Posted by Yogesh Malhotra, Ph.D. on August 21, 1998 at 19:42:15:

In Reply to: The Philospohy of business. posted by John Bardos on August 21, 1998 at 15:15:13:

Dear Mr. Bardos,

Thank you for scratching the apparent superficiality of the business and management 'wisdom' to contemplate the serious, important, relevant and fundamental issues underlying such wisdom. In my thinking, such issues underpin most of our current management thinking, management theories as well as the practice of business and management. Furthermore, such fundamental issues also underlie our assumptions about the nature of work, organizations, job satisfaction and performance. Suffice to say that my experience with management practice as well as theory generating research also affirms your assertion that: "much can be learned from framing these questions in a business, or more specifically, knowledge management perspective."

Attempting to take a 'first cut,' I will try to briefly address the issues raised by you. However, in conclusion, I will leave you with a question about the 'endurance' of business as a social institution "regardless of" other social [and related personal] institutions such as marriage, religion, communities and nation states.

You have mentioned: "Creating a compelling purpose for employees and providing direction and vision is extremely important to successful companies." This statement relates to the issues of motivation and commitment as applicable to reconciliation of organizational objectives and personal goals. My experience with real corporations, as well as my field studies with major organizations, suggest that several aspects of employee motivation, employee control, employee commitment and employee performance need to be better understood. [A glimpse of some of my related work is available in the online abstract
of some recent work with organizations, information technologies and control systems.]

You have asked: "What is business?" I would prefer to reframe your question as: "What can be a model of sustainable or enduring business?"

My response is that a sustainable or enduring business is based on a model that not only emphasizes organizational performance and success, but also individual performance, success and fulfillment.

You have asked: "What is the purpose of business? Profits? Employee development? Innovation?"

My response is that an enduring and sustainable business would need to reconcile all the purposes specified by you [and perhaps, others]. An enduring and sustainable business will focus on profits for its survival… however it will place greater emphasis on employee development and innovation, both of which are necessary for generating such long-term profits.

You have asked: "What responsibilities do businesses have to society at large?"

My response is that an enduring and sustainable business can only operate in a give-and-take mode with the society-at-large, within which it exists. One may need to remember that the various components of the business' supply chain, its shareholders, its competitors, its collaborators, its employees, its managers - in other word, its key stakeholders - are the key constituents of the society-at-large within which the business exists. Hence the responsibilities [and privileges] for any such viable business model will be based on the principle of reciprocity between the business and its stakeholders.

You have asked: "How involved should businesses be in the lives of employees? Daycare? Education? Housing?" My response is that the businesses are already [and will always be] involved in the lives of employees as long as they depend upon employees. As long as the employees concerns, worries and apprehensions are material to the welfare of the employee, they will be material to the long-term health of the corporation. Again the principle of reciprocity seems to be applicable.

You have asked: "What is knowledge? (a philosophical not business definition)"

My response is that knowledge includes not only the pursuit of organizational and individual performance, success and fulfillment, but also the pursuit of truth [whatever that means to individual stakeholders], joy and beauty [borrowing from a philosophy piece written long ago by an Indian scientist and Nobel laureate].

You have asked: "What is truth?"

My response is that truth is the pursuit of performance, success and fulfillment, "and" joy and beauty. In this view, knowledge and truth seem to be very related.

You have asked: "What is the ideal society? The ideal corporation."

My response is that the ideal society has ideal corporations as its constituents…. And about the ideal corporation… I already discussed it above as the business model of the sustainable and enduring enterprise.

Hope this can get our other virtual peers motivated to offer their perspectives and counter-perspectives about the issues on the 'virtual' table.

Best wishes,

Yogesh Malhotra, Ph.D.

• @BRINT

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Follow Ups:

• Re: The Fundamental Bases of a 'Living Company' juan carrasquilla 17:52:45 10/29/98 (0)

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