Author(s):

Abstract:
The current problems and economic/financial/value crisis crucially depend of perception of decisive persons what should be included in the considered cost, effort, benefit, time horizon, tackled circles of persons etc. If this perception is narrow-minded rather than requisitely holistic, one-sidedness of decisions results and failures of processes outcomes are hardly avoidable. Enterprise is a part of social environment and enterprise ethics is changing from instrument for profit making into condition for it. Thus we have to divide the entrepreneurial rationality, which could become/remain unethical, in technical, economic, and social-economic (responsible) rationality. Hence it follows that enterprise’s long-term survival depends on efficiency, effectiveness and ethical behaviour. These three partial rationalities are mutually interdependent and conditioned, but are frequently also opposing each other. This is why their adjustment is becoming a central point in developmental strategic decisions. The present research will show the importance of achieving such entrepreneurial rationality for (enterprise) long term survival, which enables enterprise excellent performance as well. We will define technical rationality (efficiency), economic rationality (effectiveness) and social-economic (responsible) rationality (ethics), as well as discuss their mutual interdependency and conditional interdependence, but frequently also contrariety. This is why the adjustment of all three partial rationalities is becoming a central point of entrepreneurial decisions. The partial rationalities (i.e., technical, economic, social-economic) discussed in the paper cannot be dealt with in isolation as they are interdependent. If the enterprise rationality and the individual humans’ rationality are leaving the nature aside, because they forget that human are a part of nature and enterprise are a part of human tools for well-being, the nature tends to take its revenge. As a reaction, rather than as pro-action, the enterprise ethics and resulting enterprise policy needs to be changed, actually to be innovated in order to provide more benefit. If the technical rationality and the short-term and narrow-minded economic rationality are the only ones to be considered, with no ethics of interdependence (rather than any kind of ethics, e.g. the feudalist’s one), then the failure in economic action is hardly avoidable. And so is the revenge of nature against those who do not practice the requisite holism (RH), including the synergy of the technological, economic, and ethical aspects of SR.

Key words:
enterprise policy, enterprise ethics, efficiency, effectiveness, social responsibility

Thematic field:
(Re)positioning of entrepreneurship: Back to the b

Date of abstract submission:
16.08.2012.

Number of visits:
430

Conference:
REDETE 2012