In April 2016, the Center for Ethics and Religious Values in Business of the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame with the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) Office convened a group of scholars and business leaders to discuss the Encyclical Laudato Si (LS) and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The articles in this special issue are from that conference; the hope is that they will provoke your thinking and lead to new action to make the world a better place.How is it that the secular United Nations and the religious Vatican have a common vision for business? At root, this common vision for business flows from a common vision for society as a whole.For business, flowing from this common vision is a common understanding of the purpose of business. Catholic social thought has always taught that the single-minded focus on making money in business can never be acceptable. The purpose of business is to create sustainable value for stakeholders and that value is not exclusively monetary value.
“In the heart of this world, the Lord of life, who loves us so much, is always present. He does not abandon us, he does not leave us alone, for he has united himself definitively to our earth, and his love constantly impels us to find new ways forward. Praise be to him!” – Pope Francis, Laudato Si’ In his second encyclical, Laudato Si’: On the Care of Our Common Home, Pope Francis draws all Christians into a dialogue with every person on the planet about our common home. We as human beings are united by the concern for our planet, and every living thing that dwells on it, especially the poorest and most vulnerable. Pope Francis’ letter joins the body of the Church’s social and moral teaching, draws on the best scientific research, providing the foundation for “the ethical and spiritual itinerary that follows.” Laudato Si’ outlines: The current state of our “common home” The Gospel message as seen through creation The human causes of the ecological crisis Ecology and the common good Pope Francis’ call to action for each of us Our Sunday Visitor has included discussion questions, making it perfect for individual or group study, leading all Catholics and Christians into a deeper understanding of the importance of this teaching.
In April 2016, the Center for Ethics and Religious Values in Business of the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame with the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) Office convened a group of scholars and business leaders to discuss the Encyclical Laudato Si (LS) and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The articles in this special issue are from that conference; the hope is that they will provoke your thinking and lead to new action to make the world a better place.How is it that the secular United Nations and the religious Vatican have a common vision for business? At root, this common vision for business flows from a common vision for society as a whole.For business, flowing from this common vision is a common understanding of the purpose of business. Catholic social thought has always taught that the single-minded focus on making money in business can never be acceptable. The purpose of business is to create sustainable value for stakeholders and that value is not exclusively monetary value.
The volume presents theological and religious research that explores women's voices and experiences in the fields of migration, culture and (eco)peacebuilding with the goal to discuss complex and dynamic questions of women's active participation and engagement in these challenges, mainly from the perspective of Central European authors. The chapters address these matters in order to rethink and search for theological and religious responses to the inequalities, prejudices, and conflicts that arise from these crises and look for new ethical paths to mitigate them through interreligious dialogue and religious (eco)peacebuilding Nadja Furlan tante is Principal Research Associate and Professor of Religious Studies at ZRS (Science and Research Centre) Koper. Maja Bjelica is Research Assistant at Institute for Philosophical Studies at ZRS (Science and Research Centre) Koper. Rebeka Ani? is a is Principal Research Associate at Institute of Sociological Sciences Ivo Pilar - Split.
Fr. Gerald F. Cavanagh, S.J. has been widely recognized as one of the founders of the field of business ethics, as well as a leader in bringing Catholic Social Teaching to bear on this academic discipline. One of his principal insights has been that business, as the most powerful agency in society, can and should be a force for positive societal change, rather than deferring that responsibility to government. This volume collects his most significant contributions to the discipline, from the mid-1960s to the early 2020s, into a single, convenient reference work. To show the development of his thought on various issues pertaining to the broad subject of business ethics, the chapters are organized into five major themes: diversity, equity, and inclusion; the dignity of work, personal values and spirituality in the workplace; ethical norms and organizational values; corporate social responsibility; and business ethics in the college curriculum.
The complete text of Laudato Si’, the landmark encyclical letter from Pope Francis that, as Time magazine reported, “rocked the international community” In the Encyclical on Climate Change and Inequality, the beloved Pope exhorts the world to combat environmental degradation and its impact on the poor. In a stirring, clarion call that is not merely aimed at Catholic readers but rather at a wide, lay audience, the Pope cites the overwhelming scientific evidence of climate change, and does not hesitate to detail how it is the result of a historic level of unequal distribution of wealth. It is, in short, as the New York Times labeled it, “An urgent call to action . . . intended to persuade followers around the world to change their behavior, in hopes of protecting a fragile planet.” With an insightful and informative introduction by Harvard professor Naomi Oreskes, famed for her bestselling Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming.
