Sabine O'Hara

Discursive ethics in ecosystems valuation and environmental policy

Abstract Discursive ethics has its origin in the Frankfurt School of critical theory. As an applied ethic it is also associated with practical philosophy. In this paper discursive ethics is discussed as a conceptual and practical framework for ecosystems valuation and environmental policy. The discussion focuses on three main strengths of discursive ethics: (1) it offers an integrated process for ecosystems valuation; (2) it offers a decision-making framework for responding to uncertainty and risk and the reality of action-in-indeterminacy; (3) it offers a process for deconstructing common valuation concepts and identifying conditions for their critical reconstruction. The theoretical discussion is followed by a case study example which illustrates the usefulness of discursive ethics in identifying valuation biases hidden behind disciplinary assumptions and conceptual norms. These include cultural norms of rationality, information biases which consider “hard facts” over “soft values”, and disciplinary valuation biases which distinguish between “hard” and “soft” expert contributions. As the case study illustrates, a successful application of discursive ethics in ecosystems valuation and environmental policy demands sensitivity to such underlying biases. Beyond its policy relevance discursive ethics may also offer a framework for an extended peer discourse through which new foci in research and education can be identified.

Global Food Markets and Their Local Alternatives: A Socio-Ecological Economic Perspective

Growing globalization has changed the relationship between the economic institution ‘market’ and its social contexts. Local alternatives have developed, as some would argue, as a response to this globalization trend. This paper examines the seeming contradiction between globalization and local market developments by examining a recent model of emerging local, more socially embedded markets, namely CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture). It argues that CSAs, which directly link agricultural producers and consumers, exemplify the search for market alternatives that are re-embedded in their physical, social, and ethical context. Thereby important dimensions of market interaction such as reliance on local experts, social interaction, and spatial/temporal feedback functions can be recovered.

Weak sustainability and viable technologies

Abstract The context of the concept of weak sustainability is examined using a three-tier hierarchy of value. We argue that weak sustainability is relevant only in the context of market exchange at a particular point in time. It offers an inadequate guide to the sustainability of social institutions and of the natural world. On the other hand, Georgescu-Roegens concept of a viable technology recognizes that the integrity of the social and environmental systems surrounding market activity must be maintained if the human species is to persist through time. The concept of viability recognizes that market activity depends not only upon the sustaining functions of the environment but also upon the social sustaining functions of human institutions.

Toward a sustaining production theory

Abstract Production is commonly described as the root of wealth creation, growth and progress. Mainline production theory ascribes this wealth generating ability to a limited number of inputs transformed into equally narrowly defined goods and services. Output which is not part of the official economys market exchange, or inputs not employed in their production process remain external and unaccounted for. Many of these unaccounted for goods and inputs are provided in households, gardens, subsistence production, or ecological and biophysical systems through the ‘free’ services of women or nature. Thus an alternative view of production is suggested, one which views production itself as linked to the social and bio-physical contexts within which it takes place. This context first makes the generation of input streams, the receiving of output streams and the processing of inputs by means of fund factors (Georgescu-Roegen) possible. As production is contextualized it becomes evident that processes which sustain input generation, waste absorption and material transformation are critical to the production process. These are referred to as sustaining services. A sustaining production process is one which maintains sustaining services instead of destroying them. It is further argued that steps toward the implementation of a sustaining production concept require a move from abstraction to material concreteness. Three areas of concreteness are discussed as moving from solely monetary to physical valuation criteria, moving from methodological homogeneity to diversity, and moving from a mystified and distanced decision making process about quantity and quality of production to one of informed, participatory discourse.

Globalization: Homogenization or Newfound Diversity?

The ongoing expansion of global markets and their concomitant global rules and value systems appears to be unavoidable as international agreements and institutions like the WTO, IMF, World Bank and EU support previously unknown levels of global market liberalization and free trade. National policies and institutions are rendered increasingly powerless in the process. Is the result of the expanding global market and one of its most far reaching regional example, the European Union, a growing loss of national and regional identity and homogenization or are there renewed opportunities for smaller scale, context specific economies and diverse institutions? These are the questions this special issue seeks to examine. It does so by assessing the impact of globalization and European Integration on five Western European economies that exemplify particular social-economic types—the Anglo-Saxon model (Ireland), the Mediterranian model (Italy), the social market model (Germany and France) and the Scandinavian model (Denmark). The introductory chapter starts with a brief discussion of (1) the relevance of globalization to social economics, (2) institutional considerations of globalization pressures and ‘pressure-free’ spaces and (3) a brief summary of the five contributions to this special issue and their assessment of recent developments in individual member countries of the European Union. While the chapter concludes that the answer to the question “homogenization or diversity” is still out, it observes that much of the answers to the apparent economic efficiency challenges given by the five European economies discussed, resemble each other. The homogenization of the new global reality may, paradoxically, lie in its diverse, yet common solutions. The real challenge may thus well lie in finding ways for these specificities to persist without resorting to the aggressive defense of regional and national identities.

