The Research @ Schulich Podcast – Listen Today!
Explore the cutting edge of business, management and leadership research with our new podcast series – Research @ Schulich, your gateway to discovering cutting-edge academic insights and ground-breaking research. In each episode, Schulich’s world-class scholars take you behind the scenes of their transformative research, offering fresh perspectives on ideas shaping industries and driving organizational success.
In case you may have missed them, two episodes were released over the summer. If you want to catch up, take a listen below to the most recent episodes, or, check our our archive!
Episode 7: ” It’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it” – Eileen Fischer on Emotional Work in Alternative Markets
A teacher assures a student that their low mark on a test isn’t the end of their academic career.
A flight attendant makes small talk with passengers on a delayed flight.
A security guard calmly escorts a trespasser from a building.
A server puts on a smile and offers free entrees to a table of angry diners who have “been waiting for hours” for service.
You’ve probably seen situations like this in real life – and you may have even personally experienced several of these situations yourself.
You may not know it, but these are all examples of “emotion work” – the process by which employees manage their own emotions to sustain and change a business or a market.
But emotion work (or, as it’s more commonly known “emotional labour”), is a complex issue that goes beyond the service economy and transactions in shops and stores. Emotional labour also includes the work put in by volunteers, community organizers and “committed consumers” – individuals who voluntarily invest significant time and effort to uphold the principles and operations of alternative marketplaces, such as farmers markets.
And while this may sound like a niche form of emotional labour, the work put in by volunteers to simply ensure that a community market stays active and running – and sticks to its principals – often matches the level of emotional labour used by staff at for-profit businesses.
Join us as Schulich Professor Eileen Fischer (Professor of Marketing; Associate Dean, Research; Anne & Max Tanenbaum Chair in Entrepreneurship and Family Enterprise) talks about her research on emotional labour in alternative markets – and find out how managers, organizers and policymakers might be able to learn (and manage) the emotional labour costs of their fellow team members and staff.
Listen to Episode 7 of the Research @ Schulich podcast here:
Episode 8: Why Adam Smith Owned an Annuity …. and Perhaps You Should Too – – Moshe A. Milevsky On The Surprising Origins Of Modern Pensions
When you think of “Scotland’ what comes to mind?
Maybe you think of the rugged Highlands of the north. Maybe you think of golf courses next to serene lochs (including one with a very famous monster). Maybe you think of kilt-clad heroes like William Wallace, walking next to those serene lochs or rugged Highlands while the sound of bagpipes plays faintly in the distance.
But what about pensions?
It may not be the first thing you think of – But maybe it should be…
In the latest episode of the Research @ Schulich Podcast, we sit down with Schulich Professor Moshe A. Milevsky (Professor of Finance and CIT Chair in Financial Services) to discuss his new book The Religious Roots of Longevity Risk Sharing: The Genesis of Annuity Funds in the Scottish Enlightenment and the Path to Modern Pension Management, which explores the Scottish (and religious) roots of modern pension planning.
Professor Milevsky argues that a diverse group of 18th century Scottish clergymen, scientists, and intellectuals (affiliated with the Presbyterian Church of Scotland) pioneered the use of several innovative methods when setting up an annuity and widow’s pension, and that this “annuity scheme” laid the foundation for today’s longevity insurance and retirement systems.
This wide-ranging (and entertaining) discussion covers topics as diverse as:
- The influence of the Scottish Enlightenment on financial innovation,
- The evolution of life insurance into pension plans,
- How longevity risk was managed centuries ago, and
- Economist Adam Smith’s views on the pension plan.
Whether you’re interested in finance, history, or retirement planning, this episode is a fascinating listen. Moshe’s book The Religious Roots of Longevity Risk Sharing: The Genesis of Annuity Funds in the Scottish Enlightenment, and the Path to Modern Pension Management can be purchased here.
