Politics versus Economics Philosophical Reflections on the Nature of Corporate Governance

Blok, Vincent

doi:10.1007/s40926-019-00118-9

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 52 publications

(41 reference statements)

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“…According to Fayol's management theory, which is still taught today at business schools, management has five functions: planning, organizing, instruction, coordination, and control (Fayol 1949). While the first, second, and fifth function of management corresponds with the first dimension of business 10 The question whether political and economic management can be reduced to each other in a general concept of management that holds for both domains, or whether the two remain separate aspects of steering is beyond the scope of this chapter (see Blok 2019). management that we found in Xenophon's work, the third and fourth function of management corresponds with the fifth dimension we found in Xenophon's work.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(Xenophon 2013: 21.11-12) Finally, according to Xenophon, the competencies of the business manager that are identified in the Oeconomicus are not only applicable to business management but also to military management and political management. 10 On the one hand, this shows already that business or economic management is integral part of the political management of the state (Blok 2019). On the other hand, it raises the question which of these competencies are particularly applicable on business management only.…”

Section: Virtues Involved In Business Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Xenophon’s Philosophy of Management

Blok

2022

Handbooks in Philosophy

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In this chapter, we explore Xenophon's philosophy of management and identify nine dimensions of business management, as well as the competencies (the knowledge, skills, and virtues) that good management requires. The scientific contribution of this chapter does not only consist in the fact that this is the first publications in which Xenophon's philosophy of management is systematically analyzed. Historical analysis can also help to question the self-evidence of our contemporary conceptualization of management. Xenophon's philosophy of management enables us to criticize the contemporary focus on profit maximization and to articulate an intrinsic relation between business and society; to criticize the contemporary disconnectedness of business management and to develop a broader set of individual competencies and know-how that is required for business managers; to criticize the contemporary focus on management and control; and to rehabilitate the role of business management as ability and capacity that involves knowhow, actual engagement, and virtuous competencies. Finally, this concept of management challenges contemporary conceptualizations of the differences between private and public management in political philosophical debates.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Virtues Involved In Business Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Xenophon’s Philosophy of Management

Blok

2022

Handbooks in Philosophy

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“…A broader ethological perspective is even more important when it comes to social issues, and many moral issues are social (Blok, 2020). It seems reasonable to think business graduates can deal with personal moral issues, such as gender discrimination in a colleague's salary.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The ethos of business students

Baardewijk

Graaf

2020

Business Ethics Env & Resp

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Since 1913, when the first Dutch business school was established, business schools have grown ever more prominent. Today, they form the largest departments at most Dutch universities, in terms of student numbers (Dutch Inspectorate of Education, 2017). Although business schools emerged in response to a specific demand from the economy-large Dutch corporations such as Philips and Shell were growing rapidly and required suitably educated managers-they are now an established part of academia. Both business education and business research in the Netherlands are publicly funded, which is typical for most university-based business schools in North Western Europe. Their task is to teach students how the world of business works and to prepare them for an active role in it, for example, as managers of companies. Business schools are thus the "nurseries" of the corporate world. However, as the influence of business on our day-today lives can hardly be overestimated, business schools are also important societal institutions that bear great social responsibility. In fact, the problem-solving ability and moral precepts of business school graduates are a major influence on how the economy runs. Their teachers, therefore, influence the goals that corporations set and the means that graduates deploy to achieve them. Positioned at the intersection of academia and the economy, it is reasonable to expect business schools also to help their students reflect on the role of business and markets in society and understand and navigate the moral dilemmas their work will entail (Colby et al., 2011). Of course, business schools are not the only institutions to influence our economy-in fact, many managers are graduates from quite different programs-but their influence is relatively large. The financial crisis of 2007 has strengthened the call to make business schools more socially aware and instill in students a sense of civility (

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“…The problem is that sustainability is a normative concept here, describing the world not as it is, but as it should be; but the BBE does not take on this normative task explicitly, which would mean actually basing economy on the biosphere. Instead, the BBE is merely understood as a guideline for resourceoptimisation and so, in practice, everyday survival on the open market takes precedence over normative sustainability (Blok, 2020;Veraart & Blok, 2021a, 2021bZwier et al, 2015).…”

Section: The Limits Of Technology and The Environment-the Libidinal E...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecomodernism and the Libidinal Economy: Towards a Critical Conception of Technology in the Bio-Based Economy

2023

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In this paper, we carry out a critical analysis of the concept of technology in the current design of the bio-based economy (BBE). Looking at the current status of the BBE, we observe a dominant focus on technological innovation as the principal solution to climatic instability. We take a critical stance towards this “ecomodernist” worldview, addressing its fundamental assumptions, and offer an underarticulated explanation as to why a successful transition toward a sustainable BBE—i.e. one that fully operates within the Earth’s carrying capacity—has not yet been reached. Bernard Stiegler has developed a philosophical perspective on the concept of economy, broadening it to include the human condition through the notion of desire. This theory can help to obtain a more profound understanding of why ecomodernist strategies are dominant today. Stiegler’s theory of the libidinal economy offers an analysis of controlled and exploited human desire as a primary driver behind modern techno-economic structures. Our hypothesis is that a critique of contemporary technofixism as a critique of libidinal economy is a necessary step to take in the discussion around the BBE as a concept, if the BBE is ever to bring about a system that can truly operate within the Earth’s carrying capacity.

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Politics versus Economics Philosophical Reflections on the Nature of Corporate Governance

Cited by 5 publications

References 52 publications

Xenophon’s Philosophy of Management

Xenophon’s Philosophy of Management

The ethos of business students

Ecomodernism and the Libidinal Economy: Towards a Critical Conception of Technology in the Bio-Based Economy

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