Sixth IECO-RCC International Colloquium at Harvard University

Alejandro Cañadas, PhD, Associate Professor of Economics at Mount St. Mary's University, and a IECO Researcher at the University of Valencia, reflects on the idea that there is inherent goodness in business, and that society is demanding more and more that companies, both public and private, should serve with a social purpose, a kind of social contribution and impact that can be measured. Moreover, Prof. Cañadas defends that it is possible to talk about a vocation of business leaders and workers to serve others and the society, a kind of calling that once discovered it helps each one to flourish in the workplace, in a personal and professional level.

Nicolas Salvador, Chief Financial Officer at Royo Group Manufacturing Company, one of the leading firms producing bathroom furniture in Europe, explains the importance of teams in Royo Group. In this company, they are convinced that if your team is good, you will be good, and if the team is not performing well, then you yourself will be a poor performer. In fact, you will be what your team is, and your team will be what you are. Example is essential, and, among other good practices, they promote gossiping success, turning around the idea of negative gossiping, and talking about small positive things that help all of us progress, small things that build trust and performance.

Aurelio Tornero, Manufacturing General Manager at RNB Cosmetics Manufacturing Company, explained the ‘essence’ of a firm devoted precisely to produce essences. In this Spanish company, one of the national leaders in its market, they firmly believe that every person in the organization is “equal in dignity while different in responsibility”. Their entire culture is founded in honoring others’ dignity, and the way they practice this approach to Business Ethics is through what they call “the Revolution of the small things”, consisting on taking care of little details in daily work, showing that they really care about people and work well done.

Donna Hicks, PhD, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University, defends a “positive” approach to trust building and flourishing in organizations from a dignity framing. She explains that honoring the dignity of others is a fast track to meaningful human connection, and the workplace gives us a prime opportunity to exchange micro-moments of positive resonance and love with others. Managers and bosses who are skilled in creating these moments of connection with their employees will build trust with their workers as well as contribute to their well-being and to the health of the culture within the organization. Not only will people thrive, but the organization grows and flourishes right along with it.

Tyler VanderWeele, PhD, is the John L. Loeb and Frances Lehman Loeb Professor of Epidemiology in the Departments of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and the Director of the Program on Integrative Knowledge and Human Flourishing at Harvard University. In this presentation he defends that we can, at least imperfectly, measure flourishing in the workplace and other settings. Suggesting that businesses should care about flourishing outcomes, which are more strongly related to job engagement, quality of work, and job satisfaction than are other physical health measures. So, companies should do more to increase and improve the well-being of their employees.

Moderator Danilo Petranovich, PhD, the Director of the Abigail Adams Institute, opened the colloquium introducing the institutions organizing the event and the panelists, and presenting a brief introduction of the topic on practical ways of humanizing business.

On March 22, 2018, the Sixth Annual IECO-RCC International Colloquium at Harvard University addressed the topic of “Trust Based Management: practical ways of humanizing business." The central question of the discussion was, if trust, flourishing and meaningful work are to be a concern for bosses and managers, then how do companies go about implementing and measuring successful outcomes for these intangibles? This colloquia series was conceived six years ago by Prof. Manuel Guillén, IECO’s founding director and currently the University of Valencia Representative at the Real Colegio Complutense at Harvard. And, since 2016, the event has been co-organized and generously supported by the Abigail Adams Institute. The series aims to promote timely interdisciplinary discussions of organizational ethics among academics and practitioners. The guest speakers were: • Danilo Petranovich, PhD, Director of the Abigail Adams Institute (Moderator). • Tyler VanderWeele, PhD, T.H. Chan School of Public