Praxiology - Böcker

The study of business ethics seeks to understand business institutions, practices and activities in light of normative behavior. The ethical concern is for the rightness or wrongness of human action. Business Students Focus on Ethics brings together essays written by twenty-five MA and MBA students from seven countries in Europe, North and South America, and the Pacific Rim. Collectively, they give us an applied business ethics framework, one with international dimensions.Business Students Focus on Ethics achieves a number of objectives: it recognizes ethics as legitimate content in graduate level studies in business world wide; seriously examines specific ethical concerns by young managers; and reflects on these concerns from across cultural and geographic borders. It also demonstrates the quality of their analysis and recommendations.The essays in this volume are arranged into four interrelated groups. The first group, "Praxiological and Ethical Framework," examines issues of human action from both the theory of human action (i.e., praxiological) and ethical dimensions. The section group of essays, "Social Issues-Compensation and Labor," discuss applications of praxiological and ethical principles in relation to the ethical responsibilities of business. The third group discusses "Ethical Issues in Health Care" from three different cultural perspectives. The fourth group is a series of "Corporate Case Studies." This volume may be seen as a companion to Volume 5 of the Praxiology series, Human Action in Business and will be of interest to business people, economists, policy makers, social scientists and students of philosophy and ethics.

With the collapse of communism and the accelerated trend of globalization, a new stage of capitalism has arrived. Protest actions that occurred in Seattle and Washington as well as in Prague and Genoa, clearly show that the legitimacy of capitalism is being questioned in many respects. Surveys in Eastern and Central Europe show that a considerable part of the population is not able to accept capitalism as an economic system. This volume assesses the ethical basis of capitalism in an effort to assess its future in the twenty-first century.Contributors range from one of the world's most successful capitalists and philanthropists to the founder of INSEAD, Europe's leading business school, to noted economists, philosophers, cultural historians, and business ethicists.

Volume l0 in this distinguished series addresses two distinct but interrelated philosophical movements, which exemplify different approaches to the study of ethics. Praxiology, an unique Central European philosophical movement, embraces the study of purposeful and conscious action and the elements essential to each action, act, and causative act. Pragmatism, an uniquely American philosophical movement, was founded by Charles S. Peirce and William James, and is based on the meaning of conceptions, defined in their practical bearings that guides actions and measures them by practical consequences of belief.The chapters in this volume are grouped in a section on Praxiology and one on Pragmatism. Each section defines the historical origins of their respective philosophical movements, describes their methodology, and interrelates their impact on "human conduct" and contemporary society. The section on Praxiology presents for the first time in English a seminal study, "The ABC of Practicality," written in l972 by Tadeusz Kotarbinski, the father of modern Polish praxiology. Wojciech W. Gasparski offers an interpretative analysis of Praxiology. Daryl Koehn explores the nature of practical judgment and Timo Airaksinen applies praxiological efficiency in professional ethics.The section devoted directly to Pragmatism includes scholarly contributions by eight academics on the relevance of pragmatism to management (Juan Fontrodona), business ethics (Sandra Rosenthal), law ( Fred Kellogg), and pragmatic inquiry (F. Byron Nahser). The contribution of Max Scheler to pragmatism (Manfred Frings) and the influence of William James on business ethics(Dennis McCann) are groundbreaking contributions to the study of pragmatism. The volume also includes a teaching model for a classroom application of pragmatism (Jack Ruhe), and concludes with an evaluation of the renaissance of interest in pragmatism in Europe (Jacek Sojka). Leo V. Ryan, C.S.V., professor of management, DePaul University, is past president of the Society for Business Ethics. He is co-editor of Human Action in Business (Vol. 5) and Business Students Focus on Ethics (Vol. 8) of the Praxiology series.F. Byron Nahser is chairman and CEO, Globe Group, Chicago, the originator of Pathfinder Pragmatic Inquiry Method and author of Learning to Read the Signs: Reclaiming Pragmatism in Business.Wojciech W. Gasparski is professor of humanities at the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, the Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, and editor-in-chief of the Praxiological series. He has published numerous volumes and over two hundred articles and conference papers.

