Hello Everybody,
We wanted to let you know about an exciting ALL ACADEMY Symposium on alternative
objective functions for business.
Green Management: Do We Need New Objective Functions to Manage Sustainably?
The symposium will feature Anant Sundaram (Dartmouth,Tuck School of Business),
Andrew Wicks, (University of Virginia, Darden), Wayne Norman& Chris
MacDonald(Duke University), and Mark Milstein (Cornell University). We will
discuss if and how the purpose of management needs to be rethought to address
the current challenges.
Everyone interested is cordially invited to join us on Sunday August 09, 2009
from 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM in the Hyatt Regency Chicago, Acapulco.
Looking forward to discussing with you! (Below is a short abstract of the
symposium).
For the Humanistic Management Network (www.humanetwork.org)
Michael Pirson
PS: If you are interested in rethinking current management approaches you might
also want to join us for the Humanistic Management Caucus on Monday, August 10
from 4:45pm- 6:15pm in the Hyatt Regency, Skyway 283.
Abstract:
The debate about which central tenet business should follow in order to fulfill
its role in society has been raging for more than 4 decades. Milton Friedman
famously opined that the business of business was business and shareholder
value maximization has dominated as corporate organizing principles ever since.
Critics argue that stakeholder concerns need to be taken into account when
organizing a firm. Independent of their respective validity, both stances are
tested by the current environmental crisis, which raises the fundamental
question of the corporate objective function yet again. We have to ask what is
a practical objective function for business dealing with the sustainability
challenge?
In this symposium we will examine the consequences of the environmental crisis
for business and its organizing principles. Proponents of various objective
functions will debate whether and how sustainable wealth (or even sustainable
well being) can be created within their preferred organizing principle.
In a first section, we will have proponents of shareholder value maximization
(Anant Sundaram) examine whether and how managerial conduct needs to adapt to
meet the sustainability requirements. In a second section, proponents of
stakeholder value maximization (Andrew Wicks) will lay out the consequences of
the environmental crisis for stakeholder value oriented managers. In a third
section the most prominent alternative objective function "the triple bottom
line" will be discussed (Wayne Norman& Chris MacDonald).
The panel will be followed by Mark Milstein who will summarize the key points
and criticize the various upsides and downsides of each perspective in terms of
meeting the sustainability challenge. Afterwards the discussion will be opened
to the audience.
This symposium aims at providing a wide perspective on the role of business when
meeting the environmental sustainability challenge. The organizers therefore
hope to provide crucial insight in the change processes that need to be
implemented going forward.
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Michael Pirson, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Business,
Fordham University, New York, NY, 10023
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Lecturer, Harvard Extension School
Research Fellow, Psychology Department, GSAS
Harvard University
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Co-founder Humanistic Management Network,
www.humanetwork.org
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