Act 3 Scene 2: The Bard's Business *Collab Piece!*

The Bard's Business

Enter: Jason, Jina and Rosie

Rosie: Guys! What's going on.... What are we doing here?
Jason: Not a clue
Jina: I hath not one inkling
Rosie: Well... Guess it must be a 
All: *Motions Jazz Hands* Collab Piece!!

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In this piece, Jina, Rosie and Jason will explore the type of businessman Shakespeare would be in today's age, some investments he may make and finally what types of businesses he might set up.

If we recall from the Prologue, Shakespeare was prolific not only in his writing but also in, what we could class as business activities. At times, he displayed a certain cruelty with his actions, including hoarding grain and selling it at inflated prices - even during times of hardship. It is worth remembering that hardship was easier to fall into then, given a general lack of social security nets to catch you if financial troubles uprooted and toppled your life. Perhaps in today's age where, at least in the developed world, your basic needs are accommodated for, Shakespeare would soften his approach somewhat?

The Ethical Question  - What Type of Businessman Would Shakespeare Be?

Attitudes and Ethics from The Merchant of Venice

Shakespeare's works continue to inform our vision of ethics and morality even today, hundreds of years after the Bard breathed his last. During times of turbulence, we can recognise ourselves in his characters, and our struggles in the plots of his plays. Taking Shylock for example, the antagonist of William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, we see reflected the anti-Semitic and anti-usury attitudes which permeated the collective thinking of his audience at the time. However, I believe Shakespeare creates a character who can elicit the sympathy of onlookers despite technically being the villain. Shylock represents a man scorned, mistreated and discriminated against for merely being a Jew:

“He hath disgraced me and hindered me half a million, laughed at my losses, mocked at my gains, scorned my nation, thwarted my bargains, cooled my friends, heated mine enemies — and what’s his reason? I am a Jew.”

— The Merchant of Venice, Act 3, Scene 1

Shylock with Scales often a symbol for Justice, from The Merchant of Venice (2004)

He seeks Antonio's "pound of flesh" in an act of revenge and, in his bloodlust loses his identity, religion and his daughter. I get it, he was trying to kill a man, but Antonio is no saint and unfortunately actions have consequences. If you throw an unassuming man into a harsh, hateful environment to be chewed up and spit out, it shouldn't be a surprise that he comes out a deformed and morally dubious individual. In fact Shylock is not killed at the end, but is pardoned by Portia who gives one of the most beautiful monologues to explain the concept of Mercy, a quality supposedly apparent in her actions (I mean is it really merciful to force a person to change their religion?):

"The quality of mercy is not strained; It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath. It is twice blest; It blesseth him that gives and him that takes."

- The Merchant of Venice, Act 4, Scene 1

Portia in the Merchant of Venice (2004)

I certainly felt a little sorry for and indignant on Shylock's behalf but was obviously glad he didn't get to traumatise a whole courtroom of people by slicing off a pound of flesh. Additionally, I do appreciate Shakespeare's little twist about getting your pound of flesh without spilling a drop of blood! But I appreciate even more how he added depth and juxtaposition to his characters making them ascend the trap of one dimensionality. They seem so much more human and also provide insight into some of Shakespeare's ways of thinking. Through his writings, there's evidence that he understands justice, injustice, morality and hypocrisy very well despite living in what we may expect to be more narrow-minded times. He himself was a complicated person, and somewhat shrouded in mystery when it comes to his own beliefs so his writings are one of the few places we can look for clues on this man's inner thoughts and attitudes. 

We explored in the very first post some of the ethically questionable actions of Shakespeare the businessman: tax dodging and grain hoarding for price inflating. And now we question, in today's modern world with welfare states, social security nets and a much higher quality of life (for now at least - climate change, geopolitical stress and plastic pollution may throw a couple spanner in the works), would Shakespeare resort to his previous antics? Would he now be motivated by solely material gain given he no longer has a family to support?