This new volume in the distinguished Praxiology series examines the confluence of praxiology, pragmatics, and systemics in the study of systemic change through human inquiry, particularly small group activities, human organizations, and globalizing trends. It covers core concepts indigenous to organizational life. The author presents and subsequently integrates several conceptual schemes relevant to human beings and small groups engaged in human inquiry for systemic change in organizational settings.Each key concept in the volume is covered in a chapter theme that articulates the praxiology and pragmatics of human inquiry. Chapter 1 examines change as a systemic idea from a research methodologist's point of view. Chapter 2 articulates numerous points to distinguish systemic from non-systemic research methods to bring about systemic change. Chapter 3 discusses the prevalence of hierarchy and control. Chapter 4 focuses on "disciplinarity," viewed as one kind of quest for understanding complexity and change. Chapter 5 describes praxiology in inquiry. Chapter 6 elaborates on emergent forms of praxiology. Chapter 7 demonstrates the viability of systemic change through praxiology. Chapter 8 targets the general features of research process that are the means to effectuate systemic change, while Chapter 9 elaborates on these means toward developing systemic inquiry to systemic change. Chapter 10 discusses "complexification" in human inquiry and systemic change.Systemic Change Through Praxis and Inquiry is a pioneering effort to attain a more integrated view of research methodology for human inquiry. It will be of great interest to students of business, management, and organizational studies.Arne Collen is a long-standing member of both the Executive Faculty at Saybrook Graduate School in San Francisco and the Research and Teaching Adjunct Faculty in the California College of Organizational Studies and the California College of Professional Psychology of Alliant International University, San Francisco Bay Campus. He is a research methodologist, who, over the last three decades, has applied systemic and sociocybernetic perspectives to advances in research methodology for human inquiry. With Wojciech W. Gasparski, he is co-editor of Design and Systems, Volume 3 of the Praxiology series.

Volume 12 in this distinguished series explores current topics in praxiology as studied in France and elsewhere. As is characteristic of contemporary praxiology, contributors both investigate new topics and use new methods to re-examine older approaches.Part 1 is composed of three sections by French scholars. These deal with humans as a subject of action as well as a subject of knowledge. In respecting the particular domains of psychology and praxiology, they demonstrate how they converge to shed light on the human being as an individual or as part of a group. The first section discusses relations between individual action and collective action, while the second section is concerned with relations between the act, objects, and space, and explores work spaces, production spaces, office spaces, and social spaces. The third section examines relations between action and cognition, a domain considered to be little understood in general. Finally, the role of mathematics in decision-making is discussed as a determinate of the praxiological process.The second part is composed of contributions by scholars from Finland, Great Britain, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and the United States. The topics are: how praxiology helps economists understand cooperative actions and related issues of different responsibilities; how and to what an extent university education creates conditions for competitive advantage in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and how problems of corporate governance are approached in the region; how innovation influences competence in the region of established economy in Spain; and how information systems constitute a multi-agent system. Finally, a formal analysis of praxiological dimensions in light of the fuzzy logic approach is discussed.

Using the theory of management fashions proposed in the 1990s by Eric Abrahamson, Krzysztof Klincewicz analyzes the changing popularity of management concepts accompanied by solutions. Among these are management bestsellers, consulting services, software systems, "methodologies," and approaches to organizational change, training courses, professional certifications and even new corporate positions.The book presents the phenomena of management fashions as being the key driver for the development of the management knowledge industry, consisting of consulting companies, computer firms, publishing houses, professional institutes, and other organizations involved in the launching and the promotion of new management techniques. The author supplements the existing body of knowledge by focusing on the supply-side of management fashions, particularly the strategies and marketing techniques of solution vendors, and proposes a model of relations between management ideas and tangible solutions, explaining how bestselling ideas are turned into objects and institutions.The empirical research described in this volume involves multiple methods, including discourse volume analysis and qualitative historical techniques. Included also is a comprehensive overview of the recent relevant developments in sociology, marketing, and organization sciences, in which the author draws on the heritage of praxiology by taking a meta-level perspective on the propositions of management science.

Economics is often accused of being "a-ethical"--lacking a moral perspective--if not altogether immoral. Its detractors criticize economic models of pure and perfect competition, and claim that economics should be concerned with social effects and strive to be equitable. Yet, these critics fail to understand that the discipline has many dimensions. Economics has also developed a group of concerns directly related to ethics. The presence of practical ethics is evident in the economic analysis of behavior that incorporates ethical preference, altruism, and a responsible calculation based on norms. It is fair today that economics differentiates ethics from purely financial matters, and the discipline can be associated with morality in man's daily life.Volume 14 of the distinguished Praxiology series, examine the concept of positive ethics in economics. While normative ethics moralizes economics, trying to render it more "just," positive ethics is first and foremost a model for the construction of theoretical economic reasoning: It reflects on ethical practices within economics, and introduces a model of reasoning that takes individual ethical behavior and its aftereffects into account. The book is divided into three parts. In "Altruism," the contributors discuss the notion of unselfish concern for the welfare of others, and its place in economic practice. In "Commitment," the authors discuss reason as being central to economic theory, as well as the position of ethical behavior. In "Responsibility," the idea that man is not an island unto himself, but a being involved in a set of relationships, is examined. If a person is simultaneously responsible for himself and others, then how far does his responsibility extend?Essays on Positive Ethics in Economics is thought-provoking volume that will be of interest to economists, policymakers, philosophers, and students of ethics and morality.JÚr¶me Ballet is senior lecturer in economics at the University of Versailles and senior research fellow at the C3ED (Economics and Ethics Center for Environment and Development). He is the editor of the online journal Ethics and Economics and has published several books and articles on ethics and economics.Damien Bazin is a research fellow at the C3ED, where his specialization is economic philosophy. He is associate editor of Ethics and Economics.

