high tech

Surpassing Bostock: SEC Filing Deficits Mask LGBTQ Discrimination

Our journal article titled Surpassing Bostock: SEC Filing Deficits Mask LGBTQ Discrimination explores how current U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) disclosure requirements fall short in addressing workplace discrimination against LGBTQ individuals. Despite the landmark Supreme Court decision in Bostock v. Clayton County (2020), which affirmed that Title VII protects employees from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, the article argues that corporate transparency has not kept pace with legal protections.

Key Themes
  • SEC Disclosure Gaps: We highlight that while companies are required to disclose material risks and human capital metrics, they rarely report on LGBTQ-specific issues. This lack of visibility allows discriminatory practices to persist unchecked.
  • Materiality Blind Spots: Further, the lack of SEC reporting of LGBTQ discrimination complaints suggests that high tech company leaders perceive LGBTQ worker discrimination as immaterial to investors. This is the case despite growing evidence that inclusive workplaces correlate with better performance and reduced legal risk.
  • Corporate Evasion: Our article critiques how companies use vague language or omit LGBTQ data entirely in filings. This effectively masking discrimination and undermining accountability.
  • Policy Recommendations: To close these gaps, we propose enhanced SEC guidance, mandatory LGBTQ workforce data reporting, and stronger enforcement mechanisms.
Broader Implications

In addition, our research underscores the disconnect between legal progress and corporate accountability. It calls for a shift in how regulators and investors view LGBTQ inclusion. This is not just as a social issue, but a material factor in assessing corporate governance and risk.

Furthermore, this article is a compelling call to action for policymakers, investors, and advocates to push for more robust and inclusive disclosure standards that truly reflect the spirit of Bostock. It blends legal analysis with policy critique, urging systemic change to ensure LGBTQ protections are not just theoretical, but enforceable and visible. You can get the full text of our article here.

Dr. Clovia Hamilton

Machiavelli business ethics is relevant in high tech

Introduction
Machiavelli The Prince book cover

Machiavelli The Prince is still relevant in high tech management and leadership and business ethics

Can a 16th-century political treatise provide any guidance on today’s competitive environment? Machiavelli business ethics lessons in The Prince are still relevant because it emphasizes the acquisition and sustenance of influence. Acquired and sustained influence by leaders and managers is important. Yet, there are two camps among scholars regarding the relevancy of Niccolò Machiavelli’s book The Prince (Machiavelli, 1992) to modern day management and leadership. Some scholars argue that the book has never been or is no longer relevant to business management and leadership (Agbude, 2014; Fournel, 2014; Jackson, 2013; Tillyris, 2015). Some contend that it is indeed relevant (Konno, 2014; O’Sullivan, 2014; Rojek, 2014; Ruggiero, 2015; Soll, 2014; Thomas, 2014).

The Prince is still relevant

Herein, it is argued that this work by Machiavelli is indeed relevant. In particular, it is widely accepted that leaders and managers are more effective if they have influence. However, some wrongly associate Machiavelli primarily with the advocacy of vile tactics of manipulation. It is argued herein that The Prince has an over-arching emphasis on the importance of a leader’s or manager’s acquisition and sustenance of influence.

This article provides a number of modern-day examples of how Machiavellian lessons are and can be applied today in the high-tech arena. Certainly, we need to learn from flawed leaders because many corporate leaders have malicious or corrupt tendencies. Also, when leaders are coercive to maintain power and order, it is viewed as bad leadership. This is because there is a yearning for feel-good stories (Kellerman, 2004). We can examine the high-technology business leader examples put forth in this response. It is important to note that these leaders’ characters shape their workplace behavior. They also shape business decisions.

Summary

The examples provided herein are not sufficient. They are not sufficient to inform whether these leaders have the elements of the ‘Return on Character’ (ROC). The ROC is the magic formula for creating value. Some leaders want to create value plain and simple. They may honestly believe that their decisions are the right choices. Certain leaders in the examples may be bad actors that are overly ambitious and greedy. They seek to gain at others’ detriment. Many do both by seeking to do right and create value, and act badly in the process. All people display both vile and kind motives and choices (Kiel, 2015; Wilson, 1998). Thus, the nature of character is as complex and varied as the real world.  Again, given the importance of acquired and sustained influence by leaders and managers, Machiavelli business ethics lessons in The Prince are still relevant.