Business Ethics

Business Ethics can be defined as the "standards for morally right and wrong conduct in business". It goes above the legal requirements and starts to consider business decisions, actions and strategies under a moral perspective. In other words, can we say our business has done and continues to do "the right thing?" (Schroeder, 2021).  

Business ethics have become increasingly important over the last few years as consumers demand more from corporates in relation to Environmental Social Governance (ESG) in the wake of climate change dangers, human rights abuses and environmental destruction. In fact, surveyors found that 88% of consumers want to support brands which they feel will allow them to make a difference (Townsend, 2022).

As a result of our robust information systems facilitating the rapid spread of any type of news (good or bad) across the globe in a matter of minutes or seconds, it pays to be ethical. Avoiding million dollar lawsuits and getting more business from morally conscious consumers should do some good for the bottom line no doubt Not only are firms becoming more serious about their business ethics policies and frameworks but are going out of their way to hire employees who display high levels of integrity and the ability to have fair and honest dealings in their lives. However, it isn't always easy to act ethically, especially if certain areas lack standardisation - but perhaps information systems can help firms gain a strategic edge over their competitors (Schroeder, 2021).

Strategic Information Systems

We briefly covered what strategic information systems were in this blog post, and had a few examples to illustrate the point. Here are some further real world examples, from this study which further illustrates the use of strategic information systems in a business context:

• American Airlines: 
• booking and reservation system launched in 1976

• Chase Manhattan Bank (part of JPM-Chase): 
• credit card processing launched in 1971

• Federal Express Corp (FedEx): 
• tracking and sorting launched in 1980

• Merrill Lynch and Co. Inc. (now BofA Merrill Lynch): 
• cash management system launched in 1978

• Proctor & Gamble Co.: 
• customer response database launched in 1974

• Toys 'R' Us Inc.: 
• Point of Sale (POS) inventory tracking launched in 1981

Source: Kettinger, Grover, Guha and Segars, 1994

It's interesting to note the dates that many of these system launched - in short, they are relatively old and would likely have been truly innovative and novel uses for the technology during the time. Implementing these systems, which extend regular information systems beyond that of the firm's internal affairs to include interactions with the customer (and other relevant external parties) for improved service and offerings, would have greatly enhanced these firms' competitive advantage. No doubt they would have supported a firm's strategy to grow and improve, hence being dubbed strategic information systems (Kettinger et al, 1994). But how can we use information systems today to allow business strategy and ethical practices to converge and coincide?

Ethical Strategic Information Systems - ESG

So how are firms using information systems technology to further their Environmental Social Governance strategies? Below are two examples of IS use cases in this category which is by no means exhaustive - there are so many examples out there, but it would take a novel to go through them all. The following two cases have a common denominator - being Big Data which you can read on to hear more about:

1).  Fuergy: So Information Systems help us share, well, information with one another. And modern systems are nothing short of magic - I can text anyone, anywhere in the world in a matter of minutes, the fact that you're even reading this piece is incredulous. But what if we go above and beyond that, how about using Information Systems to help us share energy? Fuergy is an energy start-up doing just that likening themselves to an Airbnb but for sharing renewable energy!

(Source: Fuergy.com)

So how does it work? The Slovakian start-up uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) devices to gather and analyse huge swathes of consumer data based on their energy consumption. This is then combined with data related to the weather, changes in prices and production plans among a variety of other variables to determine the amount of energy that can be sold and what amount needs to be bought for optimum usage. The use of AI is important given the complexity of working with such diverse and high dimensional dataset which require precise predictions. If it works well, then neighbours will be able to buy and sell energy (if they have solar powers that is as this is how the system works at the moment) from one another instead of giving it back to the grid. This means cheaper costs and more sustainable forms of energy with less pollution. It's amazing how information can be shared so quickly and rapidly analysed in these types of systems - information coming from heat pumps, and washing machines thanks to IoT. IoT is also the way in which energy usage can be scheduled at times when energy is at its cheapest and also to store it in other forms. It's a pretty neat twist on the Sharing Economy (which is built on information systems). This start-up being one of the few firms to explore energy sharing has the competitive advantage in that it allows consumers to connect directly with one another, rather than only being able to purchase energy from other larger entities (such as wind farms as the Dutch start-up Vandebron allows). Although, maybe corporates can take part in this initiative in the future to share with one another - playing into their overall strategies to become more energy efficient and use renewable sources predominantly which is where the difference lies (Leon, 2020; Fuergy.com, 2022).

