Responsible European Management Prof. Maddy Janssens Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium Why good companies do bad things? The senior managers consider ethical or social issues as matters for somebody else to resolve They talk to the same circle of people and information sources all the time and avoid people or organisations who disagree with them or criticise them They discourage employees from thinking about their work as whole people, from using their moral and social intelligence as well as their business intelligence They focus exclusively on financial measures of performance (Schwartz & Gibb, 1999) Structure Responsible Management Value Based Management Stakeholder Engagement A Place for Personal Development Towards Implementation Responsible Management Responsibility as members of society, organizations have an obligation to uphold social values however, digression into debates among competing moral positions Responsiveness technical capability and willingness of organizations to adjust to society as reflected in the behavior of the organization focus on specific issues Value Based Management Values - Identity - Behavior Types of Values Management of Values Value Based Management Values are central to the identity of an organization Social Values Individual Values Stakeholder Values Organizational Values Value Based Management Values exist in a hierarchical relationship to another business values social values drivers of behavior behaviors are indicators of underlying values critical events to identify values-in-use and espoused values Value Based Management Business Values profit motive: success orientation - positive cost/benefit ratio - competition orientation future and product orientation: stability predictability - control - order Value based management is for many people: value for shareholders Value Based Management Social Values f.ex. values that strengthen collaboration with stakeholders systems thinking - service - authenticity and trust wisdom of the individual - spirit of inquiry/risk taking f.ex. chemical company participation - personal growth - autonomy - variety career development - minimalization of status differences Value Based Management Social Values social mission statement “…is a democratic, ethical and innovative provider of financial services to its members. Through strong financial performance, we serve as catalyst for the self-reliance and economic well-being of our membership and the community” Value Based Management ‘Management of Values’ explicit process of identifying the type of values that drive decision making skeleton principles: guide for actions applied in a specific situation --> balance between business and social goals attention to process of defining the values: how and who? Value Based Management building a shared value set Co-creating Consulting Testing Selling Telling Degree of Active Involvement Value Based Management Concluding Reflections link between business goals with broader social goals and responsibilities behaviors and practices grounded in a specific set of values are more credible critical events are the test of value based management stakeholder dialogue: whose values have been considered? Stakeholder Engagement Evolution of Stakeholder Theory Input-output model Stakeholder model Systems model Notion of Dialogue Concluding Reflections Stakeholder Engagement Management as ‘Input-Output’ Model a inputs labor capital equipment supplies... b management control c output services products internal operations a: cost containment b: creation of needs c: goal selection and direction of work process Stakeholder Engagement Input-Output Model relationship to society: independent responsibility of corporation: to make a profit role of managers: agents of shareholders management style: defensive Stakeholder Engagement Stakeholder Model each company has its own unique set of stakeholder groups who are affected by corporate activities and can affect the corporation primary and secondary stakeholders primarily: directly linked interests secondarily: indirectly influence Stakeholder Engagement NGO’s Customers Competitors Suppliers Organization Community Unions Employees Shareholders Stakeholder Engagement Stakeholder Model relationship to society: interpenetrating responsibility of corporation: to respond to stakeholders role of managers: relationship managers management style: buffering Stakeholder Engagement Role of Managers? (Freeman, 1984) expected to serve as the internal representatives of the various stakeholder groups interaction on issues of mutual concerns interaction should be voluntary, based on cooperation, communication and negotiation difficult task of weighing and prioritising the conflicting demands and interests of various stakeholders Stakeholder Engagement Critiques balancing conflicting interests is simply not possible only attention to powerful stakeholders whose claim is then considered to be legitimate and urgent stakeholder management techniques seek to direct and control interactions with stakeholders: compliance instead of trust Stakeholder Engagement Towards Relational Conception of Stakeholder Theory emphasis on relationships themselves instead of interests of stakeholders managers are not separate from stakeholder relationships but part of it the stakeholder relationships are multiple and constitute social networks Stakeholder Engagement NGO’s Customers Competitors Suppliers Organization Community Unions Employees Shareholders Stakeholder Engagement Systems Model relationship to society: interdependent responsibility of corporation: to find ethical win-win opportunities with stakeholders role of managers: relationship builders management style: collaborative Stakeholder Engagement Role of Managers? don’t manage stakeholders’ relationships but manage the expectations of the relationship involve those stakeholders who are affected by a decision, in making that decision care for the needs of stakeholders - respect different perspectives -->evaluate decisions by the way they are made and by whom, not by their content or consequences Stakeholder Engagement Notion of Dialogue ≠ consensus dialogue: dialogue explore underlying patterns of meaning allow addressivity, responsiveness of the other parties allow the differences to co-exist dialogue other ≠ argumentation ways of communication: story telling Stakeholder Engagement Concluding Reflections focus not only on stakeholders’ interests but also on relationships themselves concern with process questions: who needs to be involved?: be concerned for the ‘silent’ stakeholders what is the process of deciding?: create an inclusive way of communication A Place for Personal Development Development conditions of development organizational barriers of development Diversity in Development different needs within work context different needs outside work context A Place for Personal Development Development as Growth of ‘Whole Person’ as employees, members of an organization as ambassadors of the organization to its customers, clients, audiences and suppliers as citizens of the wider society in which the organization exists as human beings with the need to realize their own capabilities A Place for Personal Development Development? integration of work and learning job development programs personal learning plan: personal skills liaisons bring with local organizations outsiders into the organization stimulate outside links with community A Place for Personal Development Conditions of Development exploration of new possibilities > exploitation of old certainties unlearning, experimenting with alternative environments, intentionally creating instability, variety difference as driver of development A Place for Personal Development Organizational Barriers organizations tend to assign their resources to exploitation organizational practices tend to stress sameness division of labor formalisation socialisation A Place for Personal Development Diversity of Needs within Work Context of modal employee ≠ diverse employees role of union interests content of the union agenda: discourse of equality and fairness precludes the acknowledgement of the diversity of interests process of the unions: development of arena’s, spaces in which diverse employees can identify and articulate their concerns --> focus on issues at the level of the workplace A Place for Personal Development Diversity of Needs outside Work Context development may mean: work-life balance, child care, part-time work, leave of absence, ... --> stepping ‘aside’ from the norm A Place for Personal Development Concluding Reflections Step aside from the norm development Create has different meanings spaces to identify and articulate different interests Create spaces where a variety of options can be further developed Towards Implementation Instead of a cry for tools, we should be crying out for skills skills in bringing people together, in promoting and facilitating dialogue skills in creating a safe space within which issues can be ventilated with minimum of pain skills in guiding institutional learning and collective strategizing