As a website that got its start at Lehigh University, Centives managed to attract some of the best and brightest students. Many of them either have, or would like to, become management consultants. And, at least according to Ray Fisman and Tim Sullivan, the world will be a better place because of it:

• In one experiment where Accenture – a management consulting company – offered its services to small Indian businesses for free, researchers found that Accenture’s advice was so valuable that if they had charged for their talent then the Indian businesses would have easily paid it back after a year of improved profits.
• By increasing incomes management consultants help generate more wealth for people around the world.
• And it’s not just about money. If hospitals had better management practices then they could increase the number of lives they saved.
• Countries with the worst management practices (India, China, Brazil, Greece, and Argentina), would benefit if management advice was exported by those who do it best (USA, Japan).

Read more about Davos, a conference where managers pay $19,000 each to discuss their businesses, and more about the importance of good management practices over here.

Source: Slate