Laszlo Zsolnai | Corvinus University of Budapest (original) (raw)
Papers by Laszlo Zsolnai
Purpose: The paper argues that there is a strong imbalance in business education between providin... more Purpose: The paper argues that there is a strong imbalance in business education between providing abstract, rational concepts and opportunities for personal growth. Introducing spirituality in business education seems to be desirable if we want to prepare students for the complexities and challenges of the workplace today.
Design/methodology/approach: The paper gives an example of how techniques from voice and drama therapy can be used for enabling students to look beyond the rational and the material.
Findings: By engaging with their ‘true self’ students may discover dormant qualities in themselves and start to find their purpose, meaning, and spirituality.
Originality/value: The paper shows that by introducing some new approaches in business education we can provide opportunities for students to connect their rational thoughts with conscience and the ‘true self’. When students make an integrated use of our mental, emotional and spiritual resources they are better equipped to make complex decisions and behave ethically in the workplace and in their personal lives.
Spirituality is not incompatible with rationality or real-world economic, social and environmenta... more Spirituality is not incompatible with rationality or real-world economic, social and environmental analysis. Ethical leaders can employ the best available scientific knowledge to execute their own spiritual-based plans and policies. India and Europe should embrace their own noble traditions and seek to cross-fertilize one another to foster a state of sustainability, peace and well-being. The key is to overcome the pre-existing dominantly materialistic value orientation of society and the ego-centeredness of individuals and thereby come closer to a state of transcendence and oneness. Gandhi and Albert Schweitzer have shown the way.
Responsible Leadership and Reasonable Action Responsible leadership is a scarce resource in busin... more Responsible Leadership and Reasonable Action Responsible leadership is a scarce resource in business and public administration today. Trust in leaders worldwide is dramatically decreasing as they are not able to prove that they are serving the common good. Rather, they are perceived by the public to be pursuing their own selfish goals and those of their organizations. The mainstream leadership model of business and public organizations should be renewed to reestablish the trust of the public and to ensure these entities succeed in tandem with their stakeholders.
The exchange of ideas between India and Europe about economics and politics dates back centurie... more The exchange of ideas between India and Europe about economics and politics dates back centuries. The most important figures in this regard include John Ruskin, Leo Tolstoy, Rabindranath Tagore and M.K. Gandhi. However, the modern India-Europe dialogue on the spiritual and ethical basis of management and leadership started in the late 20th century. Without deep spiritual reflection, business leaders will not be able to contribute to restoring the endangered ecosystems of the Earth, or to providing decent livelihoods for present and future generations. The good news is that there are vast resources of long-accumulated, Indian and European spiritual wealth and wisdom which are available for immediate use in this urgent task of transformation.
Spirituality and Ethics in Management, 2011
Man essentially is a being who pursues meaning and love. Socrates' speech in the Symposium well c... more Man essentially is a being who pursues meaning and love. Socrates' speech in the Symposium well characterizes man as driven by Love, or Eros. In one of the two greatest Platonic dialogues, the other being the Republic, Socrates, expounding Diotema's Ladder of Love, explains that man is driven by the erotic impulse. Socrates' speech is the culminating moment of the Symposium, the dialogue in which a number of famous co-temporary figures including a physician, a tragic playwright, a comic playwright and Socrates himself, inquire into the nature of erotic love.
International Journal of Social Economics, 1997
Moral responsibility emerges in choice situations where the choice has wideranging consequences a... more Moral responsibility emerges in choice situations where the choice has wideranging consequences and not only the decision maker but also other parties are affected by the outcome of the choice. In this paper I will refer to such situations as complex choice situations.
International Journal of Social Economics, Sep 26, 2011
Society and Economy, 2003
Society and Economy, 2012
Business ethics as an academic discipline and a management practice related to corporate social r... more Business ethics as an academic discipline and a management practice related to corporate social responsibility (CSR) emerged in the late 1970s and the 1980s. It was a promising movement in the shadow of the globalization process. It started in the United States and followed five to ten years later in all industrialized countries, including those in Europe. Some companies developed their first codes of ethics, mission statements and charters of values at that time. Seminars were held for managers in order to look at ethical dilemmas and analyze ethical case studies. The Body Shop, the well-known cosmetics company, went a step further in the 1990s by launching a major social and ethical audit of its operations. In its famous report "People, Planet and Profits," Shell applied the notion of sustainable entrepreneurship to a new sort of reporting, which measured and analyzed not only the company's financial goals and results, but also its ecological and social goals.
Business Ethics: A European Review, 2002
Business Ethics: A European Review, 2007
Entrepreneurship and Economic Transition in Central Europe, 1998
Abstract The paper studies the ethical fabric of the Hungarian economy during the transformation ... more Abstract The paper studies the ethical fabric of the Hungarian economy during the transformation process. Basic facts of economic transformation are analysed from an ethical perspective. The dominant opinion climate of the Hungarian society is reported. The ...
Business ethics is often seen by theorists and practitioners as an instrument for improving the f... more Business ethics is often seen by theorists and practitioners as an instrument for improving the functioning of a corporation, something introduced to add value to business like any other 'tool'. Yet there is a paradox in the proposition that higher standards of behaviour in today's world will automatically lead to higher profits and better performance. If the objective of top executives is merely to use ethics to achieve greater efficiency their efforts will ultimately fail. The chance to improve the general ethical quality of our economic activities, however, can only be taken if our motivation is genuinely ethical; that is, only if we want to realise ethical conduct for its own sake. Ethics is like love. Only those who love their partners in and for themselves will enjoy all the blessings of a loving relationship.
