Minka Woermann
Minka Woermann (PhD) is an Associate Professor of Philosophy and the Chair of the Department of Philosophy at Stellenbosch University. She is also the Head of the Unit for Business Ethics and Public Integrity in the Centre for Applied Ethics. Her research interests include post-structural (French) philosophy, philosophical complexity theory, ethics, and business ethics. She is a National Research Foundation (NRF) accredited researcher and has published widely in journals and edited volumes. She is also the author of 'Bridging Complexity and Post-Structuralism: Insights and Implications' (Springer, 2016), and of 'On the (Im)Possibility of Business Ethics: Critical Complexity, Deconstruction, and Implications for Understanding the Ethics of Business' (Springer, 2013). She served as the editor-in-chief of the African Journal of Business Ethics from 2013 to 2016.
Phone: +27 (0)21 808 2136
Address: Department of Philosophy
Private Bag X1
Matieland 7602
Stellenbosch University
Phone: +27 (0)21 808 2136
Address: Department of Philosophy
Private Bag X1
Matieland 7602
Stellenbosch University
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understood as a societal institution, and hence, as a modern regime of institutional power. In terms of strengths, the ability to raise issues of knowledge, power and contestation that are traditionally ignored in educational theory is addressed. In
terms of weaknesses, Foucault’s problematic use and understanding of power and his apparent rejection of objective truth are investigated. The critique develops at the hand of influential, but competing, interpretations of Foucault’s contribution to the field of education in particular, and philosophy in general. It is argued that these influential readings of Foucault gain traction within specific discourses (such as education), and should thus be subjected to critical scrutiny.
Books
Specifically, the post-structural reading of philosophical complexity that was pioneered by Paul Cilliers is further developed in this study. To this end, the ideas of a number of contemporary French post-structural theorists and their predecessors - including Derrida, Nancy, Bataille, Levinas, Foucault, Saussure, Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Hegel - are introduced. The implications that their various insights hold for our understanding of complex human systems are teased out at the hand of the themes of economy, (social) ontology, subjectivity, epistemology, and ethics. The analyses are also illuminated at the hand of the problematic of the foreigner and the related challenges of showing hospitality to foreigners.
The study presents a sophisticated account of both philosophical complexity and philosophies of difference. By relating these subject fields, the study also extends our understanding of philosophical complexity, and offers an original characterisation of the aforementioned philosophers as complex thinkers.
Ethics for Accountants and Auditors third edition covers the ethics course for accounting and auditing students in their second or third year.
The text introduces students to the ethical dilemmas faced in the world of accounting and auditing, and equips them to deal with these issues in practice.
Corporations, and the environments in which they operate, are complex, with changing multiple dimensions, and an inherent capacity to evolve qualitatively. A central premise of this study is that a postmodern reading of ethics represents an expression of, and an engagement with, the ethical complexities that define the business landscape. In particular, the deconstructive philosophy of Jacques Derrida offers a non-trivial reading of a complex notion of ethics, and thereby helps us to develop the skills necessary to critique and intervene in our practices, and to develop robust strategies for living in the absence of prescriptive ethical frameworks. Although a central premise of this study is that substantive ethical claims can only be generated within a given context, the study nevertheless presents readers with a meta-position that illustrates the type of considerations that should inform ethical reflection from a complexity perspective. In order to illustrate the value that this meta-position holds for business ethics, these considerations are explored in terms of the implications that they hold for our understanding of corporate social responsibility, for the practice of responsible management and leadership practices, and for teaching business ethics.
Book chapters
In this chapter, we argue that a complex adaptive systems (CAS) orientation holds fruitful implications for governance (and specifically adaptive governance). Before looking at these implications, we firstly unpack key terms, namely CAS, adaptive governance, and resilience, as well as look at methodological considerations. Thereafter we present the features, capacities, and conceptual implications for understanding CAS, before turning to the practical and normative implications that the CAS features and capacities hold for intervening in complex adaptive systems, specifically governance systems. The chapter concludes with insights that the analysis holds for our understanding of what we call “systemic resilience”.
The goal of this chapter is to provide a systematic overview of the key theoretical and practical insights contained in the CAS, governance, and resilience literature. Such an overview is geared towards aiding scholars and practitioners alike to orientate themselves in terms of understanding and intervening in complex adaptive systems, specifically complex adaptive governance systems.
As with all models, the codification (and hence authority) of law is also founded on normative considerations, which is an insight that holds far-reaching implications for our understanding of the ethics of law. These implications are explored in terms of the establishment, implementation, policing, and transformation of law.
