Business philosophy

Business philosophy refers to a range of vocabulary, accounting, marketing, public relations, operations, training, labor relations[?], executive time management[?] and corporate governance approaches claimed (by their proponents, and usually only by their proponents and selected clients) to improve business performance in some measurable or otherwise provable way, e.g. the Experience Economy[?] thesis.

These rarely have the sophistication or internal consistency to qualify as a school of philosophy in the conventional sense - some resemble a cult religion. What they tend to have in common is high consulting[?] fees to consult with the "business gurus[?]" who have created the "philosophy". Only rarely is the capacity to teach others transmitted to any trusted students - one of the key requirements of any legitimate school of philosophy or theology.

An exception was Arthur Andersen, a management consulting[?] and accounting firm, which touted its methodology[?] as a cure for most of what corporate or government clients identified as wrong with them. This methodology was taught to thousands of young Andersen recruits over decades, and expanded to fill several thick books. People outside Andersen rarely understood it. Just prior to the Y2K "crisis" (or "fraud" depending on your point of view) the firm split, and its management consulting arm became Accenture[?]. In 2001 the accounting arm went down in the Enron accounting scandals[?], giving rise to loud cries for accounting reform. Accounting, by definition, is supposed to be the most tangible and reliable set of practices in business.

Accordingly, some doubt the viability or real value of Accenture[?]'s methods as well. Since the Andersen school of business philosophy was probably the most developed such school, the question of whether there is any legitimate work in such generally-applicable methodologies has arisen. The term mythodology came into use briefly to describe such overly-broad methods.

Proponents of the theory of constraints (e.g. its originator, Eliyahu M. Goldratt) claim it is an effective organization performance improvement approach, incorporating the practice of scientific critical thinking[?], versus blind following of the received opinion.

Widely regarded approaches like agile process, for instance, tend to be more focused strictly on software engineering, and do not claim to be applicable to solve broader problems in all types of business. Natural Capitalism, as another example, confines its claims to improving natural resource and energy use to create a more efficient service economy[?]. These make very sober and limited claims and do not apply to all businesses. They are to that degree probably also more credible, as business tends to be about labor specialization[?], and rewards focused policies that fit exacting constraints.

See also: business, philosophy, fraud, reengineering

Books

• Micklethwait, John; Wooldridge, Adrian. The Witch Doctors: Making Sense of the Management Gurus. ISBN 0812929888