go glocal intercultural comparison of leadership ethics

Go GlocalIntercultural Comparison of

Leadership EthicsRafael Capurro

Stuttgart Media Universitywww.capurro.de

International Center for Information Ethics (ICIE)http://icie.zkm.de

6th Leadership Forum: Growing successfully – Crossing bordersDB Akademie GmbH, Potsdam November 30 – December 2, 2006

R. Capurro: Leadership Ethics East/West 2

Content

Introduction

I. Leadership Ethics in the „Far West“

II. Leadership Ethics in the „Far East“

III. How do we speak?

IV. Lessons Learned

Conclusion: Go Glocal


Introduction

Two dangers of intercultural dialogue: We remain satisfied with merely juxtaposing

concepts We remain at an early stage of an intercultural

dialogue, defined by what may only look like a common ground or an incompatible view...

…that in light of further dialogue, however, will dissolve into far more complex inter-relationships.


Introduction

The task of intercultural ethics: The quest for a global morality. Universal moral principles and local moral

traditions. The task of intercultural ethics. Ethics as problematization of morality.

We live in the „era of comparison“ (F. Nietzsche)


Introduction

Corporate Social Responsibility: Giving reasons for our actions Human Rights Sustainable Development (Ecology)

The precautionary principle/custom: Principles create obligations Precaution as an attitude


Introduction

Intercultural Comparison of Leadership Ethics

François Jullien‘s paths of comparative thinking between the „Far West“ and the „Far East“ (China).



Some leadership maxims from the „Far West“: „Thou Shalt Not…“ (morality and monotheism) (J.

Assmann) “meleta to pan“ (Periander, 600 BC) (take care of the

whole) „kairón gnothi“ (Pittakus, 600 BC) (know the right

moment/opportunity) „epimeleia heaoutou“ (Plato/Socrates) (take care of

one‘s self) Follow the „phronesis“ (Aristotle) (follow practical reason) Become master of the situation (virtù) (Macchiavelli) Universalize your maxim (Kant) Consider the consequences (Utilitarianism)


I. Leadership Ethics in der „Far West“

Greek roots of key leadership concepts Goal (telos/eidos) Action (praxis/poiesis) Means (di‘ou, ta pros to telos, hodós,) Will (boulesis) Subject (hypokeimenon) Leader (hegémon; demiourgós = pottery god) Actualization (efficacy)

(dynamis/enérgeia/entelécheia)



Leadership and action are related to a model (eidos) or goal (telos) that the leader (hegémon) is supposed to achieve through theoretical and practical reason (phronesis) on the basis of a plan/an idea(l) in order to master a situation.

Efficacy = the power or capacity to produce a desired effect

Such action is strategic (the action of a war leader or strategós), i.e., it concerns a project that anticipates a process towards a goal.



Such in-formative action is direct based on

the will/the freedom, the courage (andreia) and the knowledge of a leader or (decision) maker

heroicNature (physis) itself is conceived as a

production process (téchne) as done by a ‚pottery god‘ (demiourgós)



Key leadership concepts in the „Far East“: Process („dao“) (no goal) Transformation (not in-formation) Indirect (not direct) Discrete (no ‚show‘) Potentiality of the situation (not power of a

subject)



Key concept in Chinese war strategy: potentiality of the situation.

The potentiality of the situation (not the will/knowledge of a leader) is efficient.

Key task of the leader: to evaluate this potentiality (through lists/registers).



Process: no mean/goal relationshipTendency of the situation from the very

beginning (no model to follow)Denial of self: no hero and no theatrical

effectsMorality is more effective than violence or

(individual) powerRipening process of nature that is called

„heaven“



The polarity of heaven/earth develops a sponaneous interaction of initiative and receptivity (yin and yang)

Such action is discrete and indirect or gradual (no sudden events)

No plan or dream of masteryNo blocking through modelsWhat is an agreement?What are rules for?



‚No action‘ (wu wei) but in such a way that nothing remains undone.

The efficiency of the „dao“ vs. Western efficacy See also: „Efficiency is doing better what is

already being done“ (Peter F. Drucker) Immanentism vs. transcendence The opportunity is not a chance (tyche) beyond

a project but arises out of a ripening process.



Direct and indirect speech: A comparative view of language: Leadership ethics in the „Far West“ is based on

direct speech Leadership ethics in the „Far East“ is based on

indirect speech



Direct speech in the „Far West“: Freedom of speech, freedom of the press,

freedom of access (World Summit on the Information Society, WSIS)

Free speech (parrhesia) as a fundamental dimension of (Athenian) democracy (M. Foucault)

The tradition of indirect speech in the West: „Tricky reason“ (metis) Leo Strauss „Persecution and the Art of Writing“



The tradition of indirect speech in the „Far East“: In China the master speaks less and gives

signs. He calls the attention instead of transmitting a message.

Confucius: No speculative moral theory but a ‚logic of the path‘.

Lao-Tse: giving hints Dshuang-Tse: Fluctuating speech acompanying

the global process of the Dao.


IV. Lessons Learned

Changing the „place of thinking“ (Jullien): Overcoming ethnocentrism Becoming aware of different paths of thinking Taking distance from ourselves Meeting the other where he/she is, instead of ‚trans-

lating‘ him/her into your own.

Westernization and Easternization have produced hybrid cultures: the „Far East“ has ambitious goals and the „Far West“ deals with the question of ecology and sustainability.


Conclusion

„Feed your life“ (Dshuang-Tse/F. Jullien) and the life of your company, your society, our common world...

Go glocal: Open your mind to intercultural dialogue Do things responsibly – locally and globally. Follow the potentiality of the situation. „Growing successfully – Crossing borders“


Bibliography

Assmann, Jan: Religion und kulturelles Gedächtnis. München 2000.

Capurro, Rafael: Ethik der Informationsgesellschaft. Ein interkultureller Versuch. In: Wolfgang Coy et al. (Ed.): Shapes of the Things to Come - Die Zukunft der Informationsgesellschaft (2007) (in print).

http://www.capurro.de/parrhesia.html

Capurro, Rafael: Privacy. An intercultural perspective. In: Ethics and Information Technology. Vol. 7, No. 1, 2005, 37-47.

http://www.capurro.de/privacy.html

Capurro, Rafael: Intercultural Information Ethics. In: Rafael Capurro, Johannes Frühbauer, Thomas Hausmanninger (Eds.): Localizing the Internet. Ethical Issues in Intercultural Perspective. Schriftenreihe des ICIE, Bd. 4, München (2007) (in print)

http://www.capurro.de/iie.html


Bibliography

Clausewitz, Carl von: Vom Kriege. Bonn 1980.Foucault, Michel (1983). Discourse and Truth: the Problematization of

Parrhesia.http://foucault.info/documents/parrhesiaJullien, François: Conférence sur l‘efficacité. Paris 2005 (German:

Vortrag vor Managern über Wirksamkeit und Effizienz in China und im Westen. Berlin 2006).

-: Traité de l‘efficacité. Paris 1996 (German: Über Wirksamkeit. Berlin 1999; English: A Treatise on Efficacy: Between Western and Chinese Thinking. Hawaii Press 2004).

-: Nourrir sa vie. À l‘écart du bonheur. Paris 2005.Nagenborg, Michael: Ein Ortswechsel des Denkens. Interview mit

Rafael Capurro. In: Telepolis 20.03.2005.http://www.heise.de/tp/r4/artikel/19/19645/1.htmlStrauss, Leo (1988). Persecution and the Art of Writing. The University

of Chicago Press.

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