The overarching goal of this chapter is to critically analyse the normalcy and normativity of law, with the aim of recasting the law as an open system. In so doing, the generative dimension of law comes to light. It is shown that the stability and authority of law (including the law of the academy) function because of its transformative potential.
The analysis is informed by the complexity literature of Edgar Morin and Paul Cilliers, and the deconstructive philosophy of Jacques Derrida.
Although this chapter cannot do justice to Africa’s heterogeneity, Bharadwaj (1985: 9) reminds us that ‘we cannot, hiding behind the baffling diversity, refute the possibility of all theoretical abstraction and generalizability.’ As such, this chapter presents a systematic consideration of business ethics within Africa. Taking into account that business ethics is both an academic enterprise and a matter of practical conduct, the presentation also draws attention to pertinent historical, cultural, and institutional considerations that serve to complicate such analysis.
Apart from heterogeneity, a second challenge to writing on business ethics in Africa is ‘that scholars have largely ignored Africa’, as revealed by Parboteeah et al.’s (2013: 979) review of leading business ethics and management journals. Parboteeah et al. argue that the lack of scholarship on Africa is ‘surprising given the growing importance of the [African] region in terms of global trade’ (980). The dearth of literature on business ethics in Africa is most dire in the case of North Africa. For practical reasons, the focus of this chapter will thus be on the forty-four countries of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), which is further divided into West Africa, Southern African, East Africa, and Central and Francophone Africa.
That there is little in the way of scholarly literature on business ethics on the African continent need not, however, imply that there is little in the way of business ethics practice or that there are not strong African traditions that may sustain a business ethics. Therefore, in order to provide a comprehensive exploration of the topic at hand, both the academic and practical dimensions of business ethics in Africa need to be considered. This is achieved by providing three perspectives on the topic.
The first and obvious approach (forwarded in section one) constitutes a predominantly descriptive report on the developments in business ethics in the different regions of SSA. The second standpoint (undertaken in part two) looks at the development of business in Africa, with specific reference to the traditional African and Western influences. Despite the fact that Africa has inherited the business ethics language and tools from the West, the issues affecting the practice of business ethics in Africa cannot be separated from their unique contexts, which, in part, are shaped by historical forces. The third and final perspective (articulated in part three) delineates a normative response to African business ethics, premised on African culture, values, and business practices. As Shutte (2008) notes
there exists a characteristic indigenous ethical tradition or set of traditions in sub-Saharan Africa that has certain common characteristics… [and that] embodies ethical insights that are both true and important in themselves, and are also significantly lacking in the dominant ethical thinking in the global community (16).
This uniquely African ethical tradition is commonly referred to as Ubuntu. In the third section, the question of whether, and to what extent, Ubuntu could inform thinking on business ethics on the continent, as well as contribute to the formulation of global norms, is investigated.
Research reports
Book Reviews
understood as a societal institution, and hence, as a modern regime of institutional power. In terms of strengths, the ability to raise issues of knowledge, power and contestation that are traditionally ignored in educational theory is addressed. In
terms of weaknesses, Foucault’s problematic use and understanding of power and his apparent rejection of objective truth are investigated. The critique develops at the hand of influential, but competing, interpretations of Foucault’s contribution to the field of education in particular, and philosophy in general. It is argued that these influential readings of Foucault gain traction within specific discourses (such as education), and should thus be subjected to critical scrutiny.
Specifically, the post-structural reading of philosophical complexity that was pioneered by Paul Cilliers is further developed in this study. To this end, the ideas of a number of contemporary French post-structural theorists and their predecessors - including Derrida, Nancy, Bataille, Levinas, Foucault, Saussure, Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Hegel - are introduced. The implications that their various insights hold for our understanding of complex human systems are teased out at the hand of the themes of economy, (social) ontology, subjectivity, epistemology, and ethics. The analyses are also illuminated at the hand of the problematic of the foreigner and the related challenges of showing hospitality to foreigners.
The study presents a sophisticated account of both philosophical complexity and philosophies of difference. By relating these subject fields, the study also extends our understanding of philosophical complexity, and offers an original characterisation of the aforementioned philosophers as complex thinkers.
Ethics for Accountants and Auditors third edition covers the ethics course for accounting and auditing students in their second or third year.
The text introduces students to the ethical dilemmas faced in the world of accounting and auditing, and equips them to deal with these issues in practice.