Read more…

High Tech Transportation Corridors

Introduction
high tech transportation corridor in Florida

High tech transportation corridors are great for regional economic development

This research describes why creating high tech transportation corridors (HTTCs) is an important regional economic development strategy. When there is an economic downturn, cities are forced to develop a strategy to revitalize. Increasing the transfer of high technology into the marketplace stimulates the economy (Peltz, 1984). High tech industries are industries that include relatively high percentages of scientific and technical workers. Further, they are also industries that make relatively large expenditures in research and development (Luger, 1984).

“[I]n difficult economic times, political stakeholders in the technology transfer process usually view success in economic impact terms, and often from short-term and parochial perspectives-how many jobs in my state next year?” (Carr, 1994).

Examples include the expansion of the suburban space economy in the 1980s. Actually, these produced new commercial landscapes in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington D.C. They are high-tech corridors along limited-access highways (Knox, 1991). Designers used private mixed-use development master plans to create these corridors.

Economic development strategy

Notably, creating HTTCs became a very popular strategy for economic development proponents as a revitalization technique. HTTCs are typically defined as segments along U.S. interstate or state transportation routes. However, they can be located on city streets. Since transportation is the backbone of a city, town, or region, the idea is to create a cluster of high-tech companies along the transportation route. Clusters are critical masses of unusual competitive success. They are comprised of linked industries and interconnected companies, such as government institutions. Clusters “extend downstream to channels and customers and laterally to manufacturers of complementary products and to companies in industries related by skills, technologies, or common inputs” (Porter, 1998).

Summary

In reality, the decision to create a HTTC must be integrated into a community’s overall economic strategy. The planning process should identify the conditions under which specific, specialized strategies. Further, these strategies should lead to high-tech job attraction in order to produce desired benefits (Wiewel, 1984). With respect to HTTCs, the current federal transportation legislation should be amended.  Transportation planning officials should become stronger and more active partners in making development decisions. These decisions should integrate resource programs and infrastructure needs that provide for the development of equitable and sustainable HTTCs. Notably, planning for high-tech transportation corridors needs to be more transactional than infrastructural. In a cohesive policy-relevant structure, there must be a stronger nexus between socio-economic and transportation policy considerations.  In addition, transportation officials should begin to take an active role.  This may ensure that these high-tech developments are sustainable and equitable in socioeconomic terms.  Read more here…

Machiavelli ethics lessons are relevant in high tech

 

Introduction
Machiavelli The Prince book cover

Machiavelli The Prince is still relevant in high tech management and leadership and business ethics

Can a 16th-century political treatise provide any guidance on today’s competitive environment? Machiavelli ethics lessons in The Prince are still relevant because it emphasizes the acquisition and sustenance of influence. Acquired and sustained influence by leaders and managers is important. Yet, there are two camps among scholars regarding the relevancy of Niccolò Machiavelli’s book The Prince (Machiavelli, 1992) to modern day management and leadership. Some scholars argue that the book has never been or is no longer relevant to business management and leadership (Agbude, 2014; Fournel, 2014; Jackson, 2013; Tillyris, 2015). Some contend that it is indeed relevant (Konno, 2014; O’Sullivan, 2014; Rojek, 2014; Ruggiero, 2015; Soll, 2014; Thomas, 2014).

The Prince is still relevant

Herein, it is argued that this work by Machiavelli is indeed relevant. In particular, it is widely accepted that leaders and managers are more effective if they have influence. However, some wrongly associate Machiavelli primarily with the advocacy of vile tactics of manipulation. It is argued herein that The Prince has an over-arching emphasis on the importance of a leader’s or manager’s acquisition and sustenance of influence.

This article provides a number of modern-day examples of how Machiavellian lessons are and can be applied today in the high-tech arena. Certainly, we need to learn from flawed leaders because many corporate leaders have malicious or corrupt tendencies. It is viewed as bad leadership when leaders coerce to maintain power and order, . This is because there is a yearning for feel-good stories (Kellerman, 2004). We can examine the high-technology business leader examples put forth in this response. It is important to note that these leaders’ characters shape their workplace behavior. They also shape business decisions.

Summary

The examples provided herein are not sufficient. They are not sufficient to inform whether these leaders have the elements of the ‘Return on Character’ (ROC). The ROC is the magic formula for creating value. Some leaders want to create value plain and simple. They may honestly believe that their decisions are the right choices. Certain leaders in the examples may be bad actors that are overly ambitious and greedy. They seek to gain at others’ detriment. Many do both by seeking to do right and create value, and act badly in the process. All people display both vile and kind motives and choices (Kiel, 2015; Wilson, 1998). Thus, the nature of character is as complex and varied as the real world.  Again, given the importance of acquired and sustained influence by leaders and managers, Machiavelli business ethics lessons in The Prince are still relevant.

Read more…