“…The SEAM methodology inspired a means for an external analyst to detect this cultural conflict and its destructive impact on the firm's future viability. Applying Adler's (: 102) thoughts on new paradigms to cultural change offers insight in that new cultures … are not simple modifications of existing ones but instead annihilate tradition. Every [cultural] shift starts with groundbreaking, fundamental assumptions, called axioms.…”
Strategy, management, corporate social responsibility, critical accounting, and other business researchers frequently utilize financial metrics such as return on assets, return on equity, and return on sales as proxy measures for the financial performance of firms. Large data sets offer convenience but exclude the textual data of corporate disclosures that offers critical insight into specific executive actions and social and environmental outcomes. This study looks at the detrimental consequences of the prevalent practice of relying on macrofinancial metrics as measures of firm performance. Insight from the socioeconomic approach to management (SEAM) is then applied to help an external analyst develop the perspective of an internal consultant to identify hidden costs in corporate disclosures. An extensive case on former CEO Robert Nardelli's tenure at Home Depot is presented as an example of applied SEAM theory to explore how a causal network of dysfunctions can be traced through publicly available financial disclosures. The management discussion and analysis as well as the executive incentive compensation formulas serve as a roadmap to discover hidden costs. The study offers a critical perspective of financial disclosures to allow researchers to externally diagnose dysfunctions sooner rather than years later, an insight formerly only available to internal consultants.
“…The SEAM methodology inspired a means for an external analyst to detect this cultural conflict and its destructive impact on the firm's future viability. Applying Adler's (: 102) thoughts on new paradigms to cultural change offers insight in that new cultures … are not simple modifications of existing ones but instead annihilate tradition. Every [cultural] shift starts with groundbreaking, fundamental assumptions, called axioms.…”
Strategy, management, corporate social responsibility, critical accounting, and other business researchers frequently utilize financial metrics such as return on assets, return on equity, and return on sales as proxy measures for the financial performance of firms. Large data sets offer convenience but exclude the textual data of corporate disclosures that offers critical insight into specific executive actions and social and environmental outcomes. This study looks at the detrimental consequences of the prevalent practice of relying on macrofinancial metrics as measures of firm performance. Insight from the socioeconomic approach to management (SEAM) is then applied to help an external analyst develop the perspective of an internal consultant to identify hidden costs in corporate disclosures. An extensive case on former CEO Robert Nardelli's tenure at Home Depot is presented as an example of applied SEAM theory to explore how a causal network of dysfunctions can be traced through publicly available financial disclosures. The management discussion and analysis as well as the executive incentive compensation formulas serve as a roadmap to discover hidden costs. The study offers a critical perspective of financial disclosures to allow researchers to externally diagnose dysfunctions sooner rather than years later, an insight formerly only available to internal consultants.
“…In his mature work, Herder employs the term Humanität as a normative concept that encapsulates his commitment to a thin universality. 6 All individuals and peoples, he stipulates, ought to be treated according to the principle of fairness and equity contained in his concept of Humanität: 'Do not unto others what you would not wish them to do unto you; what you expect others to do unto you, do unto them too' (Herder 1989, 159, my translation; also see Adler 1994Adler , 63-64, 2009. No member of the human species is excluded; insisting against those who claimed that tribal peoples had more in common with apes than Europeans, he urges them to 'honour thyself: neither the pongo nor the gibbon is thy brother: the American and the Negro are: these therefore thou should not oppress, murder, or steal: for they are men, like thee: with the ape thou cannot enter into fraternity' (Herder 1800(Herder , 264, 1989.…”
It is the orthodox view in the cosmopolitan and normative international relations literature that Immanuel Kant is a staunch critic of European colonialism. This paper offers a far more critical stance towards Kant’s position with respect to minority nations and stateless Indigenous peoples through an analysis that draws on the criticisms developed by his contemporary and former student, Johann Gottfried Herder. The paper proceeds in three parts. In the first section, I present the evidence in favour of seeing both Kant and Herder as strident opponents of colonialism. In the second section, I then show the problems that arise in Kant’s position when his views on the state and property rights are taken into consideration. Kant’s coupling of the nation and state in contrast to Herder’s insistence that they are separate entities is highlighted as a crucial distinguishing point in their positions. In the third and final section, I indicate how Herder provides a far deeper critique of colonialism than Kant, also due to his recognition of the problematic nature of ideological pronouncements of progress.
“…Herder discusses in several important passages his own notion of 'humanity' [Humanitä t] and its purposes. Herder scholars have examined these passages and developed a set of characteristics Herder lauds: for instance, Adler (2009) argues that humanity includes a commitment to equality, reason and fairness, whereas Spencer (2012: 116-17) enumerates 13 characteristics, including perfectibility, authenticity and self-realization. Missing, however, from this discussion is an account of what holds all these characteristics together.…”
Section: The Uniqueness Of Cultures and Their Vocation For Herdermentioning
Liberal approaches to multiculturalism and cultural nationalism have met with severe criticism in recent years. This article makes the case for an alternative, Aristotelian approach developed in the work of the ‘founding father’ of culture, J. G. Herder. According to Herder, culture is worthy of political recognition because it contributes to the realization of our common but contradictory human telos. Only a plurality of cultures, each realizing a unique balance of our contradictory needs, can bring wholeness to our common nature. In conclusion, I argue for the merits of this Aristotelian approach in resolving some recurring problems of multiculturalism.
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