The 25th volume in the series Praxiology: The International Annual of Practical Philosophy and Methodology brings a praxiological perspective to current issues facing our society. In sixteen brand-new essays, a team of international scholars expands praxiology beyond the borders of its historically philosophical application and uses it to address real-world problems in a variety of fields. The volume outlines new approaches and reflections on traditional praxiological method, and then applies these developments as tools in fields as diverse as ethics, psychology, sociology, economics, management, and entrepreneurship. Grounded in the tradition of the Polish praxiologist Tadeusz Kotarbiński (1886-1981), the 25th volume, entitled Praxiological Essays: Texts and Contexts, highlights the rich mosaic of issues perceived in the practice of human action, and carries a tradition of Praxiological inquiry forward into our contemporary philosophy, methodology, and social sciences.

The 25th volume in the series Praxiology: The International Annual of Practical Philosophy and Methodology brings a praxiological perspective to current issues facing our society. In sixteen brand-new essays, a team of international scholars expands praxiology beyond the borders of its historically philosophical application and uses it to address real-world problems in a variety of fields. The volume outlines new approaches and reflections on traditional praxiological method, and then applies these developments as tools in fields as diverse as ethics, psychology, sociology, economics, management, and entrepreneurship. Grounded in the tradition of the Polish praxiologist Tadeusz Kotarbiński (1886-1981), the 25th volume, entitled Praxiological Essays: Texts and Contexts, highlights the rich mosaic of issues perceived in the practice of human action, and carries a tradition of Praxiological inquiry forward into our contemporary philosophy, methodology, and social sciences.

The study of business ethics seeks to understand business institutions, practices and activities in light of normative behavior. The ethical concern is for the rightness or wrongness of human action. Business Students Focus on Ethics brings together essays written by twenty-five MA and MBA students from seven countries in Europe, North and South America, and the Pacific Rim. Collectively, they give us an applied business ethics framework, one with international dimensions.Business Students Focus on Ethics achieves a number of objectives: it recognizes ethics as legitimate content in graduate level studies in business world wide; seriously examines specific ethical concerns by young managers; and reflects on these concerns from across cultural and geographic borders. It also demonstrates the quality of their analysis and recommendations.The essays in this volume are arranged into four interrelated groups. The first group, "Praxiological and Ethical Framework," examines issues of human action from both the theory of human action (i.e., praxiological) and ethical dimensions. The section group of essays, "Social Issues-Compensation and Labor," discuss applications of praxiological and ethical principles in relation to the ethical responsibilities of business. The third group discusses "Ethical Issues in Health Care" from three different cultural perspectives. The fourth group is a series of "Corporate Case Studies." This volume may be seen as a companion to Volume 5 of the Praxiology series, Human Action in Business and will be of interest to business people, economists, policy makers, social scientists and students of philosophy and ethics.

The more complex a human action is, the greater the need to formulate a plan of action, devise a method of implementation, and evaluate its execution. Such preparation is called design or planning, and can be defined as a conceptual preparation for action. Design and planning by themselves are so complex and important that they need informed preparation, which calls for systematic designological studies.This volume brings together original contributions of researchers and practitioners in design theory, design research, and design studies. Its main purpose is to highlight the possibilities of the discipline of designology. Doing and thinking, or thinking and doing, whatever the order, are intertwined. That is why praxiology, the science of action, defines design as a conceptual preparation of action.Included here are contributions from Jack Brzezinski, Eduardo Corte-Real, Nigel Cross, Michel Faucheux, Joelle Forest, Wojciech W. Gasparski, Ioannes B. Kapelouzos, Thorbjoern Mann, Tom Maver, Tarkko Oksala, Tufan Orel, Sevil Saryldz, and Ladislav Tondl. Designology is the latest volume in Transaction's highly regarded Praxiology series.

