The Good Community: Practical Wisdom, Organizational Purpose, and the Rule of St. Benedict

Abstract

In some managerial approaches there is the hidden risk of reducing people to their rational capabilities applied to decision-making; on the contrary, people cannot suppress their deep nature, which involves emotions and spirituality in all their actions. This paper starts from this point of view and explores the importance of practical wisdom to build institutions that work toward the common good. The paper explores the Rule of St. Benedict (RSB) as a crucial source of spiritual capital that can help the development of practical wisdom for management. The research highlights three strongly related characteristics of the RSB: the coenobitical nature of Benedictine communities, the vision of abbots as "prudent managers", and the role of manual labor in monastic daily life. This analysis reveals several managerial implications of the RSB; in particular, with regard to the recognition of the purpose of organizations, which exceeds the narrow limits of individual (profitable) goals.