Professionals and social responsibility: Some patterns

Modern professionals are engaged in making things “better,” but the specific advances on the micro-level are increasingly undercut by problems on the macro-level. The content of this “better” is typically guided by values such as efficiency, productivity or cost-effectiveness, which are essentially...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Vanderburg, Willem H. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Springer Science + Business Media B. V 1989
In: Journal of business ethics
Year: 1989, Volume: 8, Issue: 2, Pages: 209-215
Further subjects:B Undercut
B Social Responsibility
B Specific Advance
B Ecological Context
B Economic Growth
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Summary:Modern professionals are engaged in making things “better,” but the specific advances on the micro-level are increasingly undercut by problems on the macro-level. The content of this “better” is typically guided by values such as efficiency, productivity or cost-effectiveness, which are essentially output over input ratios unable to account for how a specific improvement will fit into the broader human, social and ecological contexts. Hence, micro-level advances lead to fragmentation and a loss of harmony, compatibility and conviviality. The situation is further complicated by the fact that, culturally speaking, science and technology have become good in themselves, making reasonable discourse difficult. This paper concludes with an analogy from an earlier epoch suggesting how the situation may be resolved.
ISSN:1573-0697
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of business ethics
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1007/BF00382586