22nd International Symposium on Ethics, Business and Society

Barcelona · June 19-20, 2023

The Role of Ethics in Turbulent Times: Rationality and Virtues in Decision-Making

The world is in a bit of turmoil. After being paralyzed by the pandemic, the world has entered a vertiginous spin zone where everything seems to be shaky: armed conflicts in Europe, a runaway economy, problems in the supply of raw materials, social tensions, and the radicalization of political positions are some of the phenomena that agitate the waters of this sea in which we sail. And all this is in addition to the more structural problems we have been working on for years, summarized in the sustainable development goals that we aim to achieve by 2030.

Business activity can be influenced by this volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) world. The company is essential in shaping society and cannot remain on the sidelines of all these circumstances. In some cases, businesses will have been partly responsible for the emergence of these phenomena; but they must undoubtedly be part of the solution. Businesses must be proactive in their decision-making to succeed in this VUCA world.

Some managers will opt for opportunistic decisions, looking at the short term, surfing through difficulties. Others will adopt a more strategic stance with a longer-term vision, seeking a haven from the bad weather.

In the 22nd International Symposium on Ethics, Business and Society, we would like to question how ethics helps to make better decisions in a complex, changing, and complicated world such as the one especially faced by companies in these times.

On the one hand, economic rationality is insufficient to explain decision-making processes and to answer “the reasons of the heart” that move people to act as consumers, employees and citizens. Decision-making must consider the complexity of the human being – which is not only economic rationality, not to mention the issues that are opening up with the development of artificial intelligence. What may other aspects of rationality be relevant? What moral competencies must managers develop to make sound decisions and meet today’s challenges?

Moreover, businesses must be designed to cope with the multiple demands of a complex environment. They must develop organizational capabilities and virtuousness that make them agile, resilient, collaborative, and innovative, along with responsible and virtue-based leadership. Establishing a robust ethical culture with a corporate purpose that goes beyond the generation of financial profit, and business models that look at the social and environmental impact of business activity are other points of reference to serve as a compass for companies to navigate their way through these turbulent times.

We should include in our reflections the need to think about the business education that current and future business leaders receive and how we introduce ethical aspects into the teaching of decision-making.

Agenda

Monday, June 19 (9:15 a.m. – 10:30 p.m.)

9:15 – 10:00 a.m.: Registration

10:00 – 10:30 a.m.: Welcome Addresses and Introduction

Joan Fontrodona

10:30 – 11:45 a.m.: Plenary Session I: Rationality and Virtues in Decision-making

Making Wise Decisions in Business Management
Prof. Kleio Akrivou, Professor of Business Ethics and Moral Development, Henley Business School, University of Reading, UK
Triple Rationality and Virtues for a Sound Decision-making
Prof. Domènec Melé, Chair of Business Ethics, IESE Business School, University of Navarra, Spain

11:45 – 12:15 a.m.: Coffee Break

12:15 – 1:30 p.m.: Plenary Session II: Ethics in Management and Governance in Turbulent Times

A common good response to the sustainability challenge
Dulce Redín, Associate Professor, Facultad de CC. Económicas y Empresariales, Universidad de Navarra, Spain
Sustainable Development in decision making and corporate governance
Jacob Dahl Rendtorff, Professor of philosophy of management and business ethics, Department of Business and Social Sciences, Roskilde University, Denmark

1:45 – 2:45 p.m.: Lunch

2:45 – 4:30 p.m.: Concurrent Sessions I

See sessions

4:30 – 4:45 p.m.: Break

4:45 – 6:30 p.m.: Concurrent sessions II

See sessions

8:30 – 10:30 p.m.: Conference Dinner

Tuesday, June 20th (9:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.)

9:30 – 10:45 a.m.: Plenary Session III: Purpose as a Moral Anchor to the Current and Future Challenges of Business

Making corporate purpose effective: Integrating it into corporate strategy and business model
Jordi Canals, Professor of Strategic Management. Fundación IESE Chair in Corporate Governance
Title TBC
Bruno Bobone, President UNIAPAC International, Chairman Grupo Pinto Basto

10:45 – 11:15 a.m.: Coffee Break

11:15 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.: Concurrent Sessions III

See sessions

12:30 – 12:45 p.m.: Break

12:45 – 2:00 p.m.: Plenary Session IV: Challenges for business education: developing practical wisdom in future managers

Drivers to the Integration of Ethics in Business Education
Bertrand Venard, Professor, Organizational Studies & Ethics Department, Audencia, France
The Purpose of Business Education and Business Schools
Hector Rocha, Professor and Chair of Sustainable Integral Development, IAE Business School, Buenos Aires, Argentina

2:00 – 3:00 p.m.: Farewell Cocktail

Speakers' presentations

Important Deadlines for Papers

March 29, 2023. Paper proposal of about 1000 words, including objectives, methodology, possible findings, and relevant references. (Response to the authors before April 12).

May 22, 2023. Full papers. The suggested paper length is about 7000 words, with an abstract of about 250 words. (Authors interested in submitting their paper for further publication should make their interest explicit on the cover page).

June 30, 2023. Response to authors of accepted papers for a review process for publication in a special issue in the Humanistic Management Journal.

Instructions for Submission

The official language of the Symposium is English.
Send proposals using the paper submission platform.
For full papers, we suggest using the style guidelines of the Humanistic Management Journal.

Further Inquiries

Logistical questions about this conference can be addressed to Esther Ribes (eribes@iese.edu), and academic questions to Professor Joan Fontrodona (jfontrodona@iese.edu).

Tracks

The 22nd IESE International Symposium on Ethics, Business, and Society focuses on the role of ethics in managing business in these turbulent times, paying particular attention to how practical wisdom and moral virtues mediate decision-making. Although any conceptual or empirical paper related to the general theme of the Symposium is welcome, we suggest the following tracks:

Full rationality in decision-making
Rational and non-rational factors in decision-making
Practical wisdom and moral virtues in decision-making
Cognitive and motivational biases in ethical decision-making
Philosophical anthropology on decision-making
Religious and theological foundations for ethical decision-making
Teaching ethical decision-making
The role of responsible leadership in a VUCA world
Ethical issues in crisis management
Ethics and corporate reputation
Organizational values in turbulent times
Organizational agility and resilience
Business purpose: a compass for decision-making

Registration fees

Standard: €490
IESE Aumni member / Presenter: €450
Doctoral students: €190

Location & accommodation

Location

The 22nd International Symposium on Ethics, Business and Society will take place on the Barcelona North Campus of IESE Business School.

C/ Arnús i Gari 3-7
08034 Barcelona
+34 93 253 42 00

Google map

Accomodation

IESE is a dynamic community of scholars and practitioners who will welcome you to Barcelona, a traditional and welcoming Mediterranean city. It is a city with a great number of tourist attractions and a friendly atmosphere that will offer conference participants and their families plenty of opportunities to enjoy their stay here, over and above the academic program we are preparing for you. Accommodations options near IESE:

·Sansi Pedralbes → 5-minute walk from IESE
Av. Pearson 1-3, 08034 Barcelona

·Torre Girona Residence Halls → 10-minute walk from IESE
Passeig dels Til·lers, 19 , 08034 Barcelona

·AC Victoria Suites → 15-minute walk from IESE
C/ Beltrán i Ròzpide, 7-9 (before Av. Pedralbes, 16), 08034 Barcelona

·Abba Garden Hotel → 20-minute walk from IESE
C/ Santa Rosa, 33 , 08950 Esplugues de Llobregat, Barcelona

·Upper Diagonal → 15-minute walk from IESE
Passeig de Manuel Girona, 7, 08034 Barcelona

· Arenas Atiram → 11-minute car from IESE
C/ Capitán Arenas, 20, 08035 Barcelona