Philosophical Foundation Of The Programme

LBS welcomes and encourages a wide pluralism of views and methods among its lecturers. But in order to carry out its mission LBS also wants to ensure a basic coherence among all the aspects of the teaching imparted in the School.
At LBS the fundamental unifying factor is provided by the Christian vision of man, society and economic activity, a view that can be shared by all people who, independently of their religious beliefs, recognise a spiritual dimension in human beings.
The following are the basic principles which inform the teaching imparted in the MBA programme:

• Human beings are moral beings whose behaviour is not mechanically determined by either internal or external factors and who cannot attain fulfillment if they restrict their activity to the pursuit of their own individual interests.
• The purpose of business organisations is not restricted to producing profits for their owners nor can the objective of maximising profit be the supreme standard of decision. Business organisations are members of larger societies and must contribute to their common good. The activities of business organisations must also be compatible with - and contribute to - the full human development of those who work in them.
• Business organisations are not mere production units. First and foremost they must be human communities where all have an opportunity to participate and contribute responsibly to the common good of the organisation and that of society.
• Business organisations are not justified in creating and marketing products or services by the mere fact that a demand for them exists or can be created. The value of the organisation's activity ultimately depends on its serving authentic human needs and values.
• Business organisations must respect the dignity of all the human persons (employees, customers, suppliers...) with whom they relate in the exercise of their activity. A person's dignity is not respected when one chooses to harm him or her, even if this is done as a means to attain some desirable objective. When harm to a person results as a collateral effect of an action which pursues other objectives, the dignity of the person harmed is not respected if that action has been performed without a serious, proportionate reason.