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Critique of Managerial Reason

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  • Luigino Bruni

    (LUMSA)

Abstract

The culture conveyed by global firms becomes the perfect tool to embody and strengthen the spirit of our time. Nothing is capable of enhancing and strengthening the values of the individual and his passions as the capitalist company. This is why the words and virtues of ‘business’ are becoming the words and virtues of our social life including politics, health care, education, and so on. Merit, efficiency, competition, leadership, incentives and innovation are now the only ‘good’ words of communal life. In the absence of other safe places capable of producing a different culture and values, the virtues of companies present themselves as the only ones to be recognized and cultivated. This essay discusses virtues that, although not considered important by the current business culture, nevertheless are becoming more and more crucial for the survival and growth of organizations. In particular, work-related suffering shows that there are virtues that are not ‘buyable’. This advances a point about the necessity of welcoming vulnerability in work communities to prevent the systematic destruction of its values, creating a global culture of immunity. Conversely, such destruction will eventually lead to the dismantling of most of the world organizations.

Suggested Citation

  • Luigino Bruni, 2021. "Critique of Managerial Reason," Humanistic Management Journal, Springer, vol. 6(1), pages 5-18, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:humman:v:6:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1007_s41463-020-00100-y
    DOI: 10.1007/s41463-020-00100-y
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Bruno S. Frey, 1997. "Not Just for the Money," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 1183.
    2. McCloskey, Deirdre Nansen, 2006. "The Bourgeois Virtues," University of Chicago Press Economics Books, University of Chicago Press, number 9780226556635, September.
    3. Robert H. Frank, 2016. "Success and Luck: Good Fortune and the Myth of Meritocracy," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 10663.
    4. Luigino Bruni & Robert Sugden, 2013. "Reclaiming Virtue Ethics for Economics," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 27(4), pages 141-164, Fall.
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    Cited by:

    1. Michael Pirson & Cinzia Dessi & Michela Floris & Ernestina Giudici, 2021. "Humanistic Management: What Has Love Got to Do with it?," Humanistic Management Journal, Springer, vol. 6(1), pages 1-4, April.
    2. Harry Hummels & Patrick Nullens, 2022. "‘Other-wise’ Organizing. A Levinasian Approach to Agape in Work and Business Organisations," Humanistic Management Journal, Springer, vol. 7(2), pages 211-232, October.
    3. Maria Cristina Zaccone & Cristina Santhià & Martina Bosone, 2022. "How Hybrid Organizations Adopt Circular Economy Models to Foster Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-20, February.

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