In this essay a brief description of the vision of the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer is made, who through his pessimistic works exhibits the perpetual suffering of men, slaves of the will, of desire.
On the other hand, starting from the permanent and undeniable human behavior of the desire to satisfy the "desires" that Schopenhauer exposed through his work, the relationship between strategy and structure in organizations is analyzed from a more practical and not so philosophical perspective., which seek, in the case of private companies, their revision in order to remain in the attraction of the plaintiffs or the "wills" of their clients, and in the case of government organizations they need to improve their administrative practices that should be based on adequate strategic management.
Arthur Schopenhauer. The pessimistic theory and the behavior of the subject
As indicated by the biographical letters dedicated to this important figure in the philosophical and literary world, Arthur Schopenhauer (Danzig, 1788 - Frankfurt, Germany, 1860) was a German philosopher of the pessimistic current. He had an important influence from the oriental culture (Buddhism) which is constantly reflected in his most important works by insisting on themes such as the pain and suffering of this world.
According to Schopenhauer's philosophical contributions, our existence is limited by pain, that is, we live wanting things, we suffer for them and when they come they satisfy us, and we want new things again, the desire never ends, we are slaves of our own will.
Schopenhauer's work was specified in several writings: On the quadruple root of the principle of sufficient reason (1813), The world as will and representation (1819), On the will in nature (1836), The two fundamental problems of ethics (1841), Parerga and Paralipomena (Small things and Things that are irrelevant - 1851).
Through his works, Arthur Schopenhauer insists that we live trapped in the will, we live wishing, satisfying desires and wishing again, desire never ends. But it is in reason where Schopenhauer sees the opportunity to free ourselves from that suffering, reason will make us recognize the painful reality and consequently to renounce that will that causes so much suffering.
In this tenor of ideas, Schopenhauer's work also reflects his enormous taste for the arts, in it he reveals his appreciation for literature, music, theater, architecture, painting, among others.
For Schopenhauer, the admiration of the arts or what he called "aesthetic contemplation" is one of the three options to free himself from the suffering of desire.
Another option is to develop compassion, that is, to experience the suffering of others seeking what he called "falling out of love with life" and consequently progressively reducing the will.
The third option is the transformation from will-guided behavior to will-guided behavior. In this process "spiritual liberation" takes place.
Arthur Schopenhauer's work has transcended through the centuries and continues to inspire thinkers, from Friedrich Nietzsche, Sigmund Freud, Thomas Mann, Jorge Luis Borges, to Gilles Lipovetsky (The Age of Void, 1983), among others.
Strategy and Structure (Strategic Administration).
As is known, in times of crisis those who have the best chance of surviving are not the largest but the most prepared, and in the same sense it has been shown that the organizations that have managed to resist the effects of the international financial crisis are those who have led carry out an adequate strategic administration, congruent with the characteristics of the globalized market, where every moment means the opportunity to win or lose in the stiff competition for permanence in the markets.
As a result of the events in the international financial sector in recent years, governments and companies have been forced to review their policies for action and the way they carry out their business activities, with which they aspire to enter into better practices that allow them generate better and lasting results.
Undoubtedly the international financial crisis has influenced business strategies for its global operations. The effects of the current “Great Depression” have forced some multinational companies to make variations in their operations. However, the adjustments are also due to the desire for greater market penetration and better positioning of brands and products, reflecting adequate and reliable strategic management.
It is worth mentioning that the current conditions of the world economy reflect the decline of economic, financial and commercial models, among others. In this context, it is evident that governments are not exempt from their own demonstrations of ineffectiveness, inefficiency and lack of ethics in the execution of their “strategies” that indisputably and without exception must be designed and executed for the benefit of the governed, that is, for the common good.
Daily statements of attempts to reverse the adverse situation can be seen, however, it is clear that in order to be certain that the efforts made will generate the expected benefits, the application of ethical criteria to the innumerable economic activities must be considered as a fundamental activity and social aspects of human beings.
As we know, the neoliberal economic model that governs us is the result of the rescue of classical and neoclassical theories, which insists on promoting the thesis that the market is more efficient without the intervention of the State, the latter being forced to justify its existence with the care of the borders of the national territory and public security, mainly. The government should not intervene in the commercial, financial, economic life of the country.
The design and execution of this economic model have shown important defects, which in the last three years have been evident and have contributed to the generation of the largest international financial crisis since the so-called “great depression” registered in the United States and extended to a large number of countries in 1929.
The defects of the economic model mentioned are the defense of what has been called "market fundamentalism" and which insists on keeping the State out of economic activity, thus avoiding "distortions" in its operation. However, it is clear that the lack of regulatory systems in financial and commercial activities, etc., as well as the relaxation of government obligations, among other aspects, has been the main causes of the deterioration of the economic and social conditions of the peoples immersed in a globalized world.
The absence of regulatory systems for economic activities have generated financial and commercial practices of questionable ethical quality, which reflect the existence of a single objective: to win at whatever cost.
It is important to point out that for several years (before the current crisis) clear and precise proposals regarding good financial practices have been presented, however, it has been the political or business will that has finally failed to verify their effectiveness.
As noted before, governments are not exempt from ineffective and inefficient practices that do not benefit the community but instead constitute a sterile expense, that is, public investments that add up to large amounts of