From production to sustainability: Considering the whole household

The recent focus on sustainability as guiding principle for economic activity has generated many, and often conflicting, definitions of sustainable economic development. Yet while the terminology may be new, the discussion is not. Rather it parallels the discussion about biases of economic measurement and valuation concepts which have led to the neglect of the domestic and subsistence contribution of female householdership relegated to the “informal sector.” This paper argues that the selective focus of economics on narrowly defined productive functions has led to the detrimental neglect of sustaining functions without which production itself would be impaired. Informed by feminist theory, three principles are identified which are essential to the conceptual framework of a sustainable production theory. They are: concretion rather than abstraction, connectedness rather than isolation, and diversity rather than homogeneity. Without deterring from the importance of gender (especially in economics), the discussion of these principles of a sustaining orientation of economics is viewed in a broader context of “mind-sets.” It is argued that to reframe the relationship between production and sustainability as compatible rather than adversarial requires a broadening of theory, inquiry, and methodology. The voices of women who have gone largely unheard in economics are essential in this refraining process.ZusammenfassungVon der Produktion zur Nachhaltigkeit: Die Betrachtung des Haushalts als Ganzes. Die neuere Betonung der Nachhaltigkeit als Leitprinzip für ökonomisches Handeln hat zu vielen — manchmal uneinheitlichen — Definitionen der nachhaltigen wirtschaftlichen Entwicklung geführt. Neu ist bei dieser Diskussion nur die terminologische Seite, die inhaltliche ist es nicht. Vielmehr gleicht sie der Diskussion über unzulÄngliche Konzepte zur ökonomischen Messung und Bewertung, die zu einer VernachlÄssigung des dem informellen Sektor zugeordneten Unterhaltsbeitrages der überwiegend weiblichen haushÄlterischen TÄtigkeit geführt hat. Der vorliegende Beitrag will zeigen, da\ die einseitige Betonung eng definierter produktiver Funktionen durch das ökonomische Denken zu einer schÄdlichen VernachlÄssigung der Unterhaltsfunktionen geführt hat, ohne die die Produktion sehr beeintrÄchtigt wÄre. Ausgehend von feministischer Theorie werden drei Prinzipien identifiziert, die für eine Theorie nachhaltiger Produktion wichtig sind: Konkretisierung statt Abstraktion, Verbundenheit statt Isolation und Verschiedenheit statt Einheitlichkeit. Wenn Produktion und Nachhaltigkeit in neuer Sichtweise nicht mehr nur als gegensÄtzlich, sondern als miteinander vereinbar gesehen werden sollen, so ist dafür eine Ausweitung der Fragestellungen der Theorie und der Methodologie notwendig. Die Stimmen der in der ökonomik weitgehend ungehörten Frauen sind für diese neue Sichtweise sehr wichtig.

Economic Theory for Environmentalists.

Chapter 1 THE NEED FOR PURCHASING/SUPPLIER QUALITY MANAGEMENT: THE MISSING LINK When Suppliers Are Not Involved The Extended Organization The Missing Link Impact of Procurement on the Bottom Line Factors Affecting Purchasing Decisions Chapter 2 OVERVIEW OF TOTAL QUALITY What Is Total Quality Total Quality as a System Chapter 3 THE TOTAL PURCHASING/SUPPLIER QUALITY MANAGEMENT MODEL The Supplier within Total Quality Management Purchasing/Supplier Quality Management System TQM vs. PSQM The Organization as a System Purchasing/Supplier Quality Management Flow Exercises Chapter 4 CUSTOMER-SUPPLIER RELATIONSHIP Customer Focus and Orientation Hierarchy of Customer Needs The Japanese Model of Customer-Supplier Relationships Exercises Chapter 5 LINKING SUPPLIERS THROUGH POLICY DEPLOYMENT Objectives of Linking The Supplier within Policy Deployment Steps in Supplier Policy Deployment Exercises Chapter 6 SUPPLIER CERTIFICATION Objectives of Supplier Certific ation Certification Paradigms The Supplier Audit Types of Certifications Chapter 7 ISO 9000 AND PURCHASING/SUPPLIER QUALITY MANAGEMENT: A VIEW TO THE FUTURE The Coming of the Global Marketplace ISO 9000 Defined Quality by Consensus The Interrelationships between Quality Assurance and ISO 9000 Getting a Feel for ISO 9000 Integration Fundamentals of the Quality Assurance Management System Getting Started with ISO 9000 Implementing ISO 9000 Obtaining ISO 9000 Certification The Driving Force behind TQM Chapter 8 SUPPLIER CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT Improvement Strategies Systematic Improvement Method Use of Quality Tools Improvement Case Study Chapter 9 SUPPLIER MEASUREMENT AND FEEDBACK Closing the Loop Facts to Consider Feedback Methods Statistical Process Control Supplier Report Card Supplier Scoring Methods Supplier Selection Chapter 10 STRATEGY FOR IMPLEMENTATION Management Commitment Establish a Design and Implementation Team PSQM Implementation Pl anning PSQM Structure PSQM Training of Internal Staff Supplier Policy Deployment Supplier Symposia Supplier and Project Selection and Planning Quality Improvement Activities Continuous Improvement Project Results and Monitoring Certification Chapter 11 CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE EXPECTATIONS Organizational Success Factors The Business Environment Today and Tomorrow Get On With It Chapter 12 CASE STUDY AND MANUAL: MICHIGAN CONSOLIDATED GAS COMPANY Background Why Change Streamlining the Procurement Process Supplier Quality Process Supplier Quality Computation Process Analyzing Percentage of Conformance Conclusion: The Road Ahead Introduction to MichCons Supplier Quality Program MichCons Quality Classification Levels Supplier Rating System Supplier Computation Process Supplier Awards