James Hoopes

Managing a riot: Chester Barnard and social unrest

This paper examines a key event in the life of Chester Barnard, a “riot of the unemployed” in Trenton, New Jersey in 1935 when Barnard was director of the state Emergency Relief Administration. In a later influential lecture at Harvard, Barnard used the incident to support the ideas of the Harvard human relations group that recognition and dignity were more powerful motivators than money and fear. Contemporary newspaper accounts show that the rioters were motivated more strongly by monetary concerns than Barnard admitted. Barnard was misled by the ideology of the Harvard human relations group to underestimate the importance of power and money, an underestimation that may still be important today, given his continuing influence. That a man of Barnard’s integrity was misled by his ideology is grounds for us in our time to maintain some humility as to the extent of our managerial knowledge.

Virtuous CSR: an Islamic family business in Malaysia

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to postulate, in addition to “moral” and “strategic” considerations, a third general standard for corporate social responsibility (CSR). That third approach is what moral philosophers call “virtue ethics.” Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses a single organization case study of a Malaysian publisher to put forward the practice of virtuous CSR based on Islamic values and principles in a family business. Findings – By focussing on creating or maintaining virtuous habits in the family and the firm, the family business has avoided the equally unrealistic notions that CSR must be entirely selfless or entirely strategic to be legitimate. Virtues that foster a successful strategy such as vision and competence can be enhanced rather than hindered by virtues such as integrity and generosity. Research limitations/implications – This is a case study of a single family. Nevertheless, this paper has implications for strategy and CSR for non-family business as well becaus...

Chester Barnard: member of the “élite”?

This paper asks whether or not Chester Barnard was a member of an intellectual or managerial “elite”. While it is clear that Barnard provides great insight regarding leadership and social responsibility, it is also apparent that his views regarding, for example, race relations were, at least by our contemporary standards, unenlightened and may have conformed more with the “elite” of that time. With the stronger democratic sensibilities of our time, represented by affirmative action, etc., Barnard has to be read historically and understood in the light of his own time in order to get out of him what is still useful today. The paper does not propose to resolve the issue of whether or not he was an e´litist. The conclusion is reached, however, that the continuation of the debate regarding Barnard’s membership of an intellectual or managerial e´lite may have implications for the ongoing reading of Barnard’s work by the management students of today.