Abstract
Issued in 2012, the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace produced The Vocation of the Business Leader (VBL), a document that synthesizes the contents of the Catholic social tradition in relation to business leaders by framing their responsibilities according to a see, judge, and act framework that reveals what practical wisdom demands in the context of business. The essay surveys the connection between practical wisdom and the see, judge, and act framework in the Catholic social tradition and explains this relationship in light of the contents of the VBL document. By first examining the subjective dimension of work, the dependent relationships between the world, the work, and the worker are magnified. From this perspective, the necessity for practical wisdom in business is evident, yet its applications abstract. What VBL proposes, in light of the see, judge, and act tradition, is a practical approach to serving the common good, making of decisions grounded in well-formed principles, and reciprocating gifts and wisdom, which inevitably defines great business leaders.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Alford H, Naughton M (2001) Managing as if faith mattered: Christian social principles in the modern organization. University of Notre Dame Press, Notre Dame
Aquinas T (2006) Summa theologiae, vol 36: “Prudence” (2a2ae. 47–56) (trans: Thomas Gilby OP). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Benedict XVI (2009) Caritas in veritate. http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20090629_caritas-in-veritate_en.html
Benedict XVI (2011) Speech during a visit to the Federal Parliament in the Reichstag Building. http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2011/september/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20110922_reichstag-berlin_en.html
Bennis WG, O’Toole J (2005) How business schools lost their way. Harv Bus Rev 83(5):96–104
Bruni L, Zamagni S (2007) Civil economy: efficiency, equity, public happiness. Peter Lang, Oxford
Chimielewski PJ (1992) Bettering our condition. Peter Lang, New York
Gigacz S (2012) Seek, judge, act – the Sertillanges side of the story. http://cardijnresearch.blogspot.com/2012/10/seek-judge-act-sertillanges-side-of.html
Goodpaster KE (2007) Conscience and corporate culture. Blackwell, Oxford
John XXIII (1961) Mater et magistra. http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_xxiii/encyclicals/documents/hf_j-xxiii_enc_15051961_mater_en.html
John Paul II (1981) Laborem exercens. http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_14091981_laborem-exercens_en.html
Khurana R (2007) From higher aims to hired hands: the social transformation of American business schools and the unfulfilled promise of management as a profession. Princeton University Press, Princeton
Lonergan B (1988) Existenz and aggiornamento. In: Crowe FE, Doran RM (eds) Collected works of Bernard Lonergan. University of Toronto Press, Toronto
MacIntyre A (2010) The very idea of a university: Aristotle, Newman and Us. New Blackfriars 91:4–19 (First published in The British Journal of Educational Studies, Dec 2009)
Midgley M (1981) Heart and mind: the varieties of moral experience. Routledge, London (see especially Chapter 5, Trying out one’s new sword)
Murphy J (1994) A natural law of human labor. Am J Jurisprud 39:71–95
Nietzsche F (1998) Beyond good and evil. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Pieper J (1966) The four cardinal virtues. University of Notre Dame Press, Notre Dame
Pieper J (1998) Leisure the basis of culture. St. Augustine Press, South Bend
Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace (PCJP) (2005) Compendium of the social doctrine of the church. USCCB Publishing, Washington, DC
Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace (PCJP) (2012) Vocation of the business leader: a reflection. http://www.stthomas.edu/media/catholicstudies/center/johnaryaninstitute/publications/publicationpdfs/vocationofthebusinessleaderpdf/PontificalCouncil_4.pdf
Ratzinger J (1986) Church and economy: responsibility for the future of the world economy. Communio 13:199–204
Ratzinger J (1990) Introduction to christianity (trans: Foster JR). Ignatius Press, San Francisco
Schindler D (1996) Christology and the Imago Dei: Interpreting Gaudium et Spes. Communio 23:159
Wendell FN O.P. (1954) The formation of a lay apostle. Rosary Press, Sommerset
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this entry
Cite this entry
Naughton, M. (2017). Practical Wisdom as the Sine Qua Non Virtue for the Business Leader. In: Sison, A., Beabout, G., Ferrero, I. (eds) Handbook of Virtue Ethics in Business and Management. International Handbooks in Business Ethics. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6510-8_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6510-8_12
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-007-6509-2
Online ISBN: 978-94-007-6510-8
eBook Packages: Religion and PhilosophyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Humanities