The Purpose of the Organization Working Together for the Common Good

1. The Purpose of the OrganizationWorking Together for the Common Good With notes from Managing as If Faith Mattered

2. Organization with mis-aligned values Highly committed; aligned member Vision Completely misaligned, non-compliant member Less committed; Less aligned member

3. Organization with aligned values Highly committed; aligned leader Vision Less committed; aligned member

4. Models of the Organization • Shareholder model – The firm’s purpose is to promote the interests of the owners • Stakeholder model – Management must take into account the rights of multiple stakeholders. Manager is a trustee balancing the interests of diverse constituents • Common good model – The firm must contribute to authentic human development and the conditions that support it

5. Critique of the Shareholder Model • Instrumentalizes the excellent goods of employee and community development and directs them to one foundational good – returns to equity owners – and their effect on owner wealth • Tyranny of foundational goods • Strength: emphasizes foundational goods • Weakness: exclusive emphasis on foundational goods

6. Deciding on the “Good” In an organization we need to answer two questions: • What are the goods that we pursue? • How do we prioritize these goods?

7. Hierarchy of Goods • Foundational goods – Those that we need to obtain other goods (e.g., money, real estate, capital equipment, etc.); necessary for organizational functioning • Excellent good – Those that we pursue for their own sake (e.g., virtue, friendship, personal cultivation, community, etc.) • Thomas Aquinas -- needs are inclinations or natural promptings to apply our intelligence to the service of our flourishing: self-preservation, procreation, participation in society, and the knowledge and love of God.

8. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Excellent Goods Self-Actualization Self-Esteem Belongingness Safety Foundational Goods Physiological

9. Creditors Gov’t Taxes & compliance Equity owners Funds Repayment & return Legal license,support & enforcement Reasonableprotection ofvalue Capitalcommitment Value through products & services which supportpositive human values Board Customers Oversight Performanceaccountability Price Mgt Trustworthybehavior Society Members Community meeting basic needs of members Trust Organization The Organization and its Main Stakeholders

10. The Purpose of a Business Firm • To be a community of persons • Who in various ways are endeavoring to satisfy their basic needs, and • Who form a particular group at the service of the whole of society. • Pope John Paul II • Centessimus Annus

11. Distributing Goods Common and Particular Goods • How do we promote both the good of each person in the organization, the good of the organization as a whole, and the good of the wider society of which the organiation is a part, all at the same time? Ve

12. Distribution of Goods by Allocation • Sharing of a whole by dividing it into, and distributing, its parts; often called particular goods • Use of the thing may often diminish the good • Distribution to one, initially deprives another of use • Examples: • Sharing a pizza • Sharing a park bench • Sharing profits from a product or service

13. Distribution of Goods by Participation • The sharing of a whole by its distribution as a whole; often called common goods • The thing is not diminished in being distributed and is, shareable without limit • Typically touches us in who and what we are, rather than in what we have. • Example: Knowledge

14. The Common Good • “… the sum total of those conditions of social living whereby men are enabled more fully and more readily to achieve their own perfection.” Pope John XXIII, Mater et Magistra, n. 65 • "the sum of those conditions of social life which allow social groups and their individual members relatively thorough and ready access to their own fulfilment."

15. The Common Good -- 2 • John Rawls: "certain general conditions that are...equally to everyone's advantage". • Consists primarily of having the social systems, institutions, and environments on which we all depend work in a manner that benefits all people. • Examples: • an accessible and affordable public health care system, and effective system of public safety and security • peace among the nations of the world • a just legal and political system • unpolluted natural environment • a flourishing economic system. Velasquez, et al.

16. Common Good -- 3 Discussions of the common good: • urge us to reflect on broad questions concerning the kind of society we want to become and how we are to achieve that society. • challenge us to view ourselves as members of the same community and, while respecting and valuing the freedom of individuals to pursue their own goals, to recognize and further those goals we share in common. Velasquez, et al

17. Organizational common good • the promotion of all goods necessary for integral human development in the organization, in such a way as to respect the proper ordering of those goods, i.e., excellent goods pursued through foundational goods

18. Community and the Common Good • Participated and allocated goods must be made common by deliberate means. Participated goods are prioritized. • The deliberate, cooperative pursuit and distribution of various goods for the sake of human fulfillment is the basis of community • Communities allocate goods based on distributive justice; and members’ participation determines how allocation is done

19. The Goods of the OrganizationPursuing the Goods Together Foundation/Excellent Dimension Particular/Common Dimension

20. Organizational Mission :Pursuing Goods Together • Every decision concerning foundational goods must respect excellent goods: excellent goods must inform decision-making at the foundational level, and decisions made at that level must promote the excellent goods of human development in community • Example: • New program development: check resources available and adjust goals and structures accordingly. Check policies in support of resource allocation.

21. Dynamics of Common Good Managerial Decision-makingSimultaneous Consideration of Excellent and Foundational Goods Excellent Goods of Human Development Inform Promote Foundational Goods of Resources

22. Nature of Policy • Promulgated through official written documents. • Come with the endorsement or signature of the executive powers within an organization to legitimize the policy and demonstrate that it is considered in force.

23. Policy content • A purpose statement • why the organization is issuing the policy, and what its desired effect or outcome of the policy should be. • An applicability and scope statement • describing who the policy affects and which actions are impacted by the policy. • may expressly exclude certain people, organizations, or actions from the policy requirements. • used to focus the policy on only the desired targets, and avoid unintended consequences where possible. • An effective date -- when the policy comes into force. Retroactive policies are discouraged.

24. Policy Content (cont) • A responsibilities section • which parties are responsible for carrying out policy statements. • May require the establishment of some ongoing function or action. For example, a purchasing policy might specify that a purchasing office be created to process purchase requests, and that this office would be responsible for ongoing actions. Responsibilities often include identification of any relevant oversight and/or governance structures. • Policy statements indicating the specific regulations, requirements, or modifications to organizational behavior that the policy is creating. Some policies may contain additional sections, including: • Background, • reasons, history, and intent that led to the creation of the policy, which may be listed as motivating factors. • valuable when policies must be evaluated or used in ambiguous situations, • Definitions, providing clear and unambiguous definitions for terms and concepts found in the policy document.

25. Goals for Policy • Instrument for governance for the common good of organization members • Guide members towards institutional vision-mission-goals • Facilitate decision-making among administrators when resolving competing claims • Encourage reasonable stability in the organization to facilitate the work

26. Analyzing a policy • What is intended effect? Why is it important? • What is the reasoning to explain how the policy will achieve the effect? • How is the policy process and effect consistent with goals and core values? • What is effect on virtue of implementers and stakeholders? On the community? INTENDED EFFECT POLICY

27. Effects of Policies • Intended – unify and build trust, protect the common good • Unintended • “self-fulfilling prophecies” – the behavior targetted for elimination becomes permanent or worse; • Targeting the few, punishing the many; demoralization and withdrawal • Side effects – creates new problem

28. Characteristics of Effective Policy-making • Based on institutional goals and core values • Signals credible concern for stakeholders affected • Adequate lead time for understanding and preparation among stakeholders; grace periods • Consultation and due process – giving voice to stakeholders; well-facilitated and documented forums • Mitigation of burdens – softening impacts • Just exceptions • Develops people from external control to self-control • Prudence in implementation • Timely and regular communication, advocacy and orientation that policy is needed for the common good • Pilot implementation and review • Monitoring of impacts, listening post for feedback from stakeholders • Option to revoke if shown to be harmful; option to relax if problem is no longer present