The need for solutions to environmental problems is urgent. Expanded environmental research and knowledge, along with interest in environmental issues, has focused attention on the social, political, and practical aspects of environmental problems. Environmental Political Philosophy searches for common environmental goals, values, and policies in society.An essential undercurrent in political theory about the environment is that such issues are not questions of efficiency or technology. They cannot simply be addressed through knowledge of processes and mechanics of nature, by boosting or targeting research, or by allocating of resources and development of technology. Neither can they be resolved solely by increasing civic understanding and mounting environmental campaigns or requiring endless eco-friendly actions.A crucial element of environmental political philosophy is highlighted through the studies in this volume, which address the question of what constitutes efficient action or effective decision making. Praxiology commences with empirical orientation, but does so by maintaining the important sense that in the evaluation of actions and policies, ethical considerations must be employed in conjunction with effectiveness and efficiency.

With the collapse of communism and the accelerated trend of globalization, a new stage of capitalism has arrived. Protest actions that occurred in Seattle and Washington as well as in Prague and Genoa, clearly show that the legitimacy of capitalism is being questioned in many respects. Surveys in Eastern and Central Europe show that a considerable part of the population is not able to accept capitalism as an economic system. This volume assesses the ethical basis of capitalism in an effort to assess its future in the twenty-first century.Contributors range from one of the world's most successful capitalists and philanthropists to the founder of INSEAD, Europe's leading business school, to noted economists, philosophers, cultural historians, and business ethicists. Chapter 1, "Against Market Fundamentalism: 'The Capitalist Threat' Reconsidered," by George Soros, Olivier Giscard d'Estaing and others, is the edited and extended version of the public debate with Soros on his influential paper "The Capitalist Threat." Chapter 2, "Ethics of Capitalism," by Peter Koslowski, follows the thesis that capitalism constitutes a necessary component of a free society. Chapter 3, "Misunderstood and Abused Liberalism," by Lubomir Mlcoch, focuses on the problems of Czech-style capitalism. Chapter 4, "Humanizing the Economy" by Stefano Zamagni, investigates the role of civil society in relation to the market and the state. Chapter 5, "The Possibility of Stakeholder Capitalism," by Edward R. Freeman, argues that stakeholder relationships are a key to understanding the functioning of business in today's world. Chapter 6, "Effectiveness, Efficiency, and Ethicality in Business and Management," by Wojciech W. Gasparski, introduces the praxiology tradition in the debate about ethical aspects of capitalism. Chapter 7, "Responsibility and Profit Making," by Lszszl¾ Zsolnai, explores the conditions for ethical and social acceptability of profit making.Collectively, this volume addresses the ethical problems of the capitalist economy with special reference to globalization, and suggests that business ethics and the future of capitalism are strongly connected. It will be of particular interest to business people, economists, policy makers, social scientists and students of philosophy and ethics.Lszszl¾ Zsolnai is director of the Business Ethics Center at Budapest University of Economic Sciences and is SzÚchenyi Distinguished Professor in Ethics and Economics, awarded by the Hungarian Ministry of Education. Wojciech W. Gasparski is professor at the Insititute of Philosophy and Sociology, the Polish Academy of Sciences, and editor-in-chief of the Praxiology series.

Volume 12 in this distinguished series explores current topics in praxiology as studied in France and elsewhere. As is characteristic of contemporary praxiology, contributors both investigate new topics and use new methods to re-examine older approaches.Part 1 is composed of three sections by French scholars. These deal with humans as a subject of action as well as a subject of knowledge. In respecting the particular domains of psychology and praxiology, they demonstrate how they converge to shed light on the human being as an individual or as part of a group. The first section discusses relations between individual action and collective action, while the second section is concerned with relations between the act, objects, and space, and explores work spaces, production spaces, office spaces, and social spaces. The third section examines relations between action and cognition, a domain considered to be little understood in general. Finally, the role of mathematics in decision-making is discussed as a determinate of the praxiological process.The second part is composed of contributions by scholars from Finland, Great Britain, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and the United States. The topics are: how praxiology helps economists understand cooperative actions and related issues of different responsibilities; how and to what an extent university education creates conditions for competitive advantage in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and how problems of corporate governance are approached in the region; how innovation influences competence in the region of established economy in Spain; and how information systems constitute a multi-agent system. Finally, a formal analysis of praxiological dimensions in light of the fuzzy logic approach is discussed.

Using the theory of management fashions proposed in the 1990s by Eric Abrahamson, Krzysztof Klincewicz analyzes the changing popularity of management concepts accompanied by solutions. Among these are management bestsellers, consulting services, software systems, "methodologies," and approaches to organizational change, training courses, professional certifications and even new corporate positions.The book presents the phenomena of management fashions as being the key driver for the development of the management knowledge industry, consisting of consulting companies, computer firms, publishing houses, professional institutes, and other organizations involved in the launching and the promotion of new management techniques. The author supplements the existing body of knowledge by focusing on the supply-side of management fashions, particularly the strategies and marketing techniques of solution vendors, and proposes a model of relations between management ideas and tangible solutions, explaining how bestselling ideas are turned into objects and institutions.The empirical research described in this volume involves multiple methods, including discourse volume analysis and qualitative historical techniques. Included also is a comprehensive overview of the recent relevant developments in sociology, marketing, and organization sciences, in which the author draws on the heritage of praxiology by taking a meta-level perspective on the propositions of management science.

