Question

In his paper, “Beyond Selfishness,” Henry Mintzberg notes five mutually-reinforcing misconceptions that drive a series of disruptive wedges into society and distort our views of corporate and social responsibility. These wedges are “Economic Man”, “Shareholder Value”, “Heroic Leadership”, “Lean, Mean Organization” and “Rising Tide of Prosperity”. Discuss two (2) of these wedges: what each is, why it is a misconception, and why it is harmful to society.

Answer 1

Economic man is self interested and is focused on maximizing the level of personal gain. The "Economic Man" is never satisfied with what s/he has and thus always wants more and showcases greed. This wedge is based on faulty thinking and understanding as it creates a wedge of distrust in the society, between what are the individual wants and what are the societal needs. For example. a person would like to drive a car which is fast and consumes a lot of fuel but the society needs a fuel efficient car.

In the end one ends up being calculative and it results in a scheming society where one does things for individuals only, which proves harmful to the society. There is no cohesive factor present which brings the entire society together. A man lives in a social space and there needs to be some form of social engagement otherwise the entire fragment of societal values will fall apart.

Heroic Leadership is a wedge of disconnection, and thus it is detached. As it leads to faulty thinking of leaders being on top of pedestals and leadership is considered something which creates separation. There is talk of empowerment, doing collective work and gaining knowledge but it ultimately creates a disconnection as leadership is seen as something being apart and detached from the general crowd.

It is a problem because it leads to centralization of power which is so alike the traditional hierarchical lines. It is not real leadership where the form of leadership is quiet, connected, engaged with the people and involved in day to day activities. It is not centralized around team work, long term perspective and building an economy slowly and steadily. Instead it is focused on gaining as much gain as possible and completing projects in a short span of time in order to reap praise.