Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gxg78 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T04:40:19.535Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Human flourishing as a foundation for a new sustainability oriented business school curriculum: Open questions and possible answers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2015

Bernard McKenna
Affiliation:
The University of Queensland Business School, St Lucia, QLD, Australia
Roberto Biloslavo
Affiliation:
Faculty of Management, University of Primorska, Koper, Slovenia

Abstract

Because ‘doing business’ significantly contributes to altering the Earth's atmosphere and depleting limited natural resources, business education should be re-oriented so that global sustainability is the core and economic sustainability a subset. The neo-Aristotelian foundation of this paper proposes eudaimonia (human flourishing) as a teleology, and divides human activity, particularly learning into technē (practical utilitarian skills) and phronesis (experience, insight, and intuition). By developing intellectual, affective, and moral virtues, business students can attain a meta-virtue of phronesis, which provides a potential capacity to deal with uncertainty, mutability, and duality of human life and development. The principles of social practice wisdom provide the basis of a proposed sustainability curriculum.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Antonacopoulou, E. (2010). Making the business school more ‘critical’: Reflexive critique based on phronesis as a foundation for impact. British Journal of Management, 21, S6S25.Google Scholar
Aristotle. (1976). The Nicomachean ethics (abbreviated as N.E.). (Thomson, J., Trans.). Harmondsworth: Penguin.Google Scholar
Bakhtin, M. (1994). From MM Bakhtin, The dialogic imagination. In Morris, P. (Ed.), The Bakhtin reader: Selected writings of Bakhtin, Medvedev, Voloshinov (pp. 7480). London: Edward Arnold.Google Scholar
Baltes, P., & Staudinger, U. (2000). Wisdom: A metaheuristic (pragmatic) to orchestrate mind and virtue toward excellence. American Psychologist, 55(1), 122136.Google Scholar
Beck, U. (2001). Living your own life in a runaway world: Individualisation, globalisation and politics. In Hutton, W. & Giddens, A. (Eds.), On the edge: Living with global capitalism (pp. 164174). London: Vintage.Google Scholar
Berman, M. (1981). The re-enchantment of the world. San Francisco: Cornell University Press,Google Scholar
Beyer, B. (1985). Critical thinking: What is it? Social Education, 49(4), 270276.Google Scholar
Bonnett, M. (2002). Education for sustainability as a frame of mind. Environmental Education Research, 8(1), 920.Google Scholar
Bradbury, H. (2003). Sustaining inner and outer worlds: A whole-systems approach to developing sustainable business practices in management. Journal of Management Education, 27(2), 172187.Google Scholar
Bragues, G. (2006). Seek the good life, not money: The Aristotelian approach to business ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 67(4), 341357.Google Scholar
Braun, N. (2004). Critical thinking in the business curriculum. Journal of Education for Business, 79(4), 232236.Google Scholar
Brown, L. (2009). Plan B 4.0: Mobilizing to civilization. New York: WW. Norton & Co.Google Scholar
Cadez, S., & Czerny, B. (2010). Carbon management strategies in manufacturing companies: An exploratory note. Journal for East European Management Studies, 15, 348360.Google Scholar
Clark, B., & Foster, J. (2001). William Stanley Jevons and the question of coal: An introduction to Jevons's ‘of the economy fuel’. Organization & Environment, 14(1), 9398.Google Scholar
Clegg, B. (2009). Eco-logic: Cutting through the Greenwash: Truth, lies and saving the planet. London: Eden Project.Google Scholar
Daly, H. (1991). Steady-state economics. Washington, DC: Island Press.Google Scholar
Delanty, G. (2001). Challenging knowledge. The university in the knowledge society. Buckingham, UK: The Society for Research into Higher Education & Open University Press.Google Scholar
Diener, E., & Biswas-Diener, R. (2002). Will money increase subjective well-being? Social Indicators Research, 57(2), 119169.Google Scholar
Doppelt, B. (2003). Leading change toward sustainability: A change management guide for business, government and civil society. Sheffield, UK: Greenleaf.Google Scholar
Dunne, J. (1997). Back to the rough ground: Practical judgement and the lure of technique. Paris: University of Notre Dame Press.Google Scholar
Ehrenfeld, J. (2004). Searching for sustainability: No quick fix. Reflections: The SoL Journal, 5(8), 113.Google Scholar
Epstein, M. (2008). Making sustainability work. Sheffield, UK: Greenleaf.Google Scholar
Flynn, G. (2008). The virtuous manager: A vision for leadership in business. Journal of Business Ethics, 78(3), 359372.Google Scholar