2). Corporations and Firms - Data is Key:

When you read about Fuergy and their venture, one key element that sticks out is the use of advanced data analytics to enable their product/service offering to function. This isn't an isolated occurrence but rather an important and overall trend in many industries - specifically in the area of ESG monitoring for businesses. A recent paper from Australian researchers identified key themes in digital sustainability and information systems solutions, one of them being Theme 3: Climate-intelligent IS solutions and ESG intelligence. These solutions, related to sustainability intelligence can be developed to create visualisations, benchmarks and trackers for a firm's overall ESG strategies. In order to do this however, firms need to be able to access the right type of data first and foremost - and then be able to conduct relevant analysis on that data in a timely and efficient manner. Again, this is an area for advanced techniques and AI-based algorithms to find ways to optimise their operations and efforts. Additionally, these analytics capabilities could be incorporated into a firm's actual operations to progress digital innovation in this space even further (Pan, Carter, Tim and Sandeep, 2022). 

To demonstrate this, we can look to a Chinese government initiative involving the establishment of air quality monitoring sites to gather data on air pollution in the major BTH region (which includes districts and municipalities in Beijing, Tianjin and cities in the Hebei Province). The BTH region is a major metropolitan region and suffers from serious and dangerous levels of pollution. These monitoring sites were set up in 2010, with a total of 24 sites developed in the area in the hopes of finding solutions to combat the problem. Real time collection of air quality data monitored SO2, CO, O3 and NO2 levels which was then able to be shared publicly to give an accurate indication of air quality. Following this initial phase, an air pollution management system was developed and adopted as the government started to recognise the untapped potential of having all this air quality data. In 2013, it was announced that a new system which would send out warnings prior to heavy air pollution events would be developed with the help of two IT firms, YSUSoft and Leading Soft. The system the IT companies decided to adopt made use of the community multiscale air quality model which was designed by the US Environmental Protection Agency, for which the source code can be found here. This model has been adopted by many to forecast air quality based on available information and is an important tool to support users in their decision making. Following the implementation process, a user interface was developed to disseminate the air quality information and forecasts (Zhang, Pan, Yu and Liu, 2019): 

(Source: Zhang, Pan, Yu and Liu, 2019)

To summarise, corporations can adopt a similar approach of gathering and analysing big data before implementing new systems to help them, their customers and other stakeholders improve their overall ESG efforts - which may help them be more competitive overall.

Ethical Strategic Information Systems - What Would Shakespeare Do?

The question now remains, what underlying principles would underpin Shakespeare's motivations as he navigates today's business world? Personally, I don't think he'd do it all alone - he's much too smart for that. There's over 600 years of business developments he's missed out on and in an age of multinational corporations, the knowledge economy, globalisation and intricate supply chains - it's too much for one man to figure out on his own while he tried to revive his playwriting fame. Shakespeare, based on his writings, strikes me as a pragmatic character - he understands the duality of man, the ability of inner principles to perfectly oppose each other yet live in harmony in a person's mind - hypocrisy if you will. But I feel he understood empathy and mercy in better terms than we would give people of his time credit for (he understands Shylock's point of view as a wronged man and gives him a voice, despite the disdain for Jews at the time). I believe Shakespeare would no longer go out of his way to be ruthless in his dealings but he would make questionable business decisions which would be necessary to make his businesses survive. He wouldn't blindly follow the "just" path but would go down the sensible one. However I believe that, due to the uproar and consumer demand for good business practices, in order for his ventures to be successful, he would have to heavily incorporate ESG into his strategies - and if he's as smart as we give him credit for, he may even pioneer and fund the latest innovations in this field!