Economics is often accused of being "a-ethical"--lacking a moral perspective--if not altogether immoral. Its detractors criticize economic models of pure and perfect competition, and claim that economics should be concerned with social effects and strive to be equitable. Yet, these critics fail to understand that the discipline has many dimensions. Economics has also developed a group of concerns directly related to ethics. The presence of practical ethics is evident in the economic analysis of behavior that incorporates ethical preference, altruism, and a responsible calculation based on norms. It is fair today that economics differentiates ethics from purely financial matters, and the discipline can be associated with morality in man's daily life.Volume 14 of the distinguished Praxiology series, examine the concept of positive ethics in economics. While normative ethics moralizes economics, trying to render it more "just," positive ethics is first and foremost a model for the construction of theoretical economic reasoning: It reflects on ethical practices within economics, and introduces a model of reasoning that takes individual ethical behavior and its aftereffects into account. The book is divided into three parts. In "Altruism," the contributors discuss the notion of unselfish concern for the welfare of others, and its place in economic practice. In "Commitment," the authors discuss reason as being central to economic theory, as well as the position of ethical behavior. In "Responsibility," the idea that man is not an island unto himself, but a being involved in a set of relationships, is examined. If a person is simultaneously responsible for himself and others, then how far does his responsibility extend?Essays on Positive Ethics in Economics is thought-provoking volume that will be of interest to economists, policymakers, philosophers, and students of ethics and morality.JÚr¶me Ballet is senior lecturer in economics at the University of Versailles and senior research fellow at the C3ED (Economics and Ethics Center for Environment and Development). He is the editor of the online journal Ethics and Economics and has published several books and articles on ethics and economics.Damien Bazin is a research fellow at the C3ED, where his specialization is economic philosophy. He is associate editor of Ethics and Economics.

Volume l0 in this distinguished series addresses two distinct but interrelated philosophical movements, which exemplify different approaches to the study of ethics. Praxiology, an unique Central European philosophical movement, embraces the study of purposeful and conscious action and the elements essential to each action, act, and causative act. Pragmatism, an uniquely American philosophical movement, was founded by Charles S. Peirce and William James, and is based on the meaning of conceptions, defined in their practical bearings that guides actions and measures them by practical consequences of belief.The chapters in this volume are grouped in a section on Praxiology and one on Pragmatism. Each section defines the historical origins of their respective philosophical movements, describes their methodology, and interrelates their impact on "human conduct" and contemporary society. The section on Praxiology presents for the first time in English a seminal study, "The ABC of Practicality," written in l972 by Tadeusz Kotarbinski, the father of modern Polish praxiology. Wojciech W. Gasparski offers an interpretative analysis of Praxiology. Daryl Koehn explores the nature of practical judgment and Timo Airaksinen applies praxiological efficiency in professional ethics.The section devoted directly to Pragmatism includes scholarly contributions by eight academics on the relevance of pragmatism to management (Juan Fontrodona), business ethics (Sandra Rosenthal), law ( Fred Kellogg), and pragmatic inquiry (F. Byron Nahser). The contribution of Max Scheler to pragmatism (Manfred Frings) and the influence of William James on business ethics(Dennis McCann) are groundbreaking contributions to the study of pragmatism. The volume also includes a teaching model for a classroom application of pragmatism (Jack Ruhe), and concludes with an evaluation of the renaissance of interest in pragmatism in Europe (Jacek Sojka). Leo V. Ryan, C.S.V., professor of management, DePaul University, is past president of the Society for Business Ethics. He is co-editor of Human Action in Business (Vol. 5) and Business Students Focus on Ethics (Vol. 8) of the Praxiology series.F. Byron Nahser is chairman and CEO, Globe Group, Chicago, the originator of Pathfinder Pragmatic Inquiry Method and author of Learning to Read the Signs: Reclaiming Pragmatism in Business.Wojciech W. Gasparski is professor of humanities at the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, the Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, and editor-in-chief of the Praxiological series. He has published numerous volumes and over two hundred articles and conference papers.

