1st Edition

Reforming Capitalism The Scientific Worldview and Business

By Rogene Buchholz Copyright 2012
    360 Pages
    by Routledge

    360 Pages
    by Routledge

    This book examines the role that the traditional understanding of science plays in how we understand the capitalistic system and how it informs business and business school education. Science serves many purposes in business organizations; it is much more than just a method to gain knowledge about business problems. It acculturates students to a certain way of thinking about the world and provides a rationale for the things business does and a justification for its purposes in society. It then utilizes the philosophy of Classical American Pragmatism to view science in a different manner, reconceptualizing the multiple environments in which business functions. Author Rogene Buchholz traces the implications of this view for our understanding of the corporation, how science is used in business organizations, the recent financial crisis, and finally what it means for management and management education. No other book examines capitalism and the business system from this unique and timely perspective.

    Introduction  Part 1: The Traditional Scientific Worldview  1. The Rise of Modern Science and Its Characteristics  2. Values and Ethics  3. Economics  4. Politics  5. Culture  6. Nature  Part 2: Toward A New Understanding of Science  7. The Pragmatic View of Science and Its Characteristics  8. Pragmatism and Values  9. Pragmatism and Economics  10. Pragmatism and Politics  11. Pragmatism and Culture  12. Pragmatism and Nature  Part Three: Implications for Business  13. The Corporation and Community  14. Business and Science  15. Financial Armageddon  16. Management and an Ethic of Service.  Selected Bibliography.  Notes.  Index

    Biography

    Rogene A. Buchholz is the Legendre-Soule Chair in Business Ethics Emeritus in the College of Business Administration at Loyola University, New Orleans. He has published over seventy-five articles and is the author or co-author of twelve books in the areas of business and public policy, business ethics, and the environment.

    "Against the backdrop of seemingly unending business scandals, this book is a must read for all who are interested in the potential of capitalism to serve community needs. Professor Buchholz, a distinguished and prolific business scholar, offers a rare view of how American Pragmatism can inform our understanding of the relationship between science and capitalism and, in turn, business and society. This provocative view has compelling implications for business practice, public policy, and management education."Diane Swanson, Kansas State University, USA

    "Rogene Buchholz’s new book is an important and unique contribution to a growing body of literature suggesting that recent economic crises have stemmed not so much from managerial ineptness but from the faulty philosophical assumptions--ethical, epistemological, and metaphysical--that underlie conventional economic thinking. Buchholz focuses upon the faulty notion of ‘science’ that governs modern economic thought and proposes, with the aid of American pragmatism, an alternative conception of science that includes service and democratic social engagement. If implemented, Buchholz’s profound and clearly articulated vision would go a long way in putting the American economy on a better road to the future."Ken Stikkers, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, USA