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The Foundations of Action by the Company and in the Company

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Social Management

Part of the book series: CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance ((CSEG))

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Abstract

This chapter dwells on these aspects, which are as important in word as they are often overlooked in fact. We will focus on some questions debated even in the most recent managerial theories in strategic settings and in human capital management.

He who loves practice without theory is like the sailor who boards ship without a rudder and compass and never knows where he may cast. (Leonardo da Vinci)

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Notes

  1. 1.

    http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/, s.v. “knowledge.”

  2. 2.

    For further information see Vassallo (2006).

  3. 3.

    It is clear that if organizations are systems of people who work together to reach shared goals, there is no doubt that, at least at first glance, a “reciprocally instrumental” dimension, so to speak, can be observed, but this dimension must have a functional rather than an existential sense. For example, there can be an interest on the part of a company’s employees that the owner or manager (or vice versa, any co-worker) perform at their best in carrying out a specific task, because doing so is to the advantage of the entire organization and all the individuals who comprise it. If however one approaches that owner, manager, or co-worker for other than the relationship itself, but rather is motivated by merely functional or even instrumental interest, once that is understood it will end up damaging the relationship; worse yet, sharply limiting the breadth and depth of the relationship, reducing its potential by emptying it of meaning and transforming it from an interpersonal relationship to a social interaction, can, in extreme instances, lead to separation or even social conflict.

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Argiolas, G. (2017). The Foundations of Action by the Company and in the Company. In: Social Management. CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-54582-0_5

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