"What should I do?," "How should I deal with this?," "How should I behave?," "How should I act?" we ask ourselves daily. But, this is only the first part of the sentence, while the full sentence is "What should I do ... to achieve such and such?", for example to complete an assigned task, to do well before my boss or a client, to be pleased with myself, to carry out my plans, to make money in the stock market, to pass an exam, to complete an application, etc. These and similar questions that people ask, consciously or not, openly or not, are decisions.What skills must we master, especially when there is a need to make not only elementary decisions, but also decisions that affect the existence, health, and even lives of people? First, Laszlo Zsolnai writes that we should acquire the skill of gaining knowledge. Only then will we stand a chance of reacting to things that are improbable today, but could become a fact tomorrow. Also essential is the skill of designing, i.e., preparing actions conceptually in order to make decisions before irreversible changes occur. Finally, it is essential to master the skill of multidimensional judgment within the space defined by effectiveness, efficiency, and ethics.This is Zsolnai's attempt to build a model of making ethical decisions both effectively and efficiently. Therefore, the model is much broader than purely an analytical framework would be. It must tell us how to act rather than limit us to reflection on actions already performed; it must combine decision and praxiological analysis of human conduct. The proposed model enlarges the scope of the debate and suggests new avenues of both rational and responsible decision making. This is an original statement of the crossover of policy and morality.

Praxiology deals with doing and working from the point of view of effectiveness. It has three components: analysis of concepts involving purposive actions; critique of models of action from the viewpoint of efficiency; and normative advisory aspects in recommendations for increasing human efficiency. This fourth volume of the Praxiology series is devoted to the very special topic of social agency. It focuses on two important praxiological concepts: rationality and preparation as preconditions for human action to be effective and efficient.The question of efficiency was raised by Anatol Rapoport over three decades ago in his lecture to the audience at the Praxiological Seminar in Warsaw in 1961. Social Agency begins with an article written by this same famous scholar on the topic of decision theory, "Social Dilemmas: A Historical Overview." Social dilemmas is the subject of the first part of this volume, a question related to studies on human action guided by two types of rationality: individual and collective rationality. The intersection of the two, in which individuals meet collectives, creates the situation in which social agency emerges, generating dilemmatic circumstances for the actors involved.The articles collected in the second part explore praxiological dimensions of education aimed toward the knowledge society, because of knowledge possessed and produced by educated persons. Chapters and contributors to volume 4 include: "Five Questions on the Research on Social Dilemmas" by Marek K. Mlicki; "Psychological Processes Underlying Cooperation in Social Dilemmas" by Paul A. M. Van Lange and David M. Messick; "Designing a System for Design Learning: Designers and/or Learners?" by Arne Collen; "Creating an Evolutionary Image of New Systems of Learning and Human Development" by Janet A. Khan; and "A Study Program Design in Retrospect" by Stig C. Holmberg. Social Agency continues the trend of original research done in a little-known, but important area. Social scientists, policymakers, and educators will benefit from this work.

This new volume in the distinguished Praxiology series examines the confluence of praxiology, pragmatics, and systemics in the study of systemic change through human inquiry, particularly small group activities, human organizations, and globalizing trends. It covers core concepts indigenous to organizational life. The author presents and subsequently integrates several conceptual schemes relevant to human beings and small groups engaged in human inquiry for systemic change in organizational settings.Each key concept in the volume is covered in a chapter theme that articulates the praxiology and pragmatics of human inquiry. Chapter 1 examines change as a systemic idea from a research methodologist's point of view. Chapter 2 articulates numerous points to distinguish systemic from non-systemic research methods to bring about systemic change. Chapter 3 discusses the prevalence of hierarchy and control. Chapter 4 focuses on "disciplinarity," viewed as one kind of quest for understanding complexity and change. Chapter 5 describes praxiology in inquiry. Chapter 6 elaborates on emergent forms of praxiology. Chapter 7 demonstrates the viability of systemic change through praxiology. Chapter 8 targets the general features of research process that are the means to effectuate systemic change, while Chapter 9 elaborates on these means toward developing systemic inquiry to systemic change. Chapter 10 discusses "complexification" in human inquiry and systemic change.Systemic Change Through Praxis and Inquiry is a pioneering effort to attain a more integrated view of research methodology for human inquiry. It will be of great interest to students of business, management, and organizational studies.Arne Collen is a long-standing member of both the Executive Faculty at Saybrook Graduate School in San Francisco and the Research and Teaching Adjunct Faculty in the California College of Organizational Studies and the California College of Professional Psychology of Alliant International University, San Francisco Bay Campus. He is a research methodologist, who, over the last three decades, has applied systemic and sociocybernetic perspectives to advances in research methodology for human inquiry. With Wojciech W. Gasparski, he is co-editor of Design and Systems, Volume 3 of the Praxiology series.

