Juan Andrés Mercado

Antonio Valero founded IESE Business School, where he was also a professor of general management. The present chapter summarizes the main elements of Valero’s philosophy of the firm and his “Enterprise Politics Model”. Valero’s proposal manages to harmonize both personal and institutional ethics, while recognizing that it is not enough to foster personal virtues: the commercial firm requires a solid institutional framework and qualified individuals in order to be sustainable. The EPM considers the firm as a community of persons that is also an intermediate social institution that contributes to the formation and continuity of a good society; it stresses the relevance and responsibility of senior management in integrating justiceJustice and efficiencyEfficiency, as well as emphasizes the practical nature of management and the manager’s need for specific skillsSkill, moral character and practical wisdomWisdom. The EPM sees the firm as a political reality, a community of free and intelligent people under a given form of government following a common aim. Consequently, senior management should possess knowledgeKnowledge and skills of a political and technical nature. The EPM’s political procedure includes the philosophy of the firmFirm, programs of actions, policies and objectives. The model involves four areas of government: business activity; structure; institutional configuration; and living together with a professional commitmentCommitment.

In the present work the “classical approach” to ethics implies the Socratic-Aristotelian tradition which, while not being a uniform or fixed methodology, possesses rather well-defined characteristics. Particularly significant among such characteristics is the harmonization among diverse human capacities and their interaction, permitting a person to lead a coherent life. Certain fundamental ideas of this way of understanding morality were taken up and renewed by Elizabeth Anscombe, who popularized the term “flourishing” as a synonym of the accomplished life and the alignment of just actions in the context of personal goodness. Regarding the modern approach, this work refers primarily to certain recent developments in philosophy of the last few decades and to its contact with schools of contemporary psychology, in particular Abraham Maslow’s holistic-dynamic theory, Carl Rogers’ humanist psychology, and Martin Seligman’s positive psychology. The convergence of various authors will be highlighted in four fundamental points: the awareness of the moral subject, and thus the role of reason in the direction of one’s life ; the classical idea of happiness as the search for the good and the ultimate end of human life and certain fundamental traits of happiness, understood as the successful life, as the exercise of one’s activity within a meaningful context; interaction between the various human capacities in the construction of a complete personality or character, an indispensable condition for flourishing and reaching partial goals.

This book examines the important insights that psychology and philosophy can offer into the promotion of personal flourishing within organizations and the potential benefits that can accrue in terms of personal development, performance, goal achievement, and teamwork. The first part of the book develops a classical framework on happiness and the meaning of life, setting the stage on which significant aspects of institutional organization and its harmonization with ethics are addressed. The value of institutional ethics, flow, and mindfulness in creating a collaborative working environment that promotes self-fulfilment and enhances performance is then explored in depth, drawing on insights from contemporary psychology. Finally, concrete means of fostering personal flourishing within organizations are discussed. Here, the reader will find an evaluation of the effectiveness of coaching in promoting personal development and goal achievement as well as stimulating discussion of the interrelationship between team building, virtue, and personal flourishing. This book will be of interest to a wide range of professionals and academics within the fields of psychology and business.