Beyond Profit And Self Interest

Gassler (economics, Vrije U., Brussels) tries to establish some order in the chaos he sees resulting from economists expanding their portfolio to deal with just about everything in society. He does not offer a new theory, but reformulates existing theory to make it more applicable across disciplines, illuminate its limitations and point out necessary extensions, show its successes, and provide some new extensions of his own. First he sets out the scope, method, foundations, and taxonomy of the theory; then he surveys applications in such contexts as interactions, non-profits, and planets. He writes for upper-division, graduate, and professional economists who are conversant in intermediate microeconomic theory, multivariable calculus, and statistics. Annotation : 2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).

Gassler (economics, Vrije U., Brussels) tries to establish some order in the chaos he sees resulting from economists expanding their portfolio to deal with just about everything in society. He does not offer a new theory, but reformulates existing theory to make it more applicable across disciplines, illuminate its limitations and point out necessary extensions, show its successes, and provide some new extensions of his own. First he sets out the scope, method, foundations, and taxonomy of the theory; then he surveys applications in such contexts as interactions, non-profits, and planets. He writes for upper-division, graduate, and professional economists who are conversant in intermediate microeconomic theory, multivariable calculus, and statistics. Annotation : 2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).

'Lucid, smartly written ... A welcome intervention into the debate surrounding the future of liberalism' Financial Times'It takes scholarly courage and knowledge to upend Adam Smith, but this is what Krzysztof Pelc has done . . . Profound and brilliant' Robert Skidelsky'A fascinating book, bursting with paradoxes, riddles and counterintuitive ideas that will challenge some of your strongest beliefs about how society works' Daniel SusskindWe've learned that the way to get ahead is through strong will, grit and naked ambition. The belief that self-interest makes the world go round has served us well: it has helped make our society more affluent. But does that premise still hold?In Beyond Self-Interest, Krzysztof Pelc argues that those who prosper increasingly do so by spurning prosperity, or by convincing others that they are pursuing passion, purpose, love of craft - anything but their own self-advancement. From the Puritans, who followed a religious calling and yet made a killing; to the fastest-growing firms of today, who claim to be 'changing to the world' through 'doing what they love', declaring passion over profit is a profitable move.A bold, incisive and original work that draws on three centuries of intellectual thought, Beyond Self-Interest is a book to upend how we relate to capitalism. What if the true driver of market society is not the appearance of self-interest, but its opposite?

In this revealing book Peggy Chiu argues against the common belief that maximizing wealth is the primary concern of ordinary small shareholders when they make their share-buying decisions. This fascinating in-depth study of small shareholders provides both theoretical and empirical insights into their personal values and attitudes to corporate social responsibility (CSR). The author establishes that personal values are a major influence on decisions about the type of investments people make and about which companies they choose to invest in. Financial risk and return are far from being the only factors that determine small shareholders' investment decisions - irresponsible behaviour is not acceptable and will not attract investment from this significant group. Looking Beyond Profit is an essential book, not just for encouraging investment managers to look more closely at their environmental impacts, but for finance advisers and all concerned with corporate governance, either as practitioners, researchers, business educators or students.

Poor and ineffective leadership is evident in all spheres of life, especially in business. A possible reason for the current leadership crises is the application of ineffective and self-serving leadership practices that only aim to achieve selfish and short-term objectives at the detriment and longevity of people, business, society, as well as the environment. This book proposes a more effective and proven leadership approach to sustain people, business, society, and the environment, namely servant leadership. It describes the dimensions and functions of a servant leader in detail and provides practical resources to apply servant leadership in any organization. This book also provides several systematic leadership frameworks to empower people and to build high performing and significant organizations. Leaders, consultants, and practitioners can use this book as a guide to implement servant leadership in a company to ultimately create a more profitable, significant, and sustainable organization.

"A provocative retelling of the workings of self-interest in contemporary market society, which claims the world increasingly belongs to passionates, obsessives, and fanatics: those who do things for their own sake, rather than as means to other ends. In our capitalist market society, we have come to accept that the way to get ahead is through strong will, grit, and naked ambition. This belief has served us well: it has contributed to making our affluent societies affluent. But does the premise still hold? As Krzysztof Pelc argues in Beyond Self-Interest, this default assumption no longer captures reality. There is a limit to the returns of calculation, planning, and resolve, and in a growing number of settings, this limit has been reached. The true idols of market society, he contends, are those who disavow their self-interest, or at least appear to do so: eco-conscious entrepreneurs, media moguls with a mission, and modern-day artisans catering to a well-educated and ever more socially conscious population of consumers. Increasingly, those who prosper do so by spurning prosperity, or by convincing others that they are instead pursuing purpose, passion, love of craft-anything but their own self-advancement. This is the paradox of intention, and it is increasingly defining our lives. Pelc tells the story of this paradox from its unlikely emergence among a group of British thinkers in the early 19th century to its development over the next two centuries, as it was successively picked up by philosophers, novelists, social scientists, and, ultimately, capitalists themselves. All of whom arrived at a common realization: the appearance of disinterest pays, but only if it is believable-which presents the self-interested among us with a tricky problem. Drawing on three centuries of thought about commercial society and the people living in it, this richly researched account of the cycles of capitalism does not naively suggest that we should reject the market. Rather, it calls on us to treat economic growth once more as its earliest theorists did: as a formidable tool of human development, instead of an end in itself."--Publisher's description.

Interdisciplinary Dialogues on Organizational Paradox is an innovative two-part volume that enriches our understanding about paradox; both deepening the theory and offering greater insight to address grand challenges we face in the world today. Part A: Learning from Belief and Science explores the realms of beliefs and physicality.