Praxiology deals with working and doing from the point of view of effectiveness. It has three components: analysis of concepts involving purposive actions; critique of modes of action from the viewpoint of efficiency; and normative advisory aspects in recommendations for increasing human efficiency. This seventh volume of the Praxiology series focuses on the roots of the discipline. It brings together a selection of writings that illustrate various stages of French thought concerning this philosophy and methodology of action. It is also conceived as a tribute to the writings of Louis Bourdeau and V. Alfred Espinas, key figures in the origin of praxiology.In the first part, "The Origin of Praxiology" examines these origins in the work of Bourdeau and Espinas. Bourdeau's essay demonstrates the influence of contemporary theories, in particular those of evolution and Comte's positivism, but also shows the critical sense and originality of his thought. With reference to Greek philosophy, Espinas's contribution underlines the complex relations between acts and laws; it enables him to follow the slow progression of individuals as they endeavor to shape their destiny according to the circumstances and the direction of their attitudes. In the second part, "Science of Human Action," Maurice Blondel opposes radical rationalism and warns against the positive sciences. Abraham Moles and Elisabeth Rohmer offer an original approach inspired by phenomenology. In the third part, "Action Theory and Its Applications," the texts of Roland Caude and Arnold Kaufmann focus on humanist preoccupations, setting action in the economic context of the firm and the city. Victor Alexandre deals with the structural analysis of real and fictitious actions applied to a large number of elementary acts. Robert Vallée's concluding essay proposes a model consisting of operators for observation, decision, and effectiveness in order to formalize the link between knowledge and action.What emerges from this volume is the constant idea that an individual's destiny is linked to the efficiency of his acts, but also that efficiency as a concept itself has multiple aspects, none of which should be underestimated.

Transition Redesigned deals with the philosophical bases of different types of transition: change in the economy, organizational/institutional change, and change in social and individual relationships. The editors' primary goal is to give further impetus to a much-needed worldwide debate on the issue of transition towards a better future.The volume reviews transitions made in different areas of human activity, assesses their relevancy, and analyzes their contexts. During this century, different organizations and institutions will undergo a level of radical and global change that has rarely been seen. The expected shift must be addressed in terms of a multidimensional transition toward building a sustainable society.Do we have an understanding of transition relevant to the task of meeting at least some of the challenges presented in this volume? Do we need a radical innovation for redesigning the transition that may enforce real social and ethical responsibilities into organizational practice on different levels and bring to life new ideas? Transition Redesigned seeks to answer these questions.

This latest volume in this important international series discusses practical errors and wrongdoing considered under the action theory (praxiological) umbrella, linking these to ethical behavior. Human actions related to the conduct of business should be effective and efficient. But such praxiological criteria are of secondary importance to norms that should also be taken into account. The primary norm is ethical behavior, which defines the morality of business activities on the basis of the good; these are the presupposed foundations for the human actions in business.The articles in this volume discuss whistleblowing, or the exposure of behavior that violates the ethical foundations of business. They are written from different angles and present a variety of experiences, adding new value to both the subject of praxiology as well as ethics as it relates to economic activity in its social and global context. The issues, problems, and questions raised by this international group of eminent scholars have much to add to the contemporary debate induced by the present economic crises. These crises have revealed practical errors and hypocrisy of those responsible for leadership and management, primarily of financial institutions.

Technology is a crucial feature of the modern world, and human beings are necessarily technological creatures. Our goal must be to use technology effectively, efficiently, and ethically. We have hands that are adept at using tools, and intelligence that guides our actions. We also have desires and emotions that motivate us to achieve more and more, never allowing us to stop.From the viewpoint of praxiology, technology does not exist merely to satisfy the human need in an effective and efficient way. The problems of the modern world and the questions we must ask with respect to technology and how it is used are complicated and demanding. They may initially seem mysterious, perhaps even partly subconscious. In this fifteenth volume of a distinguished international series, contributors address essential questions about the philosophy and ethics of technology. Their intention is to point out the road not only to its better applications but also to its greater understanding.The first part of the book addresses general questions about the theory of technology. The second part of the volume focuses on special topics like information and communication technologies and work systems, as well as the foundations of problem solving and the history of innovation in the age of enlightenment. The third part of the book is on ethical judgments. It emphasizes the importance of ethics in the application of technology and, especially, when we commercialize it in order to meet the needs of the people in a free market society. This volume offers its reader a balanced picture of the state of the art of theoretical and applied issues in technology research--emphasizing the praxiological perspective that characterizes the entire series.

