Post-Materialist Business presents a spiritual-based approach to business and management. It uses pluralistic view of spirituality and provides a number of inspiring cases of alternative organizations which go beyond the materialistic mindset of business and serve the common good of society, nature, and future generations.
The challenges to humanity posed by the digital future, the first detailed examination of the unprecedented form of power called "surveillance capitalism," and the quest by powerful corporations to predict and control our behavior. In this masterwork of original thinking and research, Shoshana Zuboff provides startling insights into the phenomenon that she has named surveillance capitalism. The stakes could not be higher: a global architecture of behavior modification threatens human nature in the twenty-first century just as industrial capitalism disfigured the natural world in the twentieth. Zuboff vividly brings to life the consequences as surveillance capitalism advances from Silicon Valley into every economic sector. Vast wealth and power are accumulated in ominous new "behavioral futures markets," where predictions about our behavior are bought and sold, and the production of goods and services is subordinated to a new "means of behavioral modification." The threat has shifted from a totalitarian Big Brother state to a ubiquitous digital architecture: a "Big Other" operating in the interests of surveillance capital. Here is the crucible of an unprecedented form of power marked by extreme concentrations of knowledge and free from democratic oversight. Zuboff's comprehensive and moving analysis lays bare the threats to twenty-first century society: a controlled "hive" of total connection that seduces with promises of total certainty for maximum profit -- at the expense of democracy, freedom, and our human future. With little resistance from law or society, surveillance capitalism is on the verge of dominating the social order and shaping the digital future -- if we let it.
To demonstrate the powerful links between belief systems and political and socioeconomic variables, this book draws on the World Values Surveys, a unique database that looks at the impact of mass publics on political and social life.
This volume explores the foundations of trust, and whether social and political trust have common roots. Contributions by noted scholars examine how we measure trust, the cultural and social psychological roots of trust, the foundations of political trust, and how trust concerns the law, the economy, elections, international relations, corruption, and cooperation, among myriad societal factors. The rich assortment of essays on these themes addresses questions such as: How does national identity shape trust, and how does trust form in developing countries and in new democracies? Are minority groups less trusting than the dominant group in a society? Do immigrants adapt to the trust levels of their host countries? Does group interaction build trust? Does the welfare state promote trust and, in turn, does trust lead to greater well-being and to better health outcomes? The Oxford Handbook of Social and Political Trust considers these and other questions of critical importance for current scholarly investigations of trust.
Bestselling author and psychologist, Adrian Furnham, takes a critical view of the jargon and fads in management contained in manifestos and mission statements and shows how these often obscure and mystify. He considers atmospherics, compulsory training, fundamentalist gurus, integrity tests, personality of organizations and uncertainty avoidance.
Walmart. Coca-Cola. BP. Toyota. The world economy runs on the profits of transnational corporations. Politicians need their backing. Non-profit organizations rely on their philanthropy. People look to their brands for meaning. And their power continues to rise. Can these companies, as so many are now hoping, provide the solutions to end the mounting global environmental crisis? Absolutely, the CEOs of big business are telling us: the commitment to corporate social responsibility will ensure it happens voluntarily. Peter Dauvergne challenges this claim, arguing instead that corporations are still doing far more to destroy than protect our planet. Trusting big business to lead sustainability is, he cautions, unwise — perhaps even catastrophic. Planetary sustainability will require reining in the power of big business, starting now.
The second edition of Responsible Leadership offers orienting knowledge on how to lead in a world of contested values—a world where leadership work extends beyond leaders and direct reports to a whole range of stakeholders inside and outside an organization. The new edition comes at a time where leaders face growing expectations to do better, and more, and where leadership challenges such as the ethical tragedy of climate change and global pandemics highlight the urgency of collective action. Updated and significantly extended, the second edition of this much acclaimed volume assembles leading scholars and practitioners in the field. It includes new chapters on inclusive leadership, the study of responsible leadership, the purpose of organizations, authenticity and values, virtuous leadership, irresponsible leadership, the paradoxical nature of responsible leadership, responsible leadership in context and in Asia, artistic expression to enable responsible leadership, responsible leadership measurement, and new directions for responsible leadership. This volume offers rich and functional insights into the concept and practice of responsible leadership. It will appeal to academics and practitioners alike with a wide array of perspectives grounded in pioneering scholarship and best practice.
This book discloses the spiritual dimension in business ethics and sustainability management. Spirituality is understood as a multiform search for meaning which connects people with all living beings and God or Ultimate Reality. In this sense, spirituality is a vital source in social and economic life. The volume examines the spiritual orientations to nature and business in different cultural traditions: Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Sufism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism. It studies how spirituality and ecology can contribute to transforming contemporary management theory and praxis. It discusses new leadership roles and business models that emerge for sustainability in business and shows how entrepreneurship can be inspired by nature and spirituality in a meaningful way.
This text seeks to raise the curtain on competitive pricing strategies and asserts that businesses often miss their best opportunity for providing consumers with what they want - an experience. It presents a strategy for companies to script and stage the experiences provided by their products.
. . . fascinating and stimulating book, which is both comprehensive and partial in equal degree. Peter Wells, Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning Greening the Car Industry is an innovative book in the Varieties of Capitalism tradition. Its interviews and analysis offer rich insights into why the US car industry struggles, particularly on environmental impact, compared to Japanese and German firms. John Mikler shows that regulatory institutions matter, and how they matter. For the car industry at least, more collaborative forms of capitalism show more promise. Mikler gives us a masterpiece of regulatory scholarship. John Braithwaite, The Australian National University Corporations, including those in the car industry, are increasingly keen to proclaim their green credentials. But what motivates firms to reduce the environmental impact of their products? Rather than accepting the conventional wisdom, John Mikler addresses this question in a novel way by taking a comparative institutionalist approach informed by the Varieties of Capitalism literature. Focusing on Germany, the US and Japan, the author shows that national variations in capitalist relations of production are central to explaining how the car industry tackles the issue of climate change, such variations are crucial for understanding the normative as well as material basis for firms motivations. This ground-breaking book will be of great benefit to students and academics, particularly those with an interest in comparative politics, public policy and international political economy. It may also serve as a resource for courses on environmental politics and environmental management as well as aspects of international relations and business/management. Given the book s contemporary policy relevance, it will be a valuable reference for policy practitioners with an interest in industry policy, multinational corporations, the environment, and institutional approaches to comparative politics.