Catholic Social Teachings and Contemporary Management Theories: A Reflection on Intersections
By: Iggy Gan
Tags: Leadership, Catholic Social Teaching, Employee Engagement, Business

Author’s Note: This was previously submitted as a paper on DLSU’s Management Principles class with Dr. Dha Vasquez-Ang in 2019.

Today, we are in the midst of the fourth industrial revolution. We have moved beyond mere productivity and expects innovation across most, if not all the industries that we belong to. While there are efficiencies such as automation that makes work easier, the urge to “think outside the box” is a battle cry in many organizations. The things we are working on have changed our ways of working.

However, the increasing demand out of every employee, as well as issues concerning compensation and professional growth are still part of the daily struggle in many local and international organizations. Management is not an exact science, but recognizing these gaps are vital to the success of the modern workplace.

In a highly competitive market made increasingly smaller by the internet and by sheer economy of scale, where should we ground our common practice? Contemporary Management Theories (CMT) and Catholic Social Teaching (CST) has some answers, which will be pondered upon in this paper.

There are far more similarities between CST and CMT, but for this paper, I would like to reflect on the striking factors that can be compared and contrasted against the zeitgeist of the current business practices.

The Information Age

The Catholic Church is receptive to changes in work practices in the modern age, but the fundamental understanding of human dignity is still at the heart of it. To summarize the Catholic understanding of work, it can be encapsulated in the adage “Live to Work, Not Work to Live.”

CST emphasizes that work is good for man because with it, he finds a purpose which makes him more human. This is a value that is shared with contemporary management as employees want to have (or are expected to have) a role in the organization that goes beyond their job description. As human resource transforms into human capital, we can only see this trend become a default, first in organizations with international linkages and eventually, in local, Philippine-based enterprises.

The Right to a Fair Wage

CST also provide a good insight into wage, as it clearly defines a “livable wage” as being enough to support one’s family. Pope John Paul II further defined wage as having expenses to cover for your family, some money put aside for savings, and the assurance of further personal and professional development by way of trainings.

CMT on the other hand focused on creating incentives to improve productivity and reward them with bonuses that are variable to the ebb and flow of the organization. Increased focus on productivity that is intertwined with job security makes contemporary management more concerned about the organizational impact of wage versus wage being the means to having a productive life.

In practice, both have their faults. Modern labor policies on minimum wage are not likely to support the livable wage approach by the church, and wages that rely on productivity as a means for incentives take away from looking at an employee as a holistic being that experience complexities within the outside the organization. Therefore, the Catholic Church should continue to promote the adoption of livable wages in countries where their clout is wide, and modern organizations should find means to standardize pay scales and create an environment where incentives through productivity while ensuring job security is possible.

Unleashing the Human Spirit

Contemporary Management stresses the importance of unleashing the human spirit, a sentiment shared by Christian Social Teachings which urge top executives to see employees beyond mere factors of production and should be considered as vital strategic resources.

Organizations taking the latter approach are more likely to see employees take further initiative in the workplace, increasing levels of creativity and productivity and making each employee a stakeholder that contributes to the success of the company. This modern approach also breaks the wall between top-tier and the bottom tier, increasing the culture of inclusiveness and collaboration.

For modern companies that change constantly in the midst of a fast-paced market, involving employees in these changes makes them less likely to be resistant to these changes. Businesses change now more than ever due to market demands and competition, and so, having your employees support these changes would make it easier to introduce wider approaches and policies that may affect their work and their way of living.

Employee Participation and Work-Life Integration

CMT emphasizes the importance of employee participation, as a means to improve relationships between managers and direct reports, as well as involving employees to opportunities and challenges that the organization is facing today. For the most part, employees will see the benefit of participation, making the workplace a more harmonious place to work in.

Yet, this is one of the most common critiques of modern management with reference to Catholic teachings. The desire of companies to further employee participation through teambuilding activities and other means of employee participation takes away from the work at hand, increasing official business hours as a result. Even more severe is the hours taken away from the personal time needed to build a family and take the day of rest, in accordance to the church’s teachings.

Employee participation within this context should be observed, even scrutinized. Organizations following CST and CMT learnings should find the ideal balance that makes employee participation effective, efficient and most of all, considerate to employees and their time of leisure.

Conclusion

Both CST and CMT challenge the norm of Taylorian management, which was the bedrock of industrial revolutions past. Catholic teachings will always focus on individual dignity over organizational management, while management theories are likely to see organizational management as the key to promoting individual autonomy, mastery and purpose.

In the wake of information being more readily available and people finding themselves in highly competitive yet innovative and flexible environments, it is up to these two major pillars of influence to widen the room for more organizations to follow suit.