We know William Shakespeare as a playwright, he was much more than that. Having determined what type of businessman Shakespeare might be, in this segment we explore some of the potential types of investments and firms he'd set up.

“To business that we love we rise betimes and go to ‘t with delight.”

-Anthony and Cleopatra

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Shakespeare was a very successful investor and businessman. In fact, the only surviving letter written to William Shakespeare is from Richard Quiney asking for a loan of £30 which would be worth about £30,000 in today’s money (Shakespeare.org.uk).

He started investing in various theatres in 1590 and diversified from there. His first investment was in Chamberlain’s Men later renamed King’s Men. He became a sharer in 1590 to 1594 meaning he’d get a share of the net profits; this has been estimated to be worth £60-70 per year or £60,000-£70,000 in today’s money. He also invested in the Globe Theatre from which he is estimated to have earned about £200 a year, or £200,000 in today’s money.

The investment in the Globe Theatre, one of London’s most successful theatres, meant that he got a cut of the box office and any publishing fees for his plays, essentially meaning he got paid twice for the same work.

He diversified his investments as well. For a period of around 15 years, Shakespeare bought a variety of goods: grains, malt, barley and stored them in a warehouse for resale. He definitely made huge profits as they were going through a period nicknamed the ‘little ice age’ – a period of poor harvest induced by terrible weather and harsh conditions across North America and Europe.

Further diversification saw Shakespeare enter the real estate market. In 1597 Shakespeare bought New Place in his hometown. New Place was the largest house in Stratford-upon-Avon, and it didn't end there. Eventually through investing the funds from his grain hoarding activities, he was able to invest in a portfolio of real estate making him amongst the largest landowners in Warwickshire (Reckard, 2013).

So, what would Shakespeare’s modern-day portfolio look like?

• Perhaps drawn by fame, he’d go on Shark Tank and invest in riskier start-ups.
• Perhaps drawn by huge gains and the thrill of investing, he’d sink his money in crypto.
• Or perhaps drawn by his love of information systems, he’d utilise a one-touch trading system.

I think all three are possibilities. Based on his entrepreneurial spirit and his past investments, I believe it’s safe to say that Shakespeare would not be one to ‘play it safe’ and throw all his money into the S&P500.

I am convinced that Shakespeare would love start-up investing based on his investments in the relatively new theatre scene back in the day. No doubt, he’d be a great guest shark on shark tank. The added fame would also drive more traffic to his works, a win-win – what he likes! He’d probably free up 35% of his portfolio for start-up / angel investing.

I doubt he’d become a serious crypto investor or trader, though I imagine he’d be curious to see what the hype is about. He’d probably allocate no more than 5% of his portfolio to crypto though this would likely have to be managed by someone else.

One touch trading is a new information systems-based product offered by various investment banks. It allows investors to choose the target price, time to expiration, and the premium to be received when the target price is reached. As they are quite new, Shakespeare would also be curious, he’d probably allocate up to 10% of his portfolio to one touch trading such that he has exposure to the stock market.

Another 10% would be held on the side-lines to ‘buy the dip’ or for loan opportunities. Like he’s done in the past, he would loan the money out to friends and acquaintances. He could even try pursue becoming a loan shark.

I imagine the remaining 40% of his portfolio will be invested in his preferred investment vehicle – property. This would likely be split over different countries with the majority of properties being oversees as the UK market has become so inflated.

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So we've looked at Shakespeare's general business investments... but William has always been first and foremost a man of the arts! So lets take a look at William's ventures specifically into theater and production. 💬

They say do something you love 💓… and you’ll never work a day in your life. According to one study in Wisconsin 70% of wealthy investors take part in so-called ‘hobby investing’ – investing in things you love the most (O'Herily, 2014). The main industries the study found was art, cars, antiques, and jewelry. So now that we’ve looked at his investments in portfolios and trading… let’s take a more specific look at the nature of Will’s business ventures production, theatre and the arts.

