Economistic and Humanistic View of Human Nature

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1 What are the domains/levels that our species faces problems? Provide examples
The problems faced by our species can be categorized into individual-level, organizational-level, and systemic challenges. On the individual level, the quality of good mental and physical health, social relationships, as well as generationally positive attitudes toward life are key wellbeing drivers. For example, materialism is an attitude that undermines individual well-being. Regarding organizational-level problems, the authors note that corporate practices are significantly being challenged. A perfect example is the latest failure of the Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh, which brought attention to the poor workplace conditions of mill workers, Volkswagen’s lack of accountability and deceit, as well as leveraging of legal loopholes to dodge taxes (e.g., Google, Facebook, and Pfizer). All the malpractices mentioned above cast doubt on the viability of the business as a societal institution. Accordingly, companies have lost their brands over the last few decades, and stakeholder confidence has decreased. Systemic challenges include environmental destruction due to the continued use of more resources compared to levels that could be replenished (Pirson, 2017). This culminates in unsustainable development and rising economic bubbles.
2 What is the economistic view of human nature, and why does it matter?
The economistic perspective of human nature argues that people are inherently self-serving and seek material wealth as the epitome of success. The notion matters because it is unethical in the sense that an action attains legitimacy thresholds provided it is tailored to generate financial benefits for the particular individual. In this context, other stakeholders are treated as an approach to achieve personal gains, and corruption is viewed as legitimate and intelligent. In other words, the economistic view assumes that humans are typically motivated by rational interests geared at optimizing utility. As measurable preferences or entities, income and wealth gradually displace utility as comprehensive concepts of what creates happiness (Pirson, 2017). It is increasingly essential that business activities be based on corporate social responsibility constructs which promote social benefits and sustainable development of communities rather than profit maximization motives.
3 What is the humanistic view of human nature, and why does it matter?
The humanistic notions of human nature hold that people are inclined to be moral, kind, and social. In this context, humans are inherently social, caring, and moral. This perspective matters because it makes sense to any scholar seeking to establish routine experiences whereby humans demonstrate care about one ...