Refounding Corporate Governance: The Metaphysics of Corporate Leadership

An introduction is provided to the triadic metaphor of the mind, its depth and its breadth of applicability. A new concept of menetypes is introduced as being based on the triadic conception of human thinking which, essentially is defined by three psychic levels of abstraction that are enveloped by a conception of the transcendent other. This book explains corporate leadership in terms of the triadic metaphor of the mind encapsulated in the JEWAL Synthesis theory of menetypes - JEWAL being an acronym to signify a synthesis of particular aspects of Eastern philosophical psychology Western philosophy and depth psychology.

The triadic framework is used to explain how American society, for example, is understood in terms of its economic activity, its social activity and its political activity. This book focuses mainly on organizations that are in the economic sphere, which is explained in terms of the triadic formwork by consumption activity, production activity and associated market-exchange activity. The social sphere is explained within the triadic formwork by living standards, associative arrangements and the community's aesthetic life, and organizations in this sphere are discussed in Chapter 10. The third political sphere is explained essentially in terms of Montesquieu's (1952/1748) powers of the executive, the judiciary and the legislature – organizations in this sphere are discussed in more detail in the authors companion book on Refounding Political Governance: The Metaphysics of Public Administration.

The concept of organization is defined and explained in terms of the triadic hierarchy of participating individuals, organizational culture and organizational authority. The participant sphere of activity is explained in terms of the more detailed triadic hierarchy of the individual's role, the individual's personal character and personal commitment. The organization's culture sphere of activity is explained in terms of its explicit formulation, its implicit understandings and the decision-making processes encapsulated within it. The authority sphere of an organization is explained in terms of leadership, management and political power which echo Weber's (1947) conception of the dynamics of organizational power.

An analysis of Michels' (1962) Iron Law of Oligarchy is used to explore the shortcomings of democratic governance, the inherent tendency towards oligarchy and the individuals' desire to dominate others. Democratic governance is discussed in terms of the triadic notions of the act of governing, the rule of the people and the processes that have been sanctioned to effect the conscious intent of society. The explanations of the evolution of authority by Michels (1962) and Weber (1947) are compared within the triadic formwork and the making of an oligarch is discussed in exploring the evolution of governance.

The movement from the feudal society to the era of the entrepreneur and the subsequent evolution to managerialism has been well documented over past decades. A discussion of the significance of Mills' (1956) power elite is used to identify the more recent movement from managerialism to the politicization of corporate decision making. It is argued that in this new age of corporate politicism, the preparation of potential leaders should have a focus on broader societal and political viewpoints as opposed to inward-directed management of organizational behavior.

The trends in decision making in the modern capitalist society are discussed to analyse the evolving nature of organizational learning. The question of whether capitalism is in ascendancy or decline is discussed in terms of the observed movement between the economic, social and political spheres of society. Finally, the chapter discusses the nature of learning by both groups and individuals in the age of politicism, concluding that the higher educational sector has an even more important role to assist the organization and its managers in new ways of operating and learning.

The historical development of peoples' thinking on property is used to explore the nature and dynamics of governance in the private corporation. It is argued that there has been a shift to a higher level of abstract thinking on the rights of property ownership in keeping with the new age of politicism, which helps, in turn, to identify the new emerging responsibilities of executive management. This leads to an analysis of the shifting distribution of corporate political power between executive management and corporate boards. The treatment of the “corporation as a person” has to evolve into thinking about large corporations as well-governed societies akin to nation states.

The triadic structure of group knowing and decision making is used to analyse the adequacy of corporate boards' decision-making processes. The more formal corporate processes suggested by this analysis requires a higher commitment of time and cognitive energy by corporate directors. There follows a discussion of the impact of the shift from managerialism to politicism on the way people throughout the organization see how things should be done and the way the informal organization is prevailing over the formal hierarchy. The changing focus of stakeholders is analysed through a discussion of the hierarchies of external, internal and authority stakeholders of a corporation, leading to the conclusion that greater recognition needs to be given to the political nature of the corporate, decision-making process.

In exploring key concepts from Hirschman's (1970) Exit, Voice and Loyalty, an analysis of the actions of corporate executive members is provided in terms of their external role, their internal character and their resultant personal commitment. Their external roles are further examined in terms of their shared vision, hierarchical duties and their commitment to values. Their internal characters are further examined in terms of their personal will, logical thinking and feeling assessment. Their personal commitment is further explained in terms of their cognitive commitment to new initiatives, the internal process and their political stance in the corporation.

Organizations in the social sphere are analysed from the triadic viewpoint. Not-for-profit organizations are understood to be driven by inner meaning. The longevity of the Roman Catholic Church as an organization has been supported by a well-defined triadic structure and meaning. The governance of the Church is explored in terms of authority sphere, their cultural sphere and the participant sphere.

The university is the third organization from the social sphere analysed from the triadic viewpoint. The university's contribution to the overall “good” of society is analysed in terms of its commitment to skills formation, knowledge formation and the individual's commitment formation. The individual's personal knowledge is discussed in terms of explicit knowledge, implicit knowledge and personal judgment. There follows an analysis of the challenges facing universities in a society that has moved from a managerialist mindset, which is a very supportive orientation, to a politicist mindset which can be threatening to the core values of the university.

The metaphor of the mind as expressed in the JEWAL Synthesis formwork of knowing brings together the wisdom of Eastern philosophical psychology, Western philosophy and depth psychology. The propounded triadic, hierarchical formwork enables an incisive analysis of the way organizations are structured, governed and operated and helps give new meaning to a number of long-standing management polemics in relation to American organizations. The analysis in this book has focused mainly on the American corporation which operates in the economic sphere of society and concludes that changes are needed to reflect the cultural transition that has taken place from a managerialist orientation to a politicist one. Organizations in the social sphere of society are particularly challenged by this cultural shift and some insights are discussed on how the universities should address the particular challenges they are facing. Overall, this book provides a new way of looking at current governance issues that challenge modern organizations.

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