Most plays and musicals are owned and performed by touring companies. ‘Hamilton’, the box office hit has two touring companies – a West End and Broadway. Production companies often acquire the licensing rights to multiple plays and musicals. Some writers set up companies that exist to produce and manage all that writer published works. Take for example Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ‘Really Useful Group’ - owning rights to all his works from Phantom to Cats 🐈. The Really Useful Group is a private limited company.

When Shakespeare hits the 21^st Century one of his first steps is to create his own production company. Currently his work is in the Public Domain…meaning no one holds copyright to about 37 of his plays, 4 plays and several collaborative works.

As such a seasoned businessman, Shakespeare would doubtlessly buy out other West End and Broadway works. The thing is though, Broadway groups are known to be a close-knit group of investors. Stocks are rarely issued to the public  (How to Invest in Broadway, 2022). Yet I imagine Shakespeare would integrate himself into this group. Investors often have close relationships with producers or are one themselves. They often have input into casting. It is a hands-on investment, one you don’t get into without personal interest – ‘hobby investing’ – as mentioned earlier. As the single most successful playwright ever - Shakespeare would doubtlessly see himself as qualified to invest and become involved in the industry. His work during his life as both creator and businessman allows him the experience and passion to venture into investment into production. 🧰

Thanks for reading folks!😃

- Jina, Rosie and Jason

Up Next:

Act 3 Scene 3: The road to Burgeoning Success

References

Bloom, H., Wright, W., Shakespeare, W. and Bloom, H., 2005. Shakespeare's The merchant of Venice. New York:

    Riverhead Books.

 

Fuergy.com. 2022. Welcome. [online] Available at: <https://www.fuergy.com/> [Accessed 16 February 2022].

 

Investingbroadway.com. 2022. How to Invest in Broadway. [online] Available at: <https://www.investingbroadway.com/howtoinvestinbroadway> [Accessed 3 February 2022].

 

Kettinger, W., Grover, V., Guha, S. and Segars, A., 1994. Strategic Information Systems Revisited: A Study in Sustainability and     Performance. MIS Quarterly, 18(1), p.31.

 

Leon, H., 2020. This Startup Aims to Be the Airbnb of Renewable Energy Sharing. [online] Observer. Available at:                          <https://observer.com/2020/02/fuergy-renewable-energy-sharing/> [Accessed 16 February 2022].

 

O' Herily, P., 2014. Seventy Percent of the Affluent in Wisconsin Invest in Their Hobbies: BMO Private Bank Study - Jul 17, 2014. [online] Newsroom.bmoharris.com. Available at: <https://newsroom.bmoharris.com/2014-07-17-Seventy-Percent-of-the-Affluent-in-Wisconsin-Invest-in-Their-Hobbies-BMO-Private-Bank-Study> [Accessed 4 March 2022].

 

Pan, S., Carter, L., Tim, Y. and Sandeep, M., 2022. Digital sustainability, climate change, and information systems solutions:         Opportunities for future research. International Journal of Information Management, 63, p.102444.

 

Schroeder, K., 2021. 3 Reasons Why Business Ethics Is Important | University of Redlands. [online] Redlands.

    Available at: <https://www.redlands.edu/study/schools-and-centers/business/sbblog/2019/may-2019/3-reasons

    why-business-ethics-important/> [Accessed 10 February 2022].

Townsend, S., 2022. 88% Of Consumers Want You To Help Them Make A Difference. [online] Forbes. Available at:               <https://www.forbes.com/sites/solitairetownsend/2018/11/21/consumers-want-you-to-help-them-make-a-                                   difference/?sh=52c542de6954> [Accessed 10 February 2022].

Zhang, D., Pan, S., Yu, J. and Liu, W., 2019. Orchestrating big data analytics capability for sustainability: A study of air                 pollution management in China. Information & Management, p.103231.