Flyvbjerg, B. (2006). Making organization research matter: Power, values and phronesis. In Clegg, S. R., Hardy, C., Lawrence, T. B., & Nord, W. R. (Eds.), The Sage handbook of organization studies (2nd ed., pp. 370387). London and Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Forum for the Future. (2006). About us. Accessed 09 9, 2009, from http://www.forum-forthefuture.org.uk/aboutus/sd_page170.aspxGoogle Scholar
Freeman, E. (2007). Is teaching for justice undemocratic? Harvard Education Review, 77(4), 442474.Google Scholar
Friedman, T. (2008). Hot, flat, and crowded: Why the world needs a green revolution – And how we can renew our global future. Camberwell, VIC: Allen Lane/Penguin.Google Scholar
Froud, J., Johal, S., Leaver, A., & Williams, K. (2006). Financialization and strategy. Narrative and numbers. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Fukami, C. (2007). Can wisdom be taught? In Kessler, E. H. & Bailey, J. R. (Eds.), Handbook of organizational and managerial wisdom (pp. 459473). London and Los Angeles: Sage.Google Scholar
Gare, A. (1998). MacIntyre, narratives, and environmental ethics. Environmental Ethics, 20(1), 322.Google Scholar
Ghoshal, S. (2005). Bad management theories are destroying good management practices. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 4(1), 7591.Google Scholar
Giacalone, R., & Thompson, K. (2006). Business ethics and social responsibility education: Shifting the worldview. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 5(3), 266277.Google Scholar
Gini, A. (2006). Why it's hard to be good. New York and London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Griffin, R. (1976). Worries about values clarification. The Phi Delta Kappan, 53(3), 194200.Google Scholar
Griffiths, M., & Lucas, J. (1996). Ethical economics. London and Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Hadreas, P. (2002). Aristotle on the vices and virtue of wealth. Journal of Business Ethics, 39(4), 361376.Google Scholar
Hall, P. A., & Soskice, D. (2001). An introduction to varieties of capitalism. In Hall, P. A. & Soskice, D. (Eds.), Varieties of capitalism: The institutional advantages of comparative advantage (pp. 170). Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Hansen, J., Sato, M., Kharecha, P., Beerling, D., Berner, R., Masson-Delmotte, V., et al. (2008). Target atmospheric CO2: Where should humanity aim? The Open Atmospheric Science Journal, 2, 217231.Google Scholar
Harmin, M. (1979). A review of values clarification. The Phi Kappa Phi Journal, 69(Winter), 2326.Google Scholar
Haugh, H., & Talwar, A. (2010). How do corporations embed sustainability across the organization? Academy of Management Learning & Education, 9(3), 384396.Google Scholar
Haukioja, T. (2007). Sustainable development and economic growth in the market economy. Retrieved 12 5, 2010, from http://info.tse.fi/julkaisut/vk/Ae6_2007.pdfGoogle Scholar
Hawken, P., Lovins, A., & Lovins, L. (1999). Natural capitalism. New York: Little Brown.Google Scholar
Heselink, F., & Goldstein, W. (2000). The role of IUCN – the world conservation union – in shaping education for sustainability. In Wheeler, K. A. & Bijur, A. P. (Eds.), Education for a sustainable future: A paradigm of hope for the 21st century (pp. 123141). New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum.Google Scholar
Hill, S., Wilson, S., & Watson, K. (2004). Learning ecology – A new approach to learning and transforming ecological consciousness: Experiences from social ecology in Australia. In O'Sullivan, E. & Taylor, M. (Eds.), Learning towards ecological consciousness: Selected transformative practices (pp. 4764). New York: Palgrave Press.Google Scholar
Hopper, P. (2003). Rebuilding communities in an age of individualism. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate.Google Scholar
Human Impact Report on Climate Change – The Anatomy of a Silent Crisis. (2009). Retrieved September 15, 2010, from http://www.ghf-geneva.org/portals/0/pdfs/human_impact_report.pdfGoogle Scholar
Hutton, B., & Cox, D. (2010). Value creation: The promise of sustainable development. In O'Toole, J. & Mayer, D. (Eds.), Good business: Exercising effective and ethical leadership (pp. 130144). New York and London: Routledge.Google Scholar
International Union for Conservation and Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and World Wildlife Fund (WWF). (1980). World conservation strategy. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN.Google Scholar
International Union for Conservation and Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and World Wildlife Fund (WWF). (1991). Caring for the earth: A strategy for sustainable living. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN.Google Scholar
IPCC. (2007). Climate change 2007: Impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Jackson, T. (2009). Prosperity without growth: Economics for a finite planet. London: Earthscan.Google Scholar
Jacobs, J. (2000). The nature of economies. New York: The Modern Library (Random House).Google Scholar
