In his Encyclical Letter Caritas in Veritate Pope Benedict XVI proposed a new humanistic synthesis to realign the economy with its social purpose. The aim of this book is to interpret, comment and develop aspects of the Encyclical Letter which are significant for economic and business activity and contribute to humanistic management.

This book offers different perspectives on Humanism as developed by Catholic Social Teaching, with a particular focus on its relevance in economics and business. The work is composed of three sections, covering what is meant by Christian Humanism, how it links with economic activity, and its practical relevance in the business world of today. It reviews the historical development of Christian Humanism and discusses the arguments which justify it in the current cultural context and how it contributes to human development. The book argues that the current recognition of human dignity and the existence of innate human rights are both ultimately rooted in Christian Humanism. It sets out the importance of the concept for economic activities, and how Christian Humanism can serve as a metaphysical foundation and ethical basis for a social market economy. Applying Christian Humanism to business leads to the centrality of the person in organizations and to seeing the company as a community of persons working together for the common good. Three thought-provoking case studies illustrate the wide-reaching positive impacts of applying Christian Humanism in the organization.

Spirituality and gift are notions that are en vogue. Topics such as spirituality at the workplace, spirituality management, spirituality in leadership, organizational spirituality and other related topics are trending in management literature. The "logic of gift" is also appearing more frequently, especially in attempts to rethink the way our economy works in order to include the marginalized. The expression "logic of gift" was introduced into official Catholic social teaching by Pope Benedict XVI, who presented it in association with the principle of gratuitousness, which in turn is an expression of fraternity. However, before Caritas in Veritate and ever since Marcel Mauss's groundbreaking work The Gift, the importance of gift for human relationships and for the cohesion of society had been increasingly recognized. Alain Caille and Jacques T. Godbout further fleshed out the implication of gift for contemporary society in the context of secular social sciences, striving to overcome utilitarianism. It was the "civil economy" movement, however, that exercised greatest influence on Benedict XVI's encyclical Caritas in Veritate. This present volume reflects on the general scope of these notions for business and society. This is done by structuring the book in two parts, each dedicated to one of the two concepts. Each part has two general chapters and two that apply the notions to business and to business education. The authors are a mix of well-known emeritus professors and younger talented emerging scholars. We have also been careful to combine European with American authors. A Catholic Spirituality for Business: The Logic of Gift does not seek to provide a definitive answer to all social challenges, but to make a contribution to a better understanding of Christian spirituality and gift in connection with business organizations. The authors in this book are convinced that markets can be ethical and social, that moral change towards ethical capitalism is possible.

This comprehensive textbook, packed with international cases, places individual human action at the heart of ethical business, arguing that business ethics guides human excellence in businesses. With its unique person-centred approach and student-centred pedagogy, this book will help students to discover and frame ethical issues in business, allowing them to gain an understanding of the role of ethical values and moral character in leadership, reason about ethical dilemmas, and reflect on how to improve business and organizational conditions from an ethical perspective. With international and up-to-date case studies drawn from a wide range of business contexts, this book helps students to apply the foundations and principles of business ethics to real world situations. With a strong theoretical unpinning that supports positive practical action, this is an ideal textbook for Business Ethics students at undergraduate, postgraduate and MBA level. New to this Edition: - Thoroughly updated throughout - All new case studies - Increased coverage of: immigration; climate change; social networking; organizational culture; transnational corporations; ecological issues; environmental, social and corporate governance - Increased international coverage, in particular of Asia, the Middle East and Africa - A new companion website with instructor and student resources Accompanying online resources for this title can be found at bloomsburyonlineresources.com/business-ethics-in-action. These resources are designed to support teaching and learning when using this textbook and are available at no extra cost.