The Theory of the Firm is commonly viewed as axiomatic by business school academicians. Considerations in spanning organizational structures, their boundaries and roles, as well as business strategies all relate to the Theory of the Firm. The dominant Theory of the Firm poses that markets act perfectly to maximize the well- being of society when people act to maximize the personal utility of their individual purchases and firms act to maximize financial returns to their owners. However, burgeoning evidence and discourse across the scientific and policy communities suggests that the economic, social, and environmental consequences of accepting and applying this theory in the organization of business and society threaten the survival of the human species, among countless others. This book provides the latest thinking on alternatives to the Theory of the Firm as cornerstone of managerial decision-making. Authors explore and elucidate theories that help us understand a firm differently and suggest alternatives to the Theory of the Firm. This book will be of value to researchers, academics, practitioners, and students interested in leadership, strategic management, and the intersection of corporate interests and the well-being of the society.

Organizations are not human, but they are made up of people. Examining the organization, functioning, growing and developing and moving together as one unit, the well-being and success of that organization depends on the well-being of people that make it up. Love, in its various forms, is the energy that motivates and fuels creativity, care, innovation, progress and well-being. Traditionally, organizational structures have been set up to support compliance and command and control, which often discourages love and creates policies against love at the workplace. The result has been reduced growth, productivity and retention of businesses as well as reduced well-being for employees. This reduced connectivity between individuals has also, at a higher level, adversely affected society. Without love, people are working and performing with reduced energy, and at reduced capacity. While prior research has been focused on love at the workplace from the viewpoint of psychologists, this book explores the impact of love within organizational contexts from various viewpoints including management, psychology, and philosophy. It explores love in the organizational context by looking at how it affects meaning, purpose, well-being, motivation, faith, care, spiritual development and how the identity and well-being of each person in the organization positively affects retention and the growth and success of that organization. It will be of interest to researchers, academics, and advanced students in the fields of organizational studies, leadership, and management.

The Theory of the Firm is commonly viewed as axiomatic by business school academicians. Considerations in spanning organizational structures, their boundaries and roles, as well as business strategies all relate to the Theory of the Firm. The dominant Theory of the Firm poses that markets act perfectly to maximize the well- being of society when people act to maximize the personal utility of their individual purchases and firms act to maximize financial returns to their owners. However, burgeoning evidence and discourse across the scientific and policy communities suggests that the economic, social, and environmental consequences of accepting and applying this theory in the organization of business and society threaten the survival of the human species, among countless others. This book provides the latest thinking on alternatives to the Theory of the Firm as cornerstone of managerial decision-making. Authors explore and elucidate theories that help us understand a firm differently and suggest alternatives to the Theory of the Firm. This book will be of value to researchers, academics, practitioners, and students interested in leadership, strategic management, and the intersection of corporate interests and the well-being of the society.

This important book focuses on the role of human dignity, its protection and promotion in the context of organization and Humanistic Management. The recent phenomenon of humanism in management already has a rich body of literature and takes up many themes both theoretically, and from a practitioner perspective. Dignity and the Organization is the first book to explicitly deal with the topic of human dignity and management. The chapters address various aspects and problems from a humanistically-oriented perspective, taking up issues relevant for the contemporary management theorists and practitioners, and are concerned with organization, management and the social and cultural context. The book develops the notion of human dignity in conceptual and theoretical terms in its practical application, within the context of organizations.

What is the purpose of our economic system? What would a more life-serving economy look like? There are many books about business and society, yet very few of them question the primacy of GDP growth, profit maximization and individual utility maximization. Even developments with a humanistic touch like stakeholder participation, corporate social responsibility or corporate philanthropy serve the same goal: to foster long-term growth and profitability. Humanism in Business questions these assumptions and investigates the possibility of creating a human-centered, value-oriented society based on humanistic principles. An international team of academics and practitioners present philosophical, spiritual, economic, psychological and organizational arguments that show how humanism can be used to understand, and possibly transform, business at three different levels: the systems level, the organizational level and the individual level. This groundbreaking book will be of interest to academics, practitioners and policymakers concerned with business ethics and the relationship between business and society.

