Title:	Humanism in Economics and Business
Authors:	Domènec Melé • Martin Schlag
Keywords:	Business
Issue Date:	2015
Publisher:	Springer
Description:	The impact of globalization and technological change on job creation and social welfare is reframing the question of the fi rm and its role in society. At the same time, the notion that the fi rm’s purpose is to achieve the maximum economic effi ciency and its goal is to maximize shareholder value is being reviewed and reassessed. This combination of factors has fueled a great debate on the role of companies in market-based economies and society, and this debate is far from fi nished. A basic question underlying this debate is the notion of the person that scholars and practitioners use in business and economics. At a deeper level one can see that a simplifi ed and rather limited view of the person is at the root of dominant notions – maximizing personal utility, maximizing shareholder value, separation of economic good and personal virtue, a disconnection between personal good and common good, among others – that, implicitly or explicitly, have shaped our thinking about economics, fi nance and management. It seems increasingly clear that without a comprehensive notion of the person that respects human dignity, the development of modern capitalism is not sustainable, and effective leadership in modern companies would become an impossible task. The book on Catholic Social Teaching-based Christian Humanism that Professors Domènec Melé and Martin Schlag have edited addresses several relevant challenges. The fi rst is how to better defi ne a notion of humanism based on Christianity that could be effective in promoting a positive notion of the human person and his or her motivations, as well as the treatment of this in economics, management and leadership literature. Their proposals do not come only from a refi ned theoretical system, but combine theology, philosophy, economics and management contributions. They also offer a helpful historical perspective on the concepts proposed, in particular, the different notions around the concept of humanism. Some of the chapters included in this book do a very good job in reshaping this notion and explain why a comprehensive view of the person is a pre-condition for the respect for each individual, a better foundation for human rights and a more sustainable approach to social and economic development. They also provide a more solid bedrock for business ethics, based upon the dignity of the person and his or her rights. They take into account some interesting requirements of stakeholder theory and corporate social responsibility but go beyond these. This book also provides a fresh approach to cross-disciplinary work. A purely economic or sociological approach to some of the current challenges are not enough to understand individuals or society suffi ciently well, because there are too many missing links. There is a widely-felt perception today in social sciences that cross- disciplinary efforts are indispensable if we want to make a better case for hypotheses, theories and models of individual and social behavior, and also to better understand these phenomena in contemporary society. Melé and Schlag offer us a good portfolio of authors and approaches, with different backgrounds, whose notions and models will be most helpful in refi ning the notion of humanism and introducing it more effectively in management and leadership models and in action.
URI:	http://10.6.20.12:80/handle/123456789/53677
ISBN:	978-94-017-9704-7
Appears in Collections:	Population Studies

Items in DSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.