Transcript slides - workshop 28

Responsible European
Management
Prof. Maddy Janssens
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
Why good companies do bad
things?
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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
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Responsible Management
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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
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Value Based Management
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Values are central to the identity of an
organization
Social Values
Individual
Values
Stakeholder
Values
Organizational
Values
Value Based Management
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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
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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
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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
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Evolution of Stakeholder Theory
 Input-output
model
 Stakeholder model
 Systems model
Notion of Dialogue
 Concluding Reflections
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Stakeholder Engagement
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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
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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
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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
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Stakeholder Model
 relationship
to society: interpenetrating
 responsibility of corporation: to respond to
stakeholders
 role of managers: relationship managers
 management style: buffering
Stakeholder Engagement
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Development
 conditions
of development
 organizational barriers of development
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Diversity in Development
 different
needs within work context
 different needs outside work context
A Place for Personal
Development
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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A Place for Personal
Development
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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
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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
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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