The Nature and Purpose of Business-St. Paul, Minnesota
JOHN A. RYAN INSTITUTEThe Nature and Purpose of the Business Organization within Catholic Social Thought
August 13-16, 1998
University of St. Thomas
Context of the Conference
Since Ex corde Ecclesiae (1990) the quantity, and some would say the quality, of discussion over the mission and character of the Catholic university has risen to a new level. Yet, within all this discussion, suprisingly little has been stated on the relationship between business programs and Catholic universities. As business education occupies an expanded role in Catholic colleges and universities, the future of Catholic higher education is inseparable from how the Catholic and liberal arts character is appropriated within its business schools, and reciprocally how business schools impact the understanding of the Catholic and liberal character. This issue strikes at the heart of the theoretical and practical issues of Catholic identity and mission. How we respond to the mission of Catholic business schools is an issue urgently before us, since they impact the identity of the university as a whole.
A critical moment of management education at a Catholic university is the role of Catholic social thought in the curriculum and research of the university. One of the first questions to be addressed in the relationship between Catholic social thought and management is: What is business? What is its nature and purpose? This is a fundamental question both to business and Catholic social thought. Until this question has a robust, realistic and interdisciplinary analysis in light of Catholic social thought, we will do justice neither to the profound contribution Catholic social thought has for management, nor to the mission and identity of the Catholic university as it relates to its business programs.
In light of this context and as an outgrowth of the Second International Symposium on Catholic Social Thought and Management Education in Antwerp, Belgium (1997), the specific theme of the nature and purpose of the business organization within the Catholic social tradition has been chosen for this conference. In every business program, the nature of a business organization and how it influences its purpose is a foundational issue. Catholic social thought has much to contribute to this issue as it relates to the nature of labor, property, contracts, the human person and markets.
From the conference, an interdisciplinary and integrated volume of articles will be published on the relationship between Catholic social thought and the nature and purpose of business. The primary disciplines of the volume will be law, theology, philosophy, economics, finance and management. The volume will serve as an important resource for faculty who wish to further their understanding of the relationship between Catholic social thought and the nature and purpose of the firm. This is especially true for business faculty at Catholic universities who wish to take their institutional context seriously in their research and teaching.
Conference Schedule
Thursday, August 13
7:15 – 9:00 pm
Session I
Presenter: Robert Kennedy
"Solidarity and Purpose of the Firm"
Respondents: Michael Stebbins, James Gordley
Presenter: Dennis McCann,
"Business Corporations and the Principle of Subsidiarity"
Respondents: Deborah Savage, Ernest Pierucci
Friday, August 14
8:15 – 10:00 am
Session II
Presenter: Domènec Melé
"Beyond Shareholders and Stakeholders: Concentric Responsibilities"
Respondents: Lee Tavis, Ed Epstein
Presenter: Lee Tavis
"The Moral issues in Allocating Corporate Resources: Shareholders versus Stakeholders"
Respondents: Domènec Melé, Ray Jones
10:30 – 12:15 pm
Session III
Presenters: Helen Alford, Michael Naughton
"Working for the Common Good: The Purpose of the Firm"
Respondents: Patricio Crichigno, Steven Cortright
Presenters: Ernest Pierucci, Steven Cortright
"A Social Property Ethic for the Corporation in Light of Catholic Social Thought"
Respondents: Andre Delbecq, Timothy Fort
2:00 – 3: 45 pm
Session IV
Presenter: Ellen O’Connor
"Participation Versus Rehabilitation: Early 20th-Century Debates on the Moral Purpose of the Firm"
Respondents: James Murphy Deborah Savage
Presenters: James Murphy, David Pyke
"Catholic Social Thought and the Challenges of Job Design"
Respondents: Ellen O’Connor Helen Alford
4:15 – 6:00 pm
Session V
Presenters: Thomas Bausch, Stephen Porth
"Managing the Firm’s Strategic Process and Catholic Social Thought"
Respondents: Andre Delbecq, Jack Cassidy
Presenter: Jean-Loup Dherse
"The Corporation, the Executive, and the Catholic Social Tradition"
Respondents: David Pyke, Ed Epstein
Saturday, August 15
8:15 – 10:00 am
Session VI
Presenter: James Gordley
"The Ethics of Profit Seeking"
Respondents: James Larkin,James Murphy
Presenter: Jeff Gates
"Reengineering Capitalism for the Common Good"
Respondents: John Dobson, Helen Alford
10:30 – 12:15 Session VII
Presenters: Michael Ambrosio, William Toth
"Corporate Governance: A Natural Law Perspective"
Respondents: James Gordley, Bob Wahlstedt
Presenter: Timothy Fort
"Catholic Social Thought and Corporate Governance"
Respondents: Michael Ambrosio, James Larkin
1:30 – 3:15 pm
Session VII
Presenter: Charles Clark
"The Evolution of Normative Theories of the Firm: Classical, Neoclassical, Institutionalist, and Catholic"
Respondents: Bob Kennedy, Peter Koslowski
Presenter: John Dobson
"The Changing Role of Business: From Technical and Moral, to Aesthetic"
Respondents: Dennis McCann, Charles Clark
Sunday, August 16
8:30 – 10:15 am
Session VIII
Presenter: Peter Koslowski
"The Shareholder Value Principle and the Purpose of the Firm"
Respondents: John Dobson, Peter John Opio
Presenter: Michael Stebbins
"The Purpose of Business: A Realistic Appraisal"
Respondents: Ray Jones, Patricio Crichigno