Interconnecting the concepts of sustainability, innovation and transformation, this book explains how organizations have successfully transformed themselves and wider society to foster a more sustainable future, and identifies the difficulties and challenges along the way. Part of the Principle of Responsible Management Education (PRME) series, the book promotes a strong voice for meeting sustainability challenges for transformative change in a globalized world through business education and practice. A transition to a more sustainable way of doing business can only be attained by combining technology with profound system innovations and lifestyle changes. The chapters in the book, each written by a strong and well-recognized team of researchers in the field, open up the discussion about a new partnership between sustainability, innovation, and transformation that includes the global society (big world), the biosphere (small planet), and also requires a deep mind shift. The book presents cases from business (including Ikea and Eataly) and other service networks including the Base of the Pyramid (BoP), and illustrates how these organizations have transformed themselves for a sustainable future. The research perspectives are macro (policies and legislation), meso (institutional practices) and micro (business practices and individual behavior). This book is where research meets real-world business and societal practice. The chapters are grounded in business research, specifically the interdependencies between sustainability, innovation, and transformation, which makes for a robust basis for describing, explaining, and understanding the complex challenges faced by business and society in the 21st century. The book is intended for graduate- and postgraduate-level students and executive education with implications for practitioners. Furthermore, it contributes to multidisciplinary research in the field of interaction between business and society with a view to extending the firm-centric view to encompass a broader, systemic, and dynamic understanding of business and societal transformation.
The field of business ethics continues to expand intellectually and geographically. During the past five decades, scholars have developed and deepened their inquiries into the ethics of commercial and corporate conduct. This Companion provides a novel overview of the discipline of business ethics, covering the major areas of the field as well as new and emerging topics. The eight thematic units range over an extraordinary set of subjects and include chapters on the history and pedagogy of business ethics, moral philosophy, the nature of business, responsibilities within the firm, economic institutions, the 2008 financial crisis, globalization, and business ethics in different regions of the world. Led by a well-respected editorial team, this unique volume gathers an international array of experts whose various critical approaches yield insights from areas such as public policy, economics, law, and history, in addition to business and philosophy. With its fresh analyses, wide scope, and clarity of approach, this volume will be an essential addition to library collections in business, management, and applied ethics.
The earth is the common home of humanity. It is a gift from God. Yet man’s abuse of freedom threatens that home. In his encyclical Praise Be to You (Laudato Si’), Pope Francis challenges all people to praise God for his glorious creation and to work to safeguard her. The encyclical letter takes its name from St. Francis of Assisi’s Canticle of the Creatures, which depicts creation as “a sister with whom we share our life and a beautiful mother who opens her arms to embrace us”. “This sister”, Pope Francis declares, “now cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed her”. He calls for an “integral ecology” based on what Pope St John Paul called an “ecological conversion”—a moral transformation linking the proper response to God for the gift of his creation to concern for justice, especially for the poor. He challenges people to understand ecology in terms of the right ordering of the fundamental relationships of the human person: with God, oneself, other people, and the rest of creation. Francis examines such ecological concerns as pollution, waste, and what he calls “the throwaway culture”. Climate, he insists, is a common good to be protected. He explores the proper use of natural resources and notions such as sustainability from a Judeo-Christian perspective. The loss of biodiversity due to human activities, decline in the quality of life for many people, global inequality of resources, as well as concerns over consumerism and excessive individualism also threaten the good order of creation, writes Pope Francis. While valuing technology and invnovation, he rejects efforts to repudiate the natural order, including the moral law inscribed in human nature or to rely simply on science to solve ecological problems. Moral and spiritual resources are crucial, including openness to God’s purpose for the world. Expounding the biblical tradition regarding creation and redemption in Christ, Francis stresses man’s subordination to God’s plan and the universal communion of all creation. “Dominion”, he maintains, means “responsible stewardship” rather than exploitation. He rejects treating creation as if it were “divine” and insists on the primacy of the human person in creation. He also explores the roots of the ecological crisis in man’s abuse of technology, his self-centeredness, and the rise of practical relativism. Without rejecting political changes, he implores people to change their hearts and their ways of life. Popes Benedict XVI, St John Paul II, and Blessed Paul VI addressed key themes regarding stewardship of God’s creation and justice in the world. But Pope Francis is the first to devote an entire encyclical to the subject.
