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A Levinasian ethics critique of the role of management and control systems by large global corporations: The General Electric/Nuovo Pignone example

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  • Macintosh, N.B.
  • Shearer, T.
  • Riccaboni, A.

Abstract

This essay extends [Shearer, 2002] Levinasian critique of the role of financial accounting with its neo-classical underpinnings in today's global market capitalism. It expands on Levinas's ethics-of-being-for-the-other by emphasizing how he developed his radical ethics by drawing on the ancient Jewish texts, an ethics that gives place of privilege to ontology rather than epistemology in contrast to much conventional Western philosophy. The essay illustrates the potential of his ethics for mounting a critique of the use of management and control systems by global corporations. It provides General Electric's takeover of the Italian company Nouvo Pignone as an instance. The systems are an essential element in the expansionary strategies of these massive enterprises that have come to dominate the world. The essay concludes that GE's instantiation of its generic management and control systems into the firms it acquires runs afoul of a Levinasian ethics. That many large global corporations employ similar systems and tactics highlights the urgent need for a broader accountability on the part of such organizations than economic efficiency and producing profits to report to capital markets. Levinas's ethics, thusly, presents a space of entry to expose and confront the economic commodification of employees scattered across the world.

Suggested Citation

  • Macintosh, N.B. & Shearer, T. & Riccaboni, A., 2009. "A Levinasian ethics critique of the role of management and control systems by large global corporations: The General Electric/Nuovo Pignone example," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 20(6), pages 751-761.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:crpeac:v:20:y:2009:i:6:p:751-761
    DOI: 10.1016/j.cpa.2008.02.004
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    Cited by:

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    3. Cameron Graham & Martin E. Persson & Vaughan S. Radcliffe & Mitchell J. Stein, 2023. "The State of Ohio’s Auditors, the Enumeration of Population, and the Project of Eugenics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 187(3), pages 565-587, October.
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    5. Carl Rhodes & Robert Westwood, 2016. "The Limits of Generosity: Lessons on Ethics, Economy, and Reciprocity in Kafka’s The Metamorphosis," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 133(2), pages 235-248, January.
    6. Jeff Everett & Constance Friesen & Dean Neu & Abu Shiraz Rahaman, 2018. "We Have Never Been Secular: Religious Identities, Duties, and Ethics in Audit Practice," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 153(4), pages 1121-1142, December.
    7. Dillard, Jesse & Roslender, Robin, 2011. "Taking pluralism seriously: Embedded moralities in management accounting and control systems," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 135-147.
    8. Martinez, Daniel E., 2011. "Beyond disciplinary enclosures: Management control in the society of control," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 200-211.
    9. Roberts, John, 2014. "Testing the limits of structuration theory in accounting research," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 25(2), pages 135-141.
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