A study by Euromonitor International suggests that consumers are increasingly seeking out goods and services consistent with SET organizations: 68% of consumers say that having a positive impact on the environment is a priority for them, and 39% prefer to purchase fewer but higher quality products. The report, 2019 Megatrends: State of Play, can be downloaded here.
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People interested in SET management will welcome a new book called The 99 Percent Economy. The book is written by Paul Adler, a highly-esteemed business scholar at the University of Southern California. Adler. writes: "Capitalism is a system of production for profit, not for people or the planet. Yes, over the past decades and centuries capitalism has stimulated remarkable scientific and technological advances and has led to real improvements in the material conditions of many. But these improvements are only intermittent. They are shared unequally. And they come with escalating social and environmental costs. Government is dependant on the profitability of the business sector for its legitimacy and resources and therefore cannot adequately address those costs. That’s why we face a world in crisis. "If we are to overcome these crises and create an economy for the 99 percent, we need to change the way enterprises make decisions about investment, products, and work. These decisions need to be guided by the needs of people and planet—not just by profitability considerations. They need to be made democratically, informed by deliberations and debate not only at the enterprise level, but also at the regional, industrial, and national levels—not made by CEOs and board of directors doing the bidding of private investors.” (page 3) Adler, Paul (2019). The 99 Percent Economy: How Democratic Socialism Can Overcome the Crises of Capitalism. Oxford, UK. Oxford University Press. A 2019 study found that 52% of individual investors in the USA have adopted sustainable investing (and 67% of Millennials), even though 64% agree that there may be a financial trade-off for doing so. This willingness to trade-off financial profit for environmental good reflects a SET perspective where social and environmental concerns have priority over profit maximization. For more details see the report from Morgan Stanley. A recent article in the Journal of Business Ethics argues that "conceptualizing individuals as profit-maximizing actors neglects their freedom to reflect on the purposes and goals of their actions.” The authors call for the development of management theory and practice that is grounded in alternative normative assumptions. This is entirely consistent with SET management, which is grounded in virtue ethics that challenge the materialistic and individualistic assumptions and utilitarian ethics that characterize the dominant approach to management.
Moosmayer, D. C., Waddock, S., Wang, L., Hühn, M. P., Dierksmeier, C., & Gohl, C. (2019). Leaving the road to Abilene: A pragmatic approach to addressing the normative paradox of responsible management education. Journal of Business Ethics, 157(4), 913-932. The Business Roundtable--an organization with almost 200 executives from leading corporations like Pepsi, Apple and Walmart--signalled that the mainstream business orthodoxy is moving away from the doctrine it has followed over the past twenty years. They no longer talk about the primary duty of managers and boards of directors being to serve the financial interests of corporations' stockholders. Their new “Statement of the Purpose of a Corporation” starts with "Americans deserve an economy that allows each person to succeed through hard work and creativity and to lead a life of meaning and dignity” and goes on to describe compensating employees fairly and fostering "diversity and inclusion, dignity and respect,” "Dealing fairly and ethically with our suppliers,” and "Generating long-term value for shareholders, who provide the capital that allows companies to invest, grow and innovate. We are committed to transparency and effective engagement with shareholders. |
Bruno DyckBruno is an organizational theorist at the University of Manitoba. He loves being a management professor, scholar and teacher. Archives
April 2020
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