M Painter-Morland

Philosophical assumptions undermining responsible management education

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to perform a philosophical interrogation of some assumptions that underpin management education. It offers an analysis of how these assumptions may influence the promotion the responsible management agenda within business schools. Design/methodology/approach – This paper is a theoretical exploration based on a literature review and philosophical analysis. Findings – The ontological and epistemological assumptions that underpin management education pose barriers to responsible management education. A combination of ontological and epistemological assumptions privilege an instrumental approach based on simplistic utilitarian premises. These assumptions make it difficult to engage with the long term, relational and complex nature of the ethics and sustainability concerns that are central to responsible management education. Practical implications – Understanding the assumptions that underpin management education may assist in challenging the current paradigm and rethink...

Business Ethics and Continental Philosophy

List of figures List of boxes List of contributors Foreword Acknowledgements Introduction: critical crossings Mollie Painter-Morland and Rene ten Bos 1. Agency in corporations Mollie Painter-Morland 2. Stakeholder theory David Bevan and Patricia Werhane 3. Organizational culture Hugh Willmott 4. ENRON narrative Hugh Willmott 5. Moral decision-making Mollie Painter-Morland 6. Organizational justice Carl Rhodes 7. Reward, incentive, and compensation Mollie Painter-Morland 8. Leadership Sverre Spoelstra and Rene ten Bos 9. Whistle-blowing Mollie Painter-Morland and Rene ten Bos 10. Marketing, bad faith, and responsibility Janet Borgerson 11. Corporate social responsibility Rene ten Bos and Stephen Dunne 12. Corporate responsibility standards Andreas Rasche 13. Sustainability Rene ten Bos and David Bevan 14. Globalization Rene ten Bos Glossary Name index Subject index.

Ethics in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises

What do you do to start reading ethics in small and medium sized enterprises? Searching the book that you love to read first or find an interesting book that will make you want to read? Everybody has difference with their reason of reading a book. Actuary, reading habit must be from earlier. Many people may be love to read, but not a book. Its not fault. Someone will be bored to open the thick book with small words to read. In more, this is the real condition. So do happen probably with this ethics in small and medium sized enterprises.

Gender and visionary leading: : rethinking vision with Bergson, Deleuze and Guattari

In this article, we investigate the charge that women leaders fall short when it comes to ‘vision’. We track the roots of this charge, and the effects this has on women in the workplace, back to the binary representationalist logic that underpin gender stereotypes. We challenge these representationalist stereotypes by offering a more material account of how identities come into being, drawing on the work of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari. In the last part of the article we explore an alternative understanding of ‘visionary leadership’ by drawing on Henri Bergson’s philosophy and ethics and that of Deleuze, which allows for the development of an alternative understanding of both agency and epistemology. We also rely heavily on Elizabeth Grosz’ reading of Deleuze and Bergson, and her valuable perspectives on the implications of these authors’ work for gender discourses.

Should Environmental Concern Pay Off? A Heideggerian Perspective:

Organizations often motivate their environmental efforts by arguing that ‘good ethics is good business’. Though instrumental arguments of this nature put environmental concerns firmly on the corporate agenda, it comes at a price. Such reasoning relies on age-old fact-value distinctions, from which perspective rational subjects must gather the facts on how to treat the environment as a useful object. According to this logic, means-to-an-end relationships are the primary motivation for all action. Drawing on the insights of Martin Heidegger, we show how the preoccupation with gathering facts to justify environmental initiatives on the basis of ‘efficiency’ impoverishes our thinking about what is essential to our existence. Heidegger’s thinking allows us to appreciate how our belonging to a particular ethos orientates us in the world in meaningful ways. We therefore advocate an approach to organizational environmentalism that goes beyond ‘the business case’, without appealing to abstract normative principles. This approach also provides new perspectives on what notions such as ‘ecological citizenship’ may entail.