Presentation of the business ethics, visions, programs and experiences of member universities of ... more Presentation of the business ethics, visions, programs and experiences of member universities of the Community of European Management Schools (CEMS)
Purpose: The paper argues that there is a strong imbalance in business education between providin... more Purpose: The paper argues that there is a strong imbalance in business education between providing abstract, rational concepts and opportunities for personal growth. Introducing spirituality in business education seems to be desirable if we want to prepare students for the complexities and challenges of the workplace today.
Design/methodology/approach: The paper gives an example of how techniques from voice and drama therapy can be used for enabling students to look beyond the rational and the material.
Findings: By engaging with their ‘true self’ students may discover dormant qualities in themselves and start to find their purpose, meaning, and spirituality.
Originality/value: The paper shows that by introducing some new approaches in business education we can provide opportunities for students to connect their rational thoughts with conscience and the ‘true self’. When students make an integrated use of our mental, emotional and spiritual resources they are better equipped to make complex decisions and behave ethically in the workplace and in their personal lives.
Spirituality is not incompatible with rationality or real-world economic, social and environmenta... more Spirituality is not incompatible with rationality or real-world economic, social and environmental analysis. Ethical leaders can employ the best available scientific knowledge to execute their own spiritual-based plans and policies. India and Europe should embrace their own noble traditions and seek to cross-fertilize one another to foster a state of sustainability, peace and well-being. The key is to overcome the pre-existing dominantly materialistic value orientation of society and the ego-centeredness of individuals and thereby come closer to a state of transcendence and oneness. Gandhi and Albert Schweitzer have shown the way.
Responsible Leadership and Reasonable Action Responsible leadership is a scarce resource in busin... more Responsible Leadership and Reasonable Action Responsible leadership is a scarce resource in business and public administration today. Trust in leaders worldwide is dramatically decreasing as they are not able to prove that they are serving the common good. Rather, they are perceived by the public to be pursuing their own selfish goals and those of their organizations. The mainstream leadership model of business and public organizations should be renewed to reestablish the trust of the public and to ensure these entities succeed in tandem with their stakeholders.
The exchange of ideas between India and Europe about economics and politics dates back centurie... more The exchange of ideas between India and Europe about economics and politics dates back centuries. The most important figures in this regard include John Ruskin, Leo Tolstoy, Rabindranath Tagore and M.K. Gandhi. However, the modern India-Europe dialogue on the spiritual and ethical basis of management and leadership started in the late 20th century. Without deep spiritual reflection, business leaders will not be able to contribute to restoring the endangered ecosystems of the Earth, or to providing decent livelihoods for present and future generations. The good news is that there are vast resources of long-accumulated, Indian and European spiritual wealth and wisdom which are available for immediate use in this urgent task of transformation.
Spirituality and Ethics in Management, 2011
Man essentially is a being who pursues meaning and love. Socrates' speech in the Symposium well c... more Man essentially is a being who pursues meaning and love. Socrates' speech in the Symposium well characterizes man as driven by Love, or Eros. In one of the two greatest Platonic dialogues, the other being the Republic, Socrates, expounding Diotema's Ladder of Love, explains that man is driven by the erotic impulse. Socrates' speech is the culminating moment of the Symposium, the dialogue in which a number of famous co-temporary figures including a physician, a tragic playwright, a comic playwright and Socrates himself, inquire into the nature of erotic love.
International Journal of Social Economics, 1997
Moral responsibility emerges in choice situations where the choice has wideranging consequences a... more Moral responsibility emerges in choice situations where the choice has wideranging consequences and not only the decision maker but also other parties are affected by the outcome of the choice. In this paper I will refer to such situations as complex choice situations.
International Journal of Social Economics, Sep 26, 2011
Society and Economy, 2003
Society and Economy, 2012
Business ethics as an academic discipline and a management practice related to corporate social r... more Business ethics as an academic discipline and a management practice related to corporate social responsibility (CSR) emerged in the late 1970s and the 1980s. It was a promising movement in the shadow of the globalization process. It started in the United States and followed five to ten years later in all industrialized countries, including those in Europe. Some companies developed their first codes of ethics, mission statements and charters of values at that time. Seminars were held for managers in order to look at ethical dilemmas and analyze ethical case studies. The Body Shop, the well-known cosmetics company, went a step further in the 1990s by launching a major social and ethical audit of its operations. In its famous report "People, Planet and Profits," Shell applied the notion of sustainable entrepreneurship to a new sort of reporting, which measured and analyzed not only the company's financial goals and results, but also its ecological and social goals.
Business Ethics: A European Review, 2002
Business Ethics: A European Review, 2007
Entrepreneurship and Economic Transition in Central Europe, 1998
Abstract The paper studies the ethical fabric of the Hungarian economy during the transformation ... more Abstract The paper studies the ethical fabric of the Hungarian economy during the transformation process. Basic facts of economic transformation are analysed from an ethical perspective. The dominant opinion climate of the Hungarian society is reported. The ...
Business ethics is often seen by theorists and practitioners as an instrument for improving the f... more Business ethics is often seen by theorists and practitioners as an instrument for improving the functioning of a corporation, something introduced to add value to business like any other 'tool'. Yet there is a paradox in the proposition that higher standards of behaviour in today's world will automatically lead to higher profits and better performance. If the objective of top executives is merely to use ethics to achieve greater efficiency their efforts will ultimately fail. The chance to improve the general ethical quality of our economic activities, however, can only be taken if our motivation is genuinely ethical; that is, only if we want to realise ethical conduct for its own sake. Ethics is like love. Only those who love their partners in and for themselves will enjoy all the blessings of a loving relationship.
Presentation of the business ethics, visions, programs and experiences of member universities of ... more Presentation of the business ethics, visions, programs and experiences of member universities of the Community of European Management Schools (CEMS)
Ajánlások: Karma Phuntsho, Francoise Pommaret, Jaksity György, Szegedi Mónika, Zsolnai László