Rethinking Purpose of Business - (Catholic Social Tradition) by S A Cortright & Michael J Naughton (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

Rethinking the Purpose of Business challenges reigning shareholder and stakeholder management theories using philosophical and theological dimensions of the Catholic social tradition. In this useful book, the contributors, including management theorists, moral theologians, economists, ethicists, and attorneys, debate complicated issues such as the ethics of profit seeking, equity and efficiency in the firm, the shareholder value principle, social ethics of corporate management, the principle of subsidiarity, and modern contract theory.

While the contributors to this thought-provoking volume share a respect for the power of markets, they also assign value to community, common goods, and personal virtue. Essays combine organizational and management theory with philosophical and theological accounts of human purpose. A central argument of this collection is that the tradition of Catholic social thought provides principles that enable fruitful conversations across disciplines regarding the purpose of business and economic activity.

Contributors Michael J. Naughton, Jean-Yves Calvez, Helen J. Alford, O.P., Charles Clark, S. A. Cortright, and Ernest Pierucci discuss the human implications of current shareholder and stakeholder theories. Robert Kennedy, James Gordley, and Dennis McCann assess the communitarian and personal principles of traditional Catholic social teaching as they relate to organizational and managerial theories. Peter Koslowski, Domènec Melé, Lee Tavis, and Timothy Fort consider how Catholic social principles ought to reshape our understanding of the firm. Jeff Gates, James Murphy, and David Pyke consider how concrete practices in ownership and job design should be affected.

Review Quotes

"...a selection of impressive and insightful essays by erudite authors concerning business management theories that remain in harmony with social traditions of Catholicism...Rethinking the Purpose of Business is thoughtful and thought-provoking reading which is especially commended to anyone seeking to balance the requirements of faith with the demands of commerce." --The Midwest Book Review

"An earnest collection of essays on what Catholic social teaching has to say about business and corporations and our role in them." --Commonweal

"At this time in America's history, when business scandals of unimaginable proportions make regular headlines, a volume like this can serve as a starting point for changing the way business is taught in our colleges and universities." --Research News and Opportunities in Science and Theology

"The main benefit of this book is that it shows how widespread the interest is among scholars and businesspeople to use the categories of Catholic social thought to understand business activity." --Markets & Morality

"This is a worthwhile book and its contents ought to cause a more intense discussion of Catholic social doctrine among Catholics and others." --New Oxford Review

About the Author

S. A. Cortright is associate professor of philosophy and tutor, Integral Curriculum of Liberal Arts, Saint Mary's College of California, where he also serves as director of the John F. Henning Institute.

Michael J. Naughton is director of the John A. Ryan Institute for Catholic Social Thought at the Center for Catholic Studies, St. Thomas University, St. Paul, Minnesota, as well as associate professor with joint appointments in the Department of Theology and the Graduate School of Business. He and Helen J. Alford, O.P. are co-authors of Managing as if Faith Mattered, also published by the University of Notre Dame Press.