Ulf Thoene

Knowledge Workers and Virtues in Peter Drucker’s Management Theory

The fallout of the 2008 global financial crisis and frequent disregard for labor, environmental, and social standards have instilled new vigor into the study of ethics and virtues. In the contemporary knowledge society, the issue of which virtues the modern day workforce needs to possess is of crucial significance. This study specifies the virtues laid out in the management theory of Peter Drucker (1909-2005), focusing upon the conceptual category of the knowledge worker as the primary unit of the contemporary information and innovation-based knowledge society. The idea and role of intellectual virtues are not yet fully developed in the literature, especially as those identified in this article are the source of critical and creative thinking. This intervention, therefore, identifies prudence, effectiveness, excellence, integrity, and truthfulness as the knowledge worker’s intellectual virtues, whereas practical wisdom, responsibility, cooperation, and courage are seen to constitute the knowledge worker’s moral character.

Competition Law and Policy in the Regional Context: European Union Experiences for the Pacific Alliance

This chapter aims to identify the possible challenges that the Pacific Alliance (PA) will have to face with respect to competition policies. The competition policy model of the European Union (EU), in which a single market is consolidated within a regional trade agreement, is analysed from the perspective of regional integration theory. Among the conclusions of this chapter, it is noteworthy that the PA is not only a trade integration effort, but also addresses social and political objectives. However, the Alliance is in the initial stages of developing its institutional structure and greater progress is expected that will allow it to cope with diverse regional integration issues, including in regard to competition policy. The member countries will need to adjust their socio-political and legal rules and provisions, taking account of the developmental stages of their economies.

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights and Multinational Enterprises: Towards Business and Human Rights in the Americas?

This article analyses the role of the jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) within a business and human rights framework. A qualitative data analysis of cases on multinational enterprises ( MNE s) identifies the following: that the obligations the IACtHR places upon States explicitly contemplate soft law instruments, such as the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights; and that there exist shared obligations with companies and attempts to regulate MNE conduct by establishing conditions for due diligence, such as prior consultation, benefit-sharing and reparation measures for affected communities. Therefore, IACtHR rulings may contribute to the rule of law in so far as they have normative effects on member States, but they can also prove to be ineffective given the nature of corporate conduct and certain non-enforceable responsibilities.