Industry-specific CSR: analysis of 20 years of research

Purpose The purpose of this study is to analyze the literature on industry-specific corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices. Design/methodology/approach Using a multiple-keyword search, the authors identified 302 articles reporting on such practices, published in 99 different academic journals between 1995 and 2014. These articles were analyzed to map the CSR literature, identify which industries have been under greater scrutiny and distinguish trends in the most researched industries. Findings The authors’ findings indicate that the CSR studies are very unevenly distributed and that the issues studied and the methods used vary widely across industries. The authors also map this field of study and propose suggestions on where research on industry-specific CSR should go in the future. Originality/value The first extensive, systematic analysis of the industry-specific CSR literature is provided. The current research adds value to the literature by highlighting the key issues investigated, as well as those that require further inquiry.

Systemic Leadership, Gender, Organization

Painter-Morland’s earlier research into the emergence of leadership within complex adaptive systems drew heavily on the research of Collier and Esteban and Mary Uhl-Bien et al. In this paper, she takes this work one step further by rethinking gender dynamics from this systemic perspective within the context of organizational leadership. Painter-Morland reminds us that both gender, and notions of “leadership” are socially constructed, and thus subject to revision and change. Systems thinking allows us to acknowledge the multidirectional, tacit influences that play a role in the ways people “lead” in organizations. Under certain organizational conditions a relational, systemic model of leadership emerges, which allows individuals who don’t necessarily occupy positions of authority to lead in their own unique ways when the circumstances call for it.

Authentic leading as relational accountability: Facing up to the conflicting expectations of media leaders

This research is focused on understanding the ethical implications of conflicting expectations faced by leaders in the media industries. Though the “blended leadership” approach proposed by Collinson and Collinson discusses the existence of these conflicting expectations, we argue that work remains to be done on how this impacts leaders’ authenticity and accountability. Can leaders who respond to these varied demands still consider themselves authentic and accountable to a broad range of stakeholders? As our analysis of data gathered through an empirical study in Europe and the USA shows, the pursuit of profit does not always sit comfortably with the insistence on journalistic integrity, and decisiveness does not always foster openness toward experimentation. We explore the literature on authentic leadership to argue that its references to relational transparency make it difficult to deal with the “blended” nature of leadership reality. In response, we propose that relational accountability could be a more appropriate way to remain authentic despite conflicting demands.

Weaving the Embodied Fabric of Moral Imagination: Implications for Women in Business

In this chapter, the main themes emerging from Werhane’s work on women in business are discussed and interrogated. It is argued that when placed within the context of Werhane’s broader oeuvre and her own professional practice, the full potential of her ideas may be unleashed. In this regard, Werhane’s work on mental models, moral imagination and systems thinking seem particularly promising. The chapter further suggests that some of the tensions that remain in Werhane’s own work may in fact beckon towards the need to re-conceptualize gendered notions such as ‘vision’ and ‘emotion’. Some suggestions are made regarding further research that is needed to resolve some of these tensions and to further develop Werhane’s insights. In conclusion, it is suggested that Werhane’s life as public intellectual may hold some of the keys to unlock a more meaningful understanding of what ‘women’s leadership’ may mean.

Talent management: the good, the bad, and the possible

In this essay we offer a critical investigation of talent management practices (TMP), which is an increasingly influential concept in contemporary organisations. We try to show how these organisational practices could have both a negative and a positive ethical impact on those identified as ‘talent’ within organisations. A critical analysis of how talent is defined, and how this impacts on individuals’ capacities for ethical reflection, allows us to highlight the ethical ambiguity inherent in talent management. We then highlight examples of some ‘bad’ consequences of TM, and explore some ‘good’ counter-examples. To highlight what may be ‘possible’ in talent management, we propose a more constructive relationship between talent management and ethics based on two dimensions: 1) the acceptance of ambiguity and personal struggle and 2) the development of more qualitative approaches to performance that could enable a better understanding of and sensitivity towards the broader context within which organisations function.