Today’s world needs companies and managers Putting social value creation on the same level as economic value generation Within your strategy. That’s what Fede Linares, President, EY Spainare classified as “humanitarian companies” whose role is fundamental to promoting people’s well-being in the current uncertain context.
“A company should not be limited to two or more people coming together to make a profit. I think so A company is an organization that generates long-term value“, confirmed Linares within the framework of the conference session Freedom in the twenty-first century Organized by EL ESPAÑOL and the Camilo José Cela University (UCJC).
It is a value that, according to the EY CEO, must be supported by four pillars. On the one hand there is the financial aspect that requires this A profitable, competitive, productive company that is a leader in its markets and competes internationally and comply with regulations. “That is, to be excellent,” he added.
Fede Linares “Freedom and Commercial Humanity”
To this he added three more, Customer value, personal value, and social valueHe stressed that everyone must be placed on the same level in the company’s strategy. In fact, it affected the need to find a balance between them and not assign “Monday morning” to the financial value and leave the social value to “Friday afternoon.”
He also emphasized the importance of this All of these pillars have a “non-normative moral root.” That is, it is something “chosen, not imposed.” He stressed, “The purpose of a humanitarian company is to create long-term values. For what purpose? To enhance people’s well-being, as if that were an absolute necessity.”
Therefore, during his intervention titled Freedom and corporate humanitythe EY president defended that everything that does not aim to create value for people or… Everything that is done in a company that does not enhance its well-being “cannot be done well.”
Although it appears that the idea of unbridled capitalism coined by Milton Friedman in the 1970s, whereby corporations merely generate value and wealth for their owners or shareholders, has already been overcome, Linares You have asked yourself if in today’s world It is sufficient that the social role of companies is to create jobs and pay taxes And it has environmental responsibility.
Freedom in company
On the other hand, the President of EY Spain also confirmed that the only reference to the company contained in the Spanish Constitution is Article 38 which recognizes “freedom to Company.” However, Linares focused on another similar, but different, concept: “Freedom” in “company”.
He pointed out the explanation for this difference The distinction was formulated by Isaiah Berlin in his book Two concepts of freedom. On the one hand there is the negative that would be more associated with the term “business freedom” which boils down to: “No interference in the private sphere by public authorities.”
However, what is more important for Linares is what Berlin calls “positive freedom,” which refers to the desire for it “Life and decisions depend on oneself”. This leads to the idea of moral authorship: “I do good because I feel it.”
In this context, he argued that this positive freedom must be applied to the organizational scope of the company with the aim of creating conditions such that managers, employees, professionals, collaborators and, ultimately, all its employees, can “Making decisions according to institutional standards and purpose promotes the well-being of all.”
Fede Linares, President of EY Spain, in the “Freedom in the 21st Century” lecture series.
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In his presentation, Linares also mentioned José Antonio Marina and his book ““The vaccine against stupidity” In it, he develops the concept of moral intelligence, which does not consist in knowing more, but in using knowledge to improve one’s life and the lives of others.
At the company level, Morally intelligent people are those who devote their efforts to solving “real problems.”They are not stock price or next quarter calculations, but rather human calculations, those that affect people, relationships or “public happiness, which is a prerequisite for private happiness.”
“Marina concludes this in a wonderful and hopeful way Kindness is the highest expression of intelligence“, stressed Linares, who expressed his desire for companies to dedicate themselves to promoting those managers who are “morally intelligent” and whose goal is to create long-term value, and not those who have traditionally been labeled as “ready or ready.” killer“.
The President of EY Spain concluded his presentation by quoting a phrase from one of his compatriots, the poet Antonio Machado: “At peace with men and at war with my insides“This is how, in their view, these ethically astute managers have committed to creating the long-term value that a challenging world needs.
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