Corporations, and the environments in which they operate, are complex, with changing multiple dimensions, and an inherent capacity to evolve qualitatively. A central premise of this study is that a postmodern reading of ethics represents an expression of, and an engagement with, the ethical complexities that define the business landscape. In particular, the deconstructive philosophy of Jacques Derrida offers a non-trivial reading of a complex notion of ethics, and thereby helps us to develop the skills necessary to critique and intervene in our practices, and to develop robust strategies for living in the absence of prescriptive ethical frameworks. Although a central premise of this study is that substantive ethical claims can only be generated within a given context, the study nevertheless presents readers with a meta-position that illustrates the type of considerations that should inform ethical reflection from a complexity perspective. In order to illustrate the value that this meta-position holds for business ethics, these considerations are explored in terms of the implications that they hold for our understanding of corporate social responsibility, for the practice of responsible management and leadership practices, and for teaching business ethics.
In this chapter, we argue that a complex adaptive systems (CAS) orientation holds fruitful implications for governance (and specifically adaptive governance). Before looking at these implications, we firstly unpack key terms, namely CAS, adaptive governance, and resilience, as well as look at methodological considerations. Thereafter we present the features, capacities, and conceptual implications for understanding CAS, before turning to the practical and normative implications that the CAS features and capacities hold for intervening in complex adaptive systems, specifically governance systems. The chapter concludes with insights that the analysis holds for our understanding of what we call “systemic resilience”.
The goal of this chapter is to provide a systematic overview of the key theoretical and practical insights contained in the CAS, governance, and resilience literature. Such an overview is geared towards aiding scholars and practitioners alike to orientate themselves in terms of understanding and intervening in complex adaptive systems, specifically complex adaptive governance systems.
As with all models, the codification (and hence authority) of law is also founded on normative considerations, which is an insight that holds far-reaching implications for our understanding of the ethics of law. These implications are explored in terms of the establishment, implementation, policing, and transformation of law.
The overarching goal of this chapter is to critically analyse the normalcy and normativity of law, with the aim of recasting the law as an open system. In so doing, the generative dimension of law comes to light. It is shown that the stability and authority of law (including the law of the academy) function because of its transformative potential.
The analysis is informed by the complexity literature of Edgar Morin and Paul Cilliers, and the deconstructive philosophy of Jacques Derrida.
Although this chapter cannot do justice to Africa’s heterogeneity, Bharadwaj (1985: 9) reminds us that ‘we cannot, hiding behind the baffling diversity, refute the possibility of all theoretical abstraction and generalizability.’ As such, this chapter presents a systematic consideration of business ethics within Africa. Taking into account that business ethics is both an academic enterprise and a matter of practical conduct, the presentation also draws attention to pertinent historical, cultural, and institutional considerations that serve to complicate such analysis.
Apart from heterogeneity, a second challenge to writing on business ethics in Africa is ‘that scholars have largely ignored Africa’, as revealed by Parboteeah et al.’s (2013: 979) review of leading business ethics and management journals. Parboteeah et al. argue that the lack of scholarship on Africa is ‘surprising given the growing importance of the [African] region in terms of global trade’ (980). The dearth of literature on business ethics in Africa is most dire in the case of North Africa. For practical reasons, the focus of this chapter will thus be on the forty-four countries of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), which is further divided into West Africa, Southern African, East Africa, and Central and Francophone Africa.
That there is little in the way of scholarly literature on business ethics on the African continent need not, however, imply that there is little in the way of business ethics practice or that there are not strong African traditions that may sustain a business ethics. Therefore, in order to provide a comprehensive exploration of the topic at hand, both the academic and practical dimensions of business ethics in Africa need to be considered. This is achieved by providing three perspectives on the topic.
The first and obvious approach (forwarded in section one) constitutes a predominantly descriptive report on the developments in business ethics in the different regions of SSA. The second standpoint (undertaken in part two) looks at the development of business in Africa, with specific reference to the traditional African and Western influences. Despite the fact that Africa has inherited the business ethics language and tools from the West, the issues affecting the practice of business ethics in Africa cannot be separated from their unique contexts, which, in part, are shaped by historical forces. The third and final perspective (articulated in part three) delineates a normative response to African business ethics, premised on African culture, values, and business practices. As Shutte (2008) notes
there exists a characteristic indigenous ethical tradition or set of traditions in sub-Saharan Africa that has certain common characteristics… [and that] embodies ethical insights that are both true and important in themselves, and are also significantly lacking in the dominant ethical thinking in the global community (16).
This uniquely African ethical tradition is commonly referred to as Ubuntu. In the third section, the question of whether, and to what extent, Ubuntu could inform thinking on business ethics on the continent, as well as contribute to the formulation of global norms, is investigated.