Matjaž Mulej

Requisitely holistic ethics planning as pre-condition for enterprise ethical behaviour

Purpose ‐ Ethical behaviour of enterprises can be attained only by planning of ethics. The purpose of this paper is to show the need for the business ethics planning, to disclose the need for the requisitely holistic planning of enterprise ethics, and to offer the concept of the requisitely holistic planning of enterprise ethics. Design/methodology/approach ‐ The research cognitions on the importance of ethical core values, enterprise culture, ethical climate and informal as well as formal measures of business ethics are discussed and argued in application of the dialectical systems theory. The various research insights are used and applied in concluding concept of requisitely holistic planning of enterprise ethics. Findings ‐ For successful implementation of the ethics program or plan, it is important that the program is internalized by all enterprise’s stakeholders. The paper shows that credibility and ethical behaviour of an enterprise can be achieved only through requisitely holistic planning of enterprise ethics. Practical implications ‐ This paper gives us the insights in the state of the importance and interconnection between ethical core values, culture and ethical climate as well as informal and formal measures of business ethics in relation to enterprise ethics implementation. The present research paper also has important practical implications since it shows the importance of the requisitely holistic planning of enterprise ethics in a sense of sustainable development of enterprises as well as enterprises’ long-term success. Originality/value ‐ The available literature does not provide for a similar research or concept of requisitely holistic planning of enterprise ethics. The paper also models the interconnection between core values, culture, climate and informal as well as formal measures of business ethics in order to understand the importance of enterprise ethics.

Enterprise ethical climate changes over life cycle stages

Purpose – Life cycle stages may see, result from, and/or cause, changes in culture and climate as the right‐brain attributes of both managers and their co‐workers. A four‐stage model is used to perceive these possible changes. Findings are tested in Slovenian enterprises. Differences per stages may be crucial and should therefore be known to managers/owners. Based on the case study research, this paper aims to suggest that enterprise awareness of importance of ethical climate can be of essential meaning for its long‐term success. The purpose of this paper is to discover differences in enterprise ethical climate in different enterprise life cycle stages and to identify their importance for active ethical climate care by the enterprises.Design/methodology/approach – In this paper, the qualitative research is applied. The research cognitions on ethical climate are discussed in application of the dialectical systems theory.Findings – The paper finds that there are some differences in enterprise ethical climat...

INCREASING THE CAPACITY OF COMPANIES TO ABSORB INVENTIONS FROM RESEARCH ORGANIZATIONS AND ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO INNOVATE 1

ABSTRACT Europe lacks competitiveness due to lack of innovation. Reasons include a lack of transfer of knowledge from research organizations to businesses European Union (EU) suggests a new approach. We find it lacks holism, although EU requires systems thinking in other documents. We suggest a dialectical system of viewpoints to make the approach requisitely holistic. Liaison offices, university-industry consortia, professional unions, and alumni associations are the four organizational forms which the EU suggests. This suggestion leaves out the issues of values, cultures, ethics, and norms. It also forgets how long periods of time have been necessary and how much time will be needed for an innovative and requisitely holistic change to occur. The feeling of interdependence, i.e., mutual need for each other, is a precondition which requires the practice of a systems approach. The government acting as a big buyer in the modern buyers market might be one way toward a solution, although not a simple one: It requires the government people to change themselves. Education of young people and their mentors for innovating may also help.

A requisitely holistic approach to marketing in terms of social well‐being

Purpose – The paper aims to answer the following questions. Is marketing requisitely holistic? Marketing serves managers, governors, owners and employees as well as customers, suppliers and other stakeholders with its activities in order to help company increase well‐being of stakeholders. What about the broader societys well‐being and future? What will follow, once the innovative‐society phase of socio‐economic development creates affluence, which diminishes human ambition to work in order to have? Social responsibility might be the next step in achieving success.Design/methodology/approach – There are new forms of marketing (e.g. societal marketing; relationship marketing; cause‐related marketing; and green marketing) that could help humans accomplishing this task, to some extent. Marketing will have to detect, elaborate and disseminate new data, along with using them for its action; the paper does not tackle the latter, but marketing taking into account the social responsibility of the company in orde...

