Bad for Business and Employees," in his conversation on the Business Talk podcast channel. The uploaded video contains copyrighted material; therefore, any modifications to graphics, music, or the presence of the author or host are strictly prohibited.
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Dr. Peter Cappelli, one of the world’s foremost experts on human resources and workforce management, joins as the George W. Taylor Professor of Management at The Wharton School and Director of Wharton’s Center for Human Resources, sharing key insights from his acclaimed book Our Least Important Asset: Why the Relentless Focus on Finance and Accounting is Bad for Business and Employees, which challenges prevailing corporate priorities.
This book argues that modern corporations increasingly treat employees as expendable costs rather than core assets, largely because financial accounting rules and investor pressures reward headcount reduction and short-term savings over long-term people development. It describes a shift back toward Theory X-style control and surveillance, highlights how policies like “unlimited vacation” and AI initiatives often prioritize balance-sheet optics and cost-cutting, and calls on HR leaders to quantify hidden people costs and advocate directly with CEOs for more employee-centric strategies.
This podcast is brought to you by Global Management Consultancy. For more information, please visit www.globalmanagementconsultancy.com.
Disclaimer:
A. The background music used in this video is the property of its respective developer and is protected by Copyright. Although it is a free version, Business Talk, Global Management Consultancy and Deepak Bhatt do not hold the rights to this music.
B. Dr. Peter Cappelli offered thoughtful perspectives from his book, "Our Least Important Asset: Why the Relentless Focus on Finance and Accounting is Bad for Business and Employees," in his conversation on the Business Talk podcast channel. The uploaded video contains copyrighted material; therefore, any modifications to graphics, music, or the presence of the author or host are strictly prohibited.
Titans of Industrial Agriculture Explained: Who Controls Our Food System?
Business Talk
41 minutes 45 seconds
1 week ago
Titans of Industrial Agriculture Explained: Who Controls Our Food System?
Dr. Jennifer Clapp, Tier I Canada Research Chair in Global Food Security and Sustainability and Professor in the School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability at the University of Waterloo, joins us to discuss the critical themes from her new book Titans of Industrial Agriculture, which examines how corporate consolidation has transformed the global farm sector and why it matters.
Corporate dominance in agriculture has emerged through a century of technological change, policy choices, and market consolidation that gradually shifted power from farmers to a handful of global firms. From tractors, synthetic fertilizers, and hybrid seeds to today’s digital tools and genome editing, each wave of innovation has reinforced an industrial model that locks farmers into costly input systems and benefits large corporations with patents, scale, and privileged access to finance. The result is concentrated control over machinery, seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides, with significant consequences for prices, farmer autonomy, environmental sustainability, and the resilience of global food systems.
This podcast is brought to you by Global Management Consultancy. For more information, please visit www.globalmanagementconsultancy.com.
Disclaimer:
A. The background music used in this video is the property of its respective developer and is protected by Copyright. Although it is a free version, Business Talk, Global Management Consultancy and Deepak Bhatt do not hold the rights to this music.
B. Dr. Jennifer Clapp has generously shared profound insights from her book, “Titans of Industrial Agriculture,” during her appearance on the Business Talk podcast channel. The uploaded video contains copyrighted material; therefore, any modifications to graphics, music, or the presence of the author or host are strictly prohibited.
Business Talk
Dr. Peter Cappelli, one of the world’s foremost experts on human resources and workforce management, joins as the George W. Taylor Professor of Management at The Wharton School and Director of Wharton’s Center for Human Resources, sharing key insights from his acclaimed book Our Least Important Asset: Why the Relentless Focus on Finance and Accounting is Bad for Business and Employees, which challenges prevailing corporate priorities.
This book argues that modern corporations increasingly treat employees as expendable costs rather than core assets, largely because financial accounting rules and investor pressures reward headcount reduction and short-term savings over long-term people development. It describes a shift back toward Theory X-style control and surveillance, highlights how policies like “unlimited vacation” and AI initiatives often prioritize balance-sheet optics and cost-cutting, and calls on HR leaders to quantify hidden people costs and advocate directly with CEOs for more employee-centric strategies.
This podcast is brought to you by Global Management Consultancy. For more information, please visit www.globalmanagementconsultancy.com.
Disclaimer:
A. The background music used in this video is the property of its respective developer and is protected by Copyright. Although it is a free version, Business Talk, Global Management Consultancy and Deepak Bhatt do not hold the rights to this music.
B. Dr. Peter Cappelli offered thoughtful perspectives from his book, "Our Least Important Asset: Why the Relentless Focus on Finance and Accounting is Bad for Business and Employees," in his conversation on the Business Talk podcast channel. The uploaded video contains copyrighted material; therefore, any modifications to graphics, music, or the presence of the author or host are strictly prohibited.
