La nouvelle expansion du privé et l’éthique des affaires

1. La nouvelle expansion du privé et l’éthique des affaires CREUM, April 2004

2. Introduction (1) • globalization: tremendous process of social transformation, particularly through economic activities • historically: processes of transformation lead to conflicts between different values (between or within societies) • example: origin of the academic discipline “ethics” (Greek philosophy) as a consequence of an increase of trade activities • today again: characterized through globalization and certain moral problems

3. Introduction (2) • twofold issue for ethics (today): • foundation of ethical principles (regulative ideas) • especially related to intra- and intergenerational justice/ sustainability (North-South, future generations) • understanding of processes of social transformation to enable the application of ethical principles • development of institutional arrangements on different levels (such as world, national, regional levels) that leads to more justice • presentation today: businesses in the center of interest

4. Agenda • globalization: a societal (macro) perspective • relation between two crucial political categories: the private and the public • dialectic between private and public • “corporate wilding” • How to avoid of certain “bad” business practices? • How to foster moral actions in corporations? • theories in businesses ethics: • neoclassical perspective • institutional economic perspective: compliance approach • evolutionary economic perspective: integrity approach

5. Inconduite systémique • Comment expliquer l’inconduite systémique de nombreux dirigeants de firmes capitalistes aujourd’hui? • Management incompétent associé à une cupidité insatiable • Modes d’exploitation abusifs • Faible souci écologique • Manquements éthiques • Fraudes et scandales financiers

6. Les sources • Les transformations de la dialectique du privé et du public depuis le début des années 80 • Décomposition-recomposition des rapports privé-public et organisation progressive d’une société humaine globalisée • L’enjeu: La vie démocratique

7. Le public et le privé • Le privé et le public sont fondamentalement des catégories politiques et non pas économiques ou juridiques.

9. L’expansion du public au XXè siècle • L’État-nation et l’enveloppe nationale • La dialectique privé-public se déroule au sein de l’enveloppe nationale • L’expansion du public

10. L’expansion du privé • Trois processus politiques: • La privatisation et l’expansion du privé au sein de l’enveloppe nationale • La dérégulation • La libéralisation • La montée des nouvelles technologies • Affaiblissement de la territorialité exclusive de L’ État-nation et transfert de gouvernance du public au privé.

11. L’expansion transnationale du privé • Perte de consistance de l’enveloppe nationale et ouverture de l’espace transnational • Nécessité de s’organiser à l’échelle internationale et transnationale • Accroissement extraordinaire des centres de pouvoir privé transnationaux: un monde multicentré • De 10 000 à 60 000 transnationales avec 826 000 filiales

12. Renversement de la logique de régulation et « Corporate Systemic Wilding » • Perte des États de leur capacité à réduire ou à réguler les sources privées de pouvoir qui se multipliaient. • Nouvelle légalité dans la logique néo-libérale, sans modernisation des modes de régulation compte tenu de la transnationalisation et des avancées technologiques.

13. Renversement de la logique de régulation et « Corporate Systemic Wilding » • Corporate Systemic Wilding (Derber: 2004) • Les désengagements sociétaux

14. Le dysfonctionnement de la régulation par les marchés • Dégradation des droits de propriété • Manquements aux droits des divers acteurs liés à l’entreprise (stakeholders) • Mismanagement • Fraude, corruption et autres détournements

15. Agenda • globalization: a societal (macro) perspective • relation between two crucial political categories: the private and the public • dialectic between private and public • “corporate wilding” • How to avoid of certain “bad” business practices? • How to foster moral actions in corporations? • theories in businesses ethics: • neoclassical perspective • institutional economic perspective: compliance approach • evolutionary economic perspective: integrity approach

16. Business Ethics: a neoclassical economic perspective (1) • change of the regulative framework • risk management, civil positioning • market positioning * Economy Ethics (economic rationality of businesses)

17. Business Ethics: a neoclassical economic perspective (2) • main perspective: • external drivers for “sustainable change” • constraints • the firm as “black box”

18. New Institutional Economics • opening through New Institutional Economics • coordination within business organizations • organizations ≠ markets • two different mechanism to coordinate social actions (cooperation versus competition) • coordination in organizations through hierarchical control and economic incentives (hard facts)

19. Business Ethics: an institutional economic perspective (1) • New Institutional Economics and business ethics: • clear (hierarchical) rules to avoid certain businesses practices such as fraud, corruption etc. • relevance of soft facts such as trust, fairness, common values etc. • sophisticated way of social coordination (e.g. reduce cost of control etc.) • cooperation within organizations • soft facts as resource to increase the ability to cooperate between organizations • mergers and acquisitions • business networks • more complex supply chains

20. Business Ethics: an institutional economic perspective (2) • criticism: • New Institutional Economics tends to be defensive (avoidance of …) • clear rules (hard facts) and values (soft facts) are the crucial component to deal with moral issues • compliance approach • lack of reflexivity: misunderstands the term “ethics” as “moral” • underestimates businesses as de facto “cultural engine” in modernity • overlooks a crucial characteristic of firms: the ability to innovate

21. Business Ethics: an evolutionary economic perspective (1) need for another (at least complementary) theory of the firm and theory of business ethics) some characteristics of an evolutionary theory of the firm: based on an interpretative theory of action (cognitive scripts, cognitive frames) organizations as bundle of routines explicit and implicit knowledge within organizations specific capabilities (can not simply be imitated or bought) crucial for institutional arrangements: the organization of knowledge and the development of certain capabilities cooperation creative, learning, and innovative capabilities

23. Business Ethics: an evolutionary economic perspective (2) • two examples of an integrity approach: • corporate culture: • in New Institutional Economics: homogeneity of values • in Evolutionary Economics: heterogeneity of values as possible resource to enable reflections and (moral) learning processes (for economic and ethical reasons) • business and society: • in New Institutional Economics: “avoidance of negative attention” • in Evolutionary Economics: emphasis of dialogs with external stakeholders • general idea of integrity approaches: • moral issues as integrative part of business practices • role of businesses • not just as defensive adaptors within the market system • transformation of market economies through businesses