The dialectical network thinking – a new systems theory concerned with management

Purpose – To show that holism, which has been the original aim of the systems theory as a worldview of holism rather than reductionism, is best attained by application of those versions of systems theory that result from synergies of mutually complementary systems theories as methodologies.Design/methodology/approach – Mulejs dialectical systems theory (DST) is applied as worldview and methodology of requisite holism using Mulejs dialectical systems concept.Finding – Two methodologies of co‐operative systems thinking – the network thinking and the DST – are compatible and complementary. They can be used for development of a new systems theory.Research limitations/implications – Research is limited to making a methodology helping managers attain more holism in a new synergy of two well established systems theories. Its application is expected with managers of business organizations.Practical implication – The new concept was tried in railway management successfully. But this paper is too short to contain...

Systemic decision analysis approaches

Purpose – To complete the general multi‐criteria decision‐analysis process and extend it to the process of requisitely holistic generating ideas and developing them into innovations. Also, in terms of dialectical systems thinking, to recommend the use of individual and group methods and software supporting this process.Design/methodology/approach – In 1974, Mulej invented and introduced the “Dialectical System” concept (DS), and in 1998 Mulej and Kajzer fortified DS with “the Law of Requisite Holism.” The concept was well‐verified in practice, but lacked the support of quantitative versions of systems thinking. In this paper, we eliminate that deficiency: we complete and extend Belton and Stewarts general multi‐criteria decision‐analysis process to a process of generating ideas and developing them into innovations.Findings – Methods and software supportive of creativity can help generate ideas. Multi‐criteria decision‐making (MCDM) methods can be used to complement intuition, verify ideas, and support th...

The systemic approach to the encouragement of innovativeness through employee diversity management

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present the problem of employee diversity management (EDM) as a complex problem; the dialectical systems approach to EDM; the impact of EDM on competitive advantage; the innovativeness of employees as an outcome of EDM; and authors support to EDM by combining dialectical systems approach with de Bonos six thinking hats.Design/methodology/approach – The paper undertakes a critical literature review and a methodical evaluation of current knowledge on topics related directly and indirectly to EDM and systems theory.Findings – Findings suggest that the organizations that manage employee diversity effectively may gain a competitive advantage. An important outcome of a good EDM is increased innovativeness of employees. Effective EDM depends on systems thinking essentially. Hence, the dialectical system approach to EDM is very suitable as it supports interdisciplinary cooperation very well. Our new combination of the dialectical systems approach with De Bonos six t...

The complexities of business school alignment with the emerging globalisation of business education

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate key implications of globalisation for business schools, and to put structural alignment of academic structures with the Bologna Declaration in a broader strategic alignment with the needs of a knowledge‐driven society and a socially sustainable development.Design/methodology/approach – The analysis uses systems theory for analysing dynamic change in society and a synthesis of its influences on business education, as we see the Bologna Process is neither conceived nor implemented with sufficient care for holism in the European effort to become an innovative society.Findings – Business schools should extend their transformation effort beyond the Bologna Process and align their strategic model of operation with societal needs by integrating social requirements into their strategic framework.Research limitations/implications – Research focuses on key external developments in business education at a transnational level. Future research should focus on the expl...

Soft-systems approaches to knowledge-cum-values management as innovation drivers

Purpose – Respecting the growing importance of interdependence of knowledge, values and social responsibility, the purpose of this paper is to introduce the concept of knowledge-cum-values management and to show how some soft systems approaches can support interdependence of knowledge and human values resulting in socially responsible innovative behavior, hence in success. Design/methodology/approach – The selected soft systems approaches are used to double-check the usefulness of the requisitely holistic approach to knowledge-cum-values management and innovation. The applied methodology for qualitative analysis is the Dialectical Systems Theory. Findings – One-sidedness, unlike the requisite holism, causes oversights and hence disables innovations as a new users’ benefit. Requisitely holistic knowledge-cum-values management prevents one-sidedness and therefore many oversights; hence it is a valuable driver of innovation. It is supported by social responsibility (exposing the systemic behavior by suggesti...

Multi‐criteria decision making in creative problem solving

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present the adapted model per phases of the creative problem solving (CPS) process, where multi‐criteria decision making (MCDM) methods are used in the decision‐making phase. Also, to adapt and complete the steps of the six‐question technique, in order to establish the criterias importance.Design/methodology/approach – The framework procedure of MCDM, together with the Dialectical Systems Theorys guidelines when solving complex problems has already been introduced. The procedure was well‐verified in practice, but lacked the support of creative qualitative techniques in defining problems, and in generating and choosing alternatives. To eliminate this deficiency, in terms of prescriptive approach, the authors adapted the phases of the CPS process, where MCDM methods are used when choosing alternatives, and completed the steps of the six‐question technique to establish the criteria weights. The discrete Choquet integral was used to consider interactions among crite...