"What should I do?," "How should I deal with this?," "How should I behave?," "How should I act?" we ask ourselves daily. But, this is only the first part of the sentence, while the full sentence is "What should I do ... to achieve such and such?", for example to complete an assigned task, to do well before my boss or a client, to be pleased with myself, to carry out my plans, to make money in the stock market, to pass an exam, to complete an application, etc. These and similar questions that people ask, consciously or not, openly or not, are decisions.What skills must we master, especially when there is a need to make not only elementary decisions, but also decisions that affect the existence, health, and even lives of people? First, Laszlo Zsolnai writes that we should acquire the skill of gaining knowledge. Only then will we stand a chance of reacting to things that are improbable today, but could become a fact tomorrow. Also essential is the skill of designing, i.e., preparing actions conceptually in order to make decisions before irreversible changes occur. Finally, it is essential to master the skill of multidimensional judgment within the space defined by effectiveness, efficiency, and ethics.This is Zsolnai's attempt to build a model of making ethical decisions both effectively and efficiently. Therefore, the model is much broader than purely an analytical framework would be. It must tell us how to act rather than limit us to reflection on actions already performed; it must combine decision and praxiological analysis of human conduct. The proposed model enlarges the scope of the debate and suggests new avenues of both rational and responsible decision making. This is an original statement of the crossover of policy and morality.

This latest volume in this important international series discusses practical errors and wrongdoing considered under the action theory (praxiological) umbrella, linking these to ethical behavior. Human actions related to the conduct of business should be effective and efficient. But such praxiological criteria are of secondary importance to norms that should also be taken into account. The primary norm is ethical behavior, which defines the morality of business activities on the basis of the good; these are the presupposed foundations for the human actions in business.The articles in this volume discuss whistleblowing, or the exposure of behavior that violates the ethical foundations of business. They are written from different angles and present a variety of experiences, adding new value to both the subject of praxiology as well as ethics as it relates to economic activity in its social and global context. The issues, problems, and questions raised by this international group of eminent scholars have much to add to the contemporary debate induced by the present economic crises. These crises have revealed practical errors and hypocrisy of those responsible for leadership and management, primarily of financial institutions.

Entrepreneurship is the capability to be an entrepreneur. Beyond that idea is an ideology that a person's business actions result in industrial growth or technical advances, making that person a leader in the economic world. The contributors to this latest volume in the Praxiology Series, now available in paperback, are united in claiming that resourcefulness is a characteristic of people who take effective action, and that effectiveness is dependent on good, ethical purposes.The wide-angle definition of entrepreneurship presented in this volume demands that people and organizations engage in more than simple self-interest, but also display awareness of the prospects for wider growth and advances resulting from their decisions. In a period of financial crisis caused by irresponsible behavior by eminent would-be "entrepreneurs" the significance of this perspective should be evident. The editors claim that growth, not stagnation, advantage, not decline, are irreversible traits of business activity. This is why the very concept of entrepreneurship calls for values and responsibility—even more than in the past.The contributors develop the idea of entrepreneurship from both theoretical approaches religious and practical, or applied perspectives. This inter- and multidisciplinary approach offers readers a chance to rebuild trust in entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurship is the capability to be an entrepreneur. Beyond that idea is an ideology that a person's business actions result in industrial growth or technical advances, making that person a leader in the economic world. The contributors to this latest volume in the Praxiology Series, now available in paperback, are united in claiming that resourcefulness is a characteristic of people who take effective action, and that effectiveness is dependent on good, ethical purposes.The wide-angle definition of entrepreneurship presented in this volume demands that people and organizations engage in more than simple self-interest, but also display awareness of the prospects for wider growth and advances resulting from their decisions. In a period of financial crisis caused by irresponsible behavior by eminent would-be "entrepreneurs" the significance of this perspective should be evident. The editors claim that growth, not stagnation, advantage, not decline, are irreversible traits of business activity. This is why the very concept of entrepreneurship calls for values and responsibility—even more than in the past.The contributors develop the idea of entrepreneurship from both theoretical approaches religious and practical, or applied perspectives. This inter- and multidisciplinary approach offers readers a chance to rebuild trust in entrepreneurship.

The need for solutions to environmental problems is urgent. Expanded environmental research and knowledge, along with interest in environmental issues, has focused attention on the social, political, and practical aspects of environmental problems. Environmental Political Philosophy searches for common environmental goals, values, and policies in society.An essential undercurrent in political theory about the environment is that such issues are not questions of efficiency or technology. They cannot simply be addressed through knowledge of processes and mechanics of nature, by boosting or targeting research, or by allocating of resources and development of technology. Neither can they be resolved solely by increasing civic understanding and mounting environmental campaigns or requiring endless eco-friendly actions.A crucial element of environmental political philosophy is highlighted through the studies in this volume, which address the question of what constitutes efficient action or effective decision making. Praxiology commences with empirical orientation, but does so by maintaining the important sense that in the evaluation of actions and policies, ethical considerations must be employed in conjunction with effectiveness and efficiency.