IF ARISTOTLE RAN

GENERAL MOTORS

Business Ethics and

Social Responsibility
Pauline Ann D. Perez

LIFE OF THE
AUTHOR
Thomas V. Morris Tom Morris
born in 1952 (63 yrs old)
Graduated in University of North Carolina with a degree in
Philosophy
Entered Yale University for graduate studies got a dual PhD
course for philosophy and religious studies
He focused on understanding the deeper wisdom about human
nature as the key to any corporate business success.

LITERARY WORKS
Philosophy for Dummies
True Success
The Art of Achievement
The Stoic Art of Living
If Aristotle Ran General Motors
If Harry Potter Ran General Electric (most recent)

INTRODUCTION
This book is focused on attaining long term business excellence
It is not specifically as the title suggest about General Motors, its a
representation of a group of people or organization.
The book does not only used Aristotles teachings but also used other
philosophers as well
All men seek happiness
Four Dimension of Human Experience
a) The Intellectual Dimension : Truth
b) The Aesthetic Dimension : Beauty
c) The Moral Dimension : Goodness
d) The Spiritual Dimension : Unity

THE
CURRENT
CLIMATE

"The greatest asset of any nation is

the spirit of its people, and the
greatest danger that can menace
any nation is the breakdown of that
spirit. George B. Cortelyou

Human has an inborn tendency to blame our problems and

failures on external circumstances deflecting our attention from
ourselves and inner state.
Corporate Spirit

-Management strategies anchored on business

excellence/comparative advantage/technical breakthroughs
(though seems correct & strategic) it forgets to look on the inside
or on the people who is doing the work.
People are not motivated to be and do their best unless they feel
some significant degree of satisfaction at work. They must sense
that their work is a good thing and doing it must bring them some
measure of HAPPINESS

THE
CURRENT
CLIMATE

The least of things with a meaning is

worth more in life than the greatest of
things without it. Carl Gustav Jung

People are beginning to feel confused. We all want to get our

bearings and make sense of our lives in times when the meaning of
it all is not obvious.
Where are we? Where are we going
The corporate world is unnecessarily losing a great number of
very talented people to midlife/midcareer crises.

HAPPINESS
All men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever
different means they employ, they all tend to this end. The
cause of some going to war, and of others avoiding it, is the
same desire in both, attended with different views. The will
never takes the least step but to this object. This is the
motive of every action of every man, even of those who hang
themselves. Blaise Pascal
If you understand Happiness you can touch the heart of human
motivation and unlock the deepest secret of sustainable success.

HAPPINESS AS PLEASURE
People notoriously seek money, fame, power, and status
Is Happiness same as Pleasure?
For all its importance in human life, pleasure is just one piece of
much larger puzzle. Imagine a life devoid from enjoyment, but
pleasure is not the same thing as happiness. The rich and famous
confirms this far too vividly.

A happy life consists in tranquility o

mind.
Marcus Tulius Cicero

HAPPINESS AS
PERSONAL PEACE

People needs to CALM DOWN

People tends to be too excited about the good things and too
depressed about the bad, we should have a sense of BALANCE to
paddle the waves of life.

HAPPINESS AS PERSONAL
PEACE
Is Happiness the same thing as Peace?

It is vain to say human beings ought to be satisfied

with tranquility; they must have action; and they will
make it if they cannot find it. George Eliot
Happiness is not a station you arrive at, but a
manner of traveling. Margaret Lee Runbeck

HAPPINESS AS
PARTICIPATION IN
SOMETHING FULFILLING
Happiness is the participation in something that brings fulfillment

FOUR DIMENSION OF
HUMAN EXPERIENCE
KEYS TO INDIVIDUAL HAPPINESS AT WORK AS WELL AS
SUSTAINABLE CORPORATE EXCELLENCE

I The Intellectual Dimension : TRUTH

II The Aesthetic Dimension : BEAUTY
III The Moral Dimension : GOODNESS
IV The Spiritual Dimension : UNITY

FOUR DIMENSION OF
HUMAN EXPERIENCE

TRUTH : THE INTELLECTUAL

DIMENSION AT WORK
No one can navigate well through life without an accurate map by
which to steer. Knowledge is the possession of such a map, and
truth is what that map gives us linking us to reality.

"They who know the truth are not equal to those who love it,
and they who love it are not equal to those who delight in it. Confucius

TRUTH AND
RESPECT

If you have some respect for

people as they are, you can be
more effective in helping them to
become better than they are.
John Gardner

We all have minds that must be respected and used.

We should cultivate an environment in which people are not
afraid to tell us the truth.
Never view people as having value only for what they can do for
you.

KNOWLEDGE & THE NEEDED

FOR TRUTH
Truth is the foundation of Trust, and nothing is more important for
any business endeavor than trust.
Truth even hard truth if passed on with a much understanding,
kindness, and sensitivity as possible, is always the foundation for
solving any problem in a sustainable way.

DOUBLE POWER PRINCIPLE

To the extent of that something has power for good, it has
corresponding power to ill. Most of the time, its up to us how we
use that power. Ex: nuclear plants
Speaking the truth in LOVE

KNOWLEDGE AND POWER

Few people are capable of doing their jobs at high level of
excellence with only a limited knowledge of overall conditions
relevant to their work.
When you share knowledge you expand knowledge.

TRUTH ABOUT EXCELLENCE

& A POWERFUL IDEA
A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go
back to its old dimensions. Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
3 MODELS OF EXCELLENCE
1. Competitive Victory Model
2. Comparative Growth
3. Collaborative Partnership

BEAUTY : THE AESTHETIC

DIMENSION AT WORK
Beauty liberates. It refreshes, restores, and inspires. Most top
executives know this and at least sometimes act on it. Thats why
they choose settings of great beauty for meetings of great
importance.

BEAUTY : THE AESTHETIC

DIMENSION AT WORK

THE ART OF
WORK

Let each man exercise the art he

knows. - Aristophanes

CREATIVITY & THE MEANING

OF LIFE
What is the meaning of life? Is there a meaning of life?
A. NIHILISM : Nothing to worry about
B. RELATIVITY
C. ABOLUTISM

RELATIVIS
M

The meaning of things lies not in

the things themselves, but in our
attitude towards them. Antoine
De Saint-Exupery

Is there a meaning to life?

YES! If you give it meaning.

Problem for the Do It Yourselfers

It is impossible to give something meaning unless we have the requisite degree
of control over it.

ABSOLUTISM

CREATIVE LOVE
In order to create there must be a dynamic force, and what
force is more potent than love? -Igor Stravinsky

THE ART OF
LIVING WELL

I want to help you grow as

beautiful as God meant you
to be when He thought of
you first. George
MacDonald

Always think of yourself as entering with other people into

partnerships for living well.
What then is Business. Business is the art of growth. Growth is
the essence of life. And our answer quickly follows Business is the
art of life