Katsioloudes, M., & Tischio, V. (2001). Critical thinking in nonpro?t management education. Human Systems Management, 20, 4757.Google Scholar
Kearins, K., & Springett, D. (2003). Educating for sustainability: Developing critical skills. Journal of Management Education, 27(2), 188204.Google Scholar
Kirschenbaum, H., Harmin, M., Howe, L., & Simon, S. (1977). In defense of values clarification. The Phi Delta Kappan, 58(10), 743746.Google Scholar
Landorf, H., Doscher, S., & Rocco, T. (2008). Education for sustainable human development: Towards a definition. Theory and Research in Education, 6(2), 221236.Google Scholar
Lang, J., Thomas, I., & Wilson, A. (2006). Education for sustainability in Australian universities: Where is the action? Australian Journal for Environmental Education, 22(2), 4558.Google Scholar
Lawn, P. (2000). Towards sustainable development: An ecological approach. New York: Lewis.Google Scholar
Laszlo, C. (2008). Sustainable value. Stanford, CA: Stanford Business Books.Google Scholar
Levi, P. (1947/2000). If this is a man. London: Folio Society.Google Scholar
Levinas, E. (1991). Otherwise than being or beyond essence. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic.Google Scholar
McDonough, W., & Braungart, M. (2002). Cradle to cradle: Remaking the way we make things. New York: North Point Press.Google Scholar
McKenna, B., & Rooney, D. (2008). Wise leadership and the capacity for ontological acuity. Management Communication Quarterly, 21(4), 537546.Google Scholar
McKeown, R. (2002). Education for sustainable development toolkit. Portland, OR: Portland State University Graduate School of Education.Google Scholar
McMillin, J., & Dyball, R. (2009). Developing a whole-of-university approach to educating for sustainability: Linking curriculum, research and sustainable campus operations. Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, 3(1), 5564.Google Scholar
Moberg, D. (2008). Mentoring and practical wisdom: Are mentors wiser or just more politically skilled? Journal of Business Ethics, 83(4), 835843.Google Scholar
Napier, N., Harvey, M., & Usui, K. (2008). Management education in emerging economies: The impossible dream? Journal of Management Education, 32(6), 792819.Google Scholar
Noel, J. (1999). On the varieties of phronesis. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 31(3), 273289.Google Scholar
Nussbaum, M. (1994). The therapy of desire: Theory and practice in Hellenistic ethics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Nussbaum, M. (1997). Cultivating humanity: A classical defence of reform in liberal education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Nyberg, D. (2008). The morality of everyday activities: Not the right, but the good thing to do. Journal of Business Ethics, 81(3), 587598.Google Scholar
O'Connor, D., & Yballe, L. (2007). Maslow revisited: Constructing a road map of human nature. Journal of Management Education, 31(6), 738756.Google Scholar
Onwuegbuzie, A., Witcher, A., Collins, K., Filer, J., & Moore, C. (2007). Students' perceptions of characteristics of effective college teachers: A validity study of a teaching evaluation form using a mixed-methods analysis. American Educational Research Journal, 44(1), 113160.Google Scholar
Patton, M. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Prior, W. (2001). Eudaimonism and virtue. The Journal of Value Inquiry, 35(3), 325342.Google Scholar
Pronk, J., & ul Haq, M. (1992). Sustainable development: From concept to action. The Hague report. New York: United Nations Development Program.Google Scholar
Rands, G., Ribbens, R., Casagrande, D., & McIlvaine-Newsad, H. (2007). Envisioning an ecologically sustainable society: An ideal type and an application. In Sharma, S., Starik, M., & Husted, B. (Eds.), Organizations and the sustainability mosaic (pp. 2259). Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar.Google Scholar
Raths, L., Harmin, M., & Simon, S. (1966). Values and teaching. Columbus, OH: Charles E. Merrill.Google Scholar
Rittel, H., & Webber, M. (1984). Dilemmas in a general theory of planning. In Cross, N. (Ed.), Developments in design methodology (pp. 135144). Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Robèrt, K.-H. (1991). Educating a nation: The natural step. In Context, 28, 1015.Google Scholar
Robèrt, K.-H., Schmidt-Bleek, B., Aloisi de Larderel, J., Basile, G., Jansen, J. L., Kuehr, R., et al. (2002). Strategic sustainable development - selection, design and synergy of applied tools. Journal of Cleaner Production, 10(3), 197214.Google Scholar
Roca, E. (2008). Introducing practical wisdom in business schools. Journal of Business Ethics, 82(3), 607620.Google Scholar
Rogers, M. (1994). Learning about global futures: An exploration of learning processes and changes in adults. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.Google Scholar