In 2008, Ashoka launched the "Changemaker Campus Initiative" which applies Ashoka's rigorous criteria to select and support universities as they develop and implement a comprehensive social entrepreneurship plan. Through the lessons learned from this network, and with input from its broader global network of those experienced in the field, Ashoka aims to set a new standard for social entrepreneurship education. Indeed, despite the rising demand, there remains a dire need for quality coursework and global teaching case studies. Social entrepreneurs - and the pressing challenges they solve - are not bound by geographic borders or a single political environment, yet there is a lack of the materials necessary to equip students with the skills and mind-set required to catalyze systemic social change. What few high-quality case studies do exist typically highlight social entrepreneurs within the United States. This cooperation with oikos within the Social Entrepreneurship Track of the annual oikos Global Case Competition is a critical vehicle for tackling that challenge. As a result of this effort, more locally relevant case studies are being written, peer-reviewed, and judged than ever before, and are able to make their way into the hands of global audiences eager to adopt them into their courses. Building social entrepreneurship skills and problem-solving abilities are best practiced and honed using real-life examples and strategic challenges - not just learning theories in a vacuum. Case studies provide this exposure and real-time training in systemic problem-solving. Through these 15 teaching cases, students learn that social entrepreneurship is about identifying root causes of problems and applying a solution that tackles the system. As study upon study has shown, the band-aid approach does not work. To effectively address a social problem, the solution must continually adapt and evolve based on market feedback about what works and what needs to change in the model. Case Studies in Social Entrepreneurship and Sustainability is the second volume resulting from the oikos Global Case Writing Competition - an annual program launched in 2003 to promote the publication of high-quality teaching cases in corporate sustainability. This book expands the collection with award-winning global cases in the rapidly growing field of social entrepreneurship and sustainability. In view of the growing importance of various sustainability trends, management schools are increasingly challenged to adapt their entrepreneurship and business curricula. Management education needs to reflect the trends and provide a broadened understanding of value creation. Sustainability is a concept that demands that organizations consider the legitimate expectations of different stakeholders in their value creation processes. At the same time, it underlines the fact that many sustainability trends offer new business opportunities that entrepreneurs will seize. As a result, value creation processes need to be reorganized in order to create economic capital while developing social capital and preserving natural capital. Indeed, entrepreneurial organizations are increasingly dealing with these challenges. The case studies in this book explore both the opportunities and pitfalls entrepreneurs - working with organizations with for-profit, hybrid and non-profit business models - face in targeting sustainability issues and how their values and core assumptions impact their business strategies. They describe new patterns of value creation, new alliances, and the challenges of dealing with existing paradigms. It is clear that new ways of doing business with a common objective of maximizing social impact are substantially shaping markets and society. This textbook of competition-winning case studies for management education in the field of social entrepreneurship and sustainability provides excellent learning opportunities, tells engaging stories, deals with recent situations, includes quotations from key actors, is thought-provoking and controversial, requires decision-making and provides clear take-aways. Online Teaching Notes to accompany each chapter are available on request with the purchase of the book.

This important book focuses on the role of human dignity, its protection and promotion in the context of organization and Humanistic Management. The recent phenomenon of humanism in management already has a rich body of literature and takes up many themes both theoretically, and from a practitioner perspective. Dignity and the Organization is the first book to explicitly deal with the topic of human dignity and management. The chapters address various aspects and problems from a humanistically-oriented perspective, taking up issues relevant for the contemporary management theorists and practitioners, and are concerned with organization, management and the social and cultural context. The book develops the notion of human dignity in conceptual and theoretical terms in its practical application, within the context of organizations.

Working Alternatives explores economic life from a humanistic and multidisciplinary perspective, with a particular eye on religions' implications in practices of work, management, supply, production, remuneration, and exchange. Its contributors draw upon historical, ethical, business, and theological conversations considering the sources of economic sustainability and justice. The essays in this book-from scholars of business, religious ethics, and history-offer readers practical understanding and analytical leverage over these pressing issues. Modern Catholic social teaching-a 125-year-old effort to apply Christian thinking about the implications of faith for social, political, and economic circumstances-provides the key springboard for these discussions. Contributors: Gerald J. Beyer, Alison Collis Greene, Kathleen Holscher, Michael Naughton, Michael Pirson, Nicholas Rademacher, Vincent Stanley, Sandra Sullivan-Dunbar, Kirsten Swinth, Sandra Waddock

What is the purpose of our economic system? What would a more life-serving economy look like? There are many books about business and society, yet very few of them question the primacy of GDP growth, profit maximization and individual utility maximization. Even developments with a humanistic touch like stakeholder participation, corporate social responsibility or corporate philanthropy serve the same goal: to foster long-term growth and profitability. Humanism in Business questions these assumptions and investigates the possibility of creating a human-centered, value-oriented society based on humanistic principles. An international team of academics and practitioners present philosophical, spiritual, economic, psychological and organizational arguments that show how humanism can be used to understand, and possibly transform, business at three different levels: the systems level, the organizational level and the individual level. This groundbreaking book will be of interest to academics, practitioners and policymakers concerned with business ethics and the relationship between business and society.

This book is an essential resource for the increasing number of facilitators who wish to help students learn about the promise and pitfalls of social enterprise. The oikos-Ashoka case competition for social entrepreneurship was conceived in 2007 as a way to help find great material and case studies in this emerging field. This fourth collection of oikos case studies is based on the winning cases from the 2010 to 2014 annual case competitions. These cases have been highly praised because they provide excellent learning opportunities, tell engaging stories, deal with recent situations, include quotations from key actors, are thought-provoking and controversial, require decision-making and provide clear take-aways. This new volume of social entrepreneurship case studies highlights cases from around the globe authored by teachers from around the globe. The selected cases span many industries and geographic contexts; nevertheless, they are connected by a shared ambition: to highlight the power of entrepreneurship to solve social problems. The cases are clustered in three different sections: Socially oriented Enterprise Cases - Health and Fair trade, Ecologically oriented social enterprises, and Corporate Social Entrepreneurship. Case Studies in Social Entrepreneurship will be an essential purchase for educators and is likely to be a widely used as a course textbook at all levels of management education. Online Teaching Notes to accompany each chapter are available on request with the purchase of the book.

Working Alternatives explores economic life from a humanistic and multidisciplinary perspective, with a particular eye on religions' implications in practices of work, management, supply, production, remuneration, and exchange. Its contributors draw upon historical, ethical, business, and theological conversations considering the sources of economic sustainability and justice. The essays in this book-from scholars of business, religious ethics, and history-offer readers practical understanding and analytical leverage over these pressing issues. Modern Catholic social teaching-a 125-year-old effort to apply Christian thinking about the implications of faith for social, political, and economic circumstances-provides the key springboard for these discussions. Contributors: Gerald J. Beyer, Alison Collis Greene, Kathleen Holscher, Michael Naughton, Michael Pirson, Nicholas Rademacher, Vincent Stanley, Sandra Sullivan-Dunbar, Kirsten Swinth, Sandra Waddock

This book is an essential resource for the increasing number of facilitators who wish to help students learn about the promise and pitfalls of social enterprise. The oikos-Ashoka case competition for social entrepreneurship was conceived in 2007 as a way to help find great material and case studies in this emerging field. This fourth collection of oikos case studies is based on the winning cases from the 2010 to 2014 annual case competitions. These cases have been highly praised because they provide excellent learning opportunities, tell engaging stories, deal with recent situations, include quotations from key actors, are thought-provoking and controversial, require decision-making and provide clear take-aways. This new volume of social entrepreneurship case studies highlights cases from around the globe authored by teachers from around the globe. The selected cases span many industries and geographic contexts; nevertheless, they are connected by a shared ambition: to highlight the power of entrepreneurship to solve social problems. The cases are clustered in three different sections: Socially oriented Enterprise Cases - Health and Fair trade, Ecologically oriented social enterprises, and Corporate Social Entrepreneurship. Case Studies in Social Entrepreneurship will be an essential purchase for educators and is likely to be a widely used as a course textbook at all levels of management education. Online Teaching Notes to accompany each chapter are available on request with the purchase of the book.

In a world facing multiple crises, our foundational institutions are failing to offer effective solutions. Drawing on the emerging consilience of knowledge, Michael Pirson debunks the fundamental yet outdated assumptions of human nature that guide twentieth-century management theory and practice - as captured in the 'economistic' paradigm - and instead provides an urgently needed conceptual and practical 'humanistic' framework, based on the protection of human dignity and the promotion of well-being. By outlining the science-based pillars of this innovative system, Pirson provides a twenty first-century model for the responsible twenty first-century leader seeking sustainable ways to organize in a world of crisis. Highlighting relevant applications for research, practice, teaching and policy, this book is ideal for graduate students and professionals seeking to develop their understanding of responsible business, business ethics and corporate responsibility.

In recent times, there is growing concern for the social, environmental, and humanitarian impact of corporations. The expansion of markets, liberalization of trade, globalization, and advancement of technology have greatly expanded the reach and impact of businesses, making the concerns even more urgent because of their sheer scale. Alongside, there have always been groups and corporations working to address these challenges, mostly on the margins. The authors take in this book the position that the best solutions to address many of the urgent problems of the world are likely to be seeded by these ideas and practices. Hence, incorporating these ideas and practices in this book intends to give a contribution to the promotion of Humanistic Management which includes key points as human dignity and societal well-being as the core concerns of management, and advocates the line of thought that people matter more than profits. The aim of the book is to collate global examples and bring them from obscurity to prominence to provide a comprehensive teaching resource for those who want to be a part of solving these problems. This book encompasses contributions of academics, consultants, practitioners, policymakers, business leaders, journalists, and entrepreneurs, which promote human dignity and societal well-being as the core concerns of management. More specifically, this book will meet the demand for pedagogical material to bring Humanistic Management values to management classrooms around the globe. The volume comprises case studies, experiential and role-play exercises and examples from the real world to educate students about management practices and organizations that impact human dignity and societal well being. Furthermore, examples of good and bad management situations across business, government, non-government organizations are provided. Also, change management processes and transformation tools that support the transition towards a humanistic leadership and management style are presented in this book. This book is for a broad audience including students and professors in graduate business schools, and practicing business executives. The goal is to inform management practice and help current and future business leaders navigate through the competitive storms unleashed by technological change.

Humanistic management agenda is to protect human dignity and promote societal well-being. The currently dominant theories prioritize economistic goals of profits and productivity at the cost of threatening sustainability. A humanistic perspective offers an alternative for purposeful organizing that serves people and the planet. This two-volume set of books offers humanistic theory and practical exercises on topics of leadership and trust in volume one and social entrepreneurship and mindfulness in volume two. Each topic is introduced with a conceptual lead chapter followed by a case-study or exercise to apply and engage by using examples.

Trust is a key enabler of cooperation, motivation, innovation and processes of transformation. However, in today's business world many organizations are highly mistrusted- they are facing a trust gap that will hinder their further organizational development. This book identifies theoretical and practical answers to the problem of how corporate boards can mitigate the current trust crisis and thus ensure sustainable organizational development. After outlining the trust problem in depth, the author presents potential inroads for trust management. Based on extensive survey data a comprehensive stakeholder trust measurement is developed. Analyzing stakeholder interviews, organizational trust hazards, and trust enablers are identified. These serve as the basis for systematic trust building. Based on these findings, an Integrated Stakeholder Trust Management Framework (ISTMAF) is proposed which: 1) allows corporate boards to measure and monitor stakeholder trust and 2) enables the board to generate decisions to restore trust. As such long-term, sustainable organizational development can be secured.

In a world facing multiple crises, our foundational institutions are failing to offer effective solutions. Drawing on the emerging consilience of knowledge, Michael Pirson debunks the fundamental yet outdated assumptions of human nature that guide twentieth-century management theory and practice - as captured in the 'economistic' paradigm - and instead provides an urgently needed conceptual and practical 'humanistic' framework, based on the protection of human dignity and the promotion of well-being. By outlining the science-based pillars of this innovative system, Pirson provides a twenty first-century model for the responsible twenty first-century leader seeking sustainable ways to organize in a world of crisis. Highlighting relevant applications for research, practice, teaching and policy, this book is ideal for graduate students and professionals seeking to develop their understanding of responsible business, business ethics and corporate responsibility.