Manuel Velilla

Publications

• In this paper we review the conventional analyses of management control systems, to conclude, first, that the "illusion of control" can mislead managers into believing that everything can be controlled and monitored, and , second, that no incentive system based only on extrinsic rewards can motivate individuals properly. Then, we investigate the philosophical foundations of the basic assumptions that, implicitly or explicitly, are made about the nature of the acting person. Based on personalist phenomenology, we show how the development of technical and moral values is crucial to the long-run survival of organizations. We end by offering some guidelines as to what control systems should be like in order to be compatible with the nature of human persons.

• The last years of the 20th Century were somewhat contradictory with respect to values like loyalty, trust or truthfulness. On the one hand (often implicitly, but sometimes very explicitly), narrowly defined self-interest seems to be the dominant force in the business world, both in theory and in practice. On the other hand, alliances, networks and other forms of cooperation have shown that self-interest has to be at least "enlightened". The academic literature has reflected both points of view, but frequently in an ambiguous way, since the concepts of loyalty and trust are somewhat elusive and equivocal. This paper attempts to analyze the concept of loyalty in depth, examining the different conceptions about the word that can be found in the literature. We begin by going to the management classics (specifically, Follett, Barnard and Simon), and then turn to the anthropological approach of Pérez López (1993), with its built-in ethical analysis, to show how trust and loyalty are crucial to the development of organizations. We end by suggesting in what ways loyalty and trust can be created and fostered in organizations.

• In this paper, we review the conventional analyses of management control systems. To conclude, first, that the illusion of control can mislead managers into believing that everything can be controlled and monitored; and second, that no incentive system based only on extrinsic rewards can motivate individuals properly. Then, we investigate the philosophical foundations of the basic assumptions that, implicitly or explicitly, are made about the nature of the acting person. Based on personalist phenomenology, we show how the development of technical and moral values is crucial to the long-run survival of organizations. We end by offering some guidelines as to what control systems should be like in order to be compatible with the nature of human persons.

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