Rooney, D., McKenna, B., & Liesch, P. (2010). Managing wisdom in the knowledge economy. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Rowe, D. (2007). Education for a sustainable future. Science & Society, 317(5836), 323324.Google Scholar
Sahakian, W., & Sahakian, M. (1966). The ideas of great philosophers. New York: Barnes and Noble Inc.Google Scholar
Savory, A., & Butterfield, J. (1999). Holistic management: A new framework for decision-making. Washington, DC: Island Press.Google Scholar
Scott, W., & Gough, S. (2003). Sustainable development and learning: Framing the issues. London: Routledge Falmer.Google Scholar
Sen, A. (1999). Development as freedom. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Senge, P. M. (1990). The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization. London: Random House.Google Scholar
Sleeter, C., & McLaren, P. (1995). Multicultural education, critical pedagogy and the politics of difference. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.Google Scholar
Smith, W., & Tushman, M. (2005). Managing strategic contradictions: A top management model for managing innovation streams. Organization Science, 16(5), 522536.Google Scholar
Snow, N. (2008). Virtue and flourishing. Journal of Social Philosophy, 39(2), 225245.Google Scholar
Starkey, K., Hatchuel, A., & Tempest, S. (2004). Rethinking the business school. Journal of Management Studies, 41(8), 15211531.Google Scholar
Steiner, J.-F. (1967). Treblinka. New York: Simon and Schuster.Google Scholar
Sterling, S. (2003). Whole systems thinking as a basis for paradigm change in education: Explorations in the context of sustainability. PhD Thesis. University of Bath, Bath, UK.Google Scholar
Stern, N. (2006). The Stern review on the economics of climate change. Chancellor of the Exchequer (Ed). London: Office of Climate Change.Google Scholar
Sternberg, R. (2001). Why schools should teach for wisdom: The balance theory of wisdom in educational settings. Educational Psychologist, 36(4), 227245.Google Scholar
Sternberg, R. (2003). WICS: A model of leadership in organizations. Academy of Management Learning and Education, 2(4), 386401.Google Scholar
Stewart, J. (1975). Clarifying values clarification: A critique. The Phi Delta Kappan, 56(10), 684688.Google Scholar
Thomas, I. (2004). Sustainability in tertiary curricula: What is stopping it happening? International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 5(1), 3347.Google Scholar
Thomas, J., & Benn, S. (2009). Education about and for sustainability in Australian business schools stage 3. A report prepared by the Australian research Institute in Education for Sustainability for the Australian Government Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. Retrieved 09 15, 2010, from http://www.aries.mq.edu.au/pdf/austbusinessschools3.pdfGoogle Scholar
Thurston, E. (2000). Enabling systems thinking in the ‘mesonic millennium’: The need for systemic methodologies for conceptual learning in undergraduate management education. Journal of Management Education, 24(1), 1031.Google Scholar
Tregidga, H., & Milne, M. (2006). From sustainable management to sustainable development: A longitudinal analysis of a leading New Zealand environmental reporter. Business Strategy and the Environment, 15, 219241.Google Scholar
UNESCO. (2002). Education for sustainability, from Rio to Johannesburg: Lessons learnt from a decade of commitment. Paris: UNESCO.Google Scholar
Vare, P., & Scott, W. (2007). Learning for a change: Exploring the relationship between education and sustainable development. Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, 1(2), 191198.Google Scholar
Waddock, S. (2007). Leadership integrity in a fractured knowledge world. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 6(4), 543557.Google Scholar
Warburton, K. (2003). Deep learning and education for sustainability. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 4(1), 4456.Google Scholar
Whitley, R. (1999). Divergent capitalisms: The social structuring and change of business systems. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Willard, B. (2004). Teaching sustainability in business schools: Why, what and how? In Galea, C. (Ed.), Teaching business sustainability: From theory to practice (pp. 268281). Suffolk, UK: Greenleaf.Google Scholar
Wilson, E. (2002). The future of life. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.Google Scholar
Wirtenberg, J., Russell, W., & Lipsky, D. (2009). The sustainable enterprise fieldbook. New York: The American Management Association.Google Scholar
World Commission for Environment and Development [WCED]. (1987). Our common future. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Wright, T. (2002). Definitions and frameworks for environmental sustainability in higher education. Higher Education Policy, 15, 105120.Google Scholar
Zaloom, C. (2009). The city as value locus: Markets, technologies, and the problem of worth. In Bender, T. & Farias, I. (Eds.), Urban assemblages (pp. 251267). New York: Routledge.Google Scholar