Humanistic Business Research Articles

Measurement of Humanistic Business Responsibility in Polish Companies

Measurement of Humanistic Business Responsibility in Polish Companies

Toward Humanistic Business Ethics

We theorize that, in the current development of business ethics, there is a fruitful evolution that dissolves the dichotomy between the normative and behavioral research approaches developed, respectively, by philosophers and social scientists; this approach avoids many of the limitations originated by such distinction by reconnecting their two separate narratives. We call this emerging research model Humanistic Business Ethics (HBE) as it emphasizes the centrality of the human dimension of business and the importance of adopting a richer concept of humanity in business ethics research. We argue that this specific research model in business ethics emerges when scholars combine a pragmatist philosophical approach with some key ideas coming from stakeholder theory, which we summarize and connect. By leveraging collaboration across ethics, economics, psychology, and entrepreneurship, HBE can help business and society scholars undertake fruitful inquiries into the way business works (and should work) at its best.

Human dignity and the business of business

Abstract A paradigm change from mechanistic to humanistic management theories and practices is underway, exemplified in a shift from an economics oriented at the fictional homo oeconomicus towards novel models oriented at the real conditio humana. This methodological turn brings about both the opportunity and the necessity of re-orienting management theory as well as business education to the idea of human dignity, as was common in the long-tradition of moral economics from Plato up to Adam Smith. In order to contribute to this theoretical move, in its first part, this paper surveys important conceptions of dignity throughout the ages, and then, in the second part, discusses their implications for a future humanistic business education.

Reality Proves Possibility: Developing Humanistic Business Models from Paradigmatic Practice

Conventional economic, business, and management theory have been blamed for systemic ail-ments of the global economy, from the financial crisis, to global inequality, and human rights abuses. Humanistic management and humanistic business are a growing area of research and of practice application, providing an alternative to the conventional neoclassical theory. We suggest that a crucial next step to create more humane businesses and management practices is the crea-tion of management and business models that integrate both theoretical insights and practical learnings. Thus, in this symposium, we aim to connect paradigmatic humanistic business practic-es, to frameworks for humanistic model and principle development. Through the first contribution of the symposium, we show how the reality of humanistic business practices proves the possibility of implementing humanism in business. Pirson show-cases that humanistic management is a possibility by exploring cases of humanistic business models in the financial ...

Capitalism at the Crossroads- Perspectives on the Future of Business

Capitalism is at a crossroads and the challenges for management in the 21st century are manifold. From climate change, to increasing inequity, social exclusion, poverty and decreasing social trust in business, many agree that managers are witnessing a perfect storm. While many scholars posit that business needs to be rethought and reenacted, in this panel we wish to highlight some of the proposed solutions. From sustainable business, to inclusive business, to humanistic business, we wish to highlight the variety of approaches taken to highlight how business can become a part of the solution and contribute to the common good. After a short introduction, Stuart Hart will outline the challenges for traditional business institutions to become environmentally and socially sustainable. Anil Gupta will present his thinking how business can become more inclusive by being more embedded in communities they operate in e.g. reaching out to indigenous innovators. Kim Cameron will further outline how organizations can become more life-conducive presenting lessons learned from positive organizational scholarship. Finally, Bob Quinn will outline how leadership needs to be rethought from an ontological perspective, the role of deep change, and the power of shared leadership to solve the current problems. Andre Habisch will discuss the contributions and suggest how management practice could adapt and be serving the common good.

The Firm as a “Community of Persons”: A Pillar of Humanistic Business Ethos

The article starts by arguing that seeing the firm as a mere nexus of contracts or as an abstract entity where different stakeholder interests concur is insufficient for a “humanistic business ethos”, which entails a complete view of the human being. It seems more appropriate to understand the firm as a human community, a concept which can be found in several sources, including managerial literature, business ethics scholars, and Catholic Social Teaching. In addition, there are also philosophical grounds that support the idea of business as a human community. Extending this concept, and drawing from some Phenomenological-Personalist philosophers, we propose that the firm should be seen as a particular “community of persons” oriented to providing goods and services efficiently and profitably. Being a “community of persons” emphasizes both individuals and the whole, and makes explicit the uniqueness, conscience, free will, dignity, and openness to human flourishing. This requires appropriate communication about and participation in matters which affect people’s life, and makes it essential to cooperate for the common good of the business firm and the society.

Humanistic Management Education – Concluding Observations and Suggestions

For some time now, managers have been criticized for short-term oriented decision making and putting profits before principles. The financial crisis of 2007/08 has completely undermined faith in managerial decision making. Since many current managers were educated in business schools it is warranted to scrutinize these schools more closely. This book has done so by summarizing the current criticisms of business schools. This scrutiny, however, only represents the first step. The much more relevant and path-breaking step is to actually propose a workable alternative conception of management education. We argue that this book presents a holistic perspective in a rather piecemeal debate. In the following, we wish to therefore briefly summarize the books' main lessons and put them in a wider perspective on the future of management education. To do so, we outline a new paradigm for business and management in which the alternative management education needs to be placed. We further make very concise suggestions in terms of an alternative curriculum and setup of Humanistic Business Schools (HUBS). Finally, we wish to invite you to join us on the quest for a better, more sustainable, more human management education.

Kant's Humanistic Business Ethics

In this article I investigate how Kant’s philosophy contributes universalistic arguments in favor of a humanistic ethics. Kant moved the idea of freedom to the center of his philosophy, arguing that from a reflection on the nature of human freedom a self-critical assessment of its morally appropriate use could be gleaned. Therein, that is, in construing his ethics from (subjective) self-reflection rather than resting it on presumed (objective) values, and in construing norms of interpersonal validity from the individual perspective (‘bottom-up’) rather than through (‘top-down’) references to prearranged ethical or metaphysical orders, lies Kant’s innovation in ethics theory. For Kant, our knowledge about human nature does not precede the search for moral truth but results from our quest for a life in integrity. His is a procedural humanism, i.e. a philosophy whose humanistic ethics arises from the ways and procedures by which persons seek the good. Thus Kant steered clear of the Skylla of moral relativism as well as of the Charybdis of an “one-size-fits-all’-ethics, which threaten all materialistic approaches to ethical theory. Cognizant that context impacts content, Kant decided instead in favor of a formal approach to ethics, universalistic in procedures and structures but open to differentiation as to the regional and temporal specificities of application. This is what makes his ethics relevant beyond the historical constellations and confines of his works. After introducing into the context, anthropological basis, and methodology of Kant’s ethics (in sections 1-3), we discuss its moral and legal dimensions (4), his theory of politics (5) and the applicability of his ethics to contemporary business (6).

The Humanistic Management Network - An Introduction

This paper presents an overview of the Humanistic business paradigm, the articulation of a humanistic management style, and presents the activities of the Humanistic Management Network, which is an open network of interdisciplinary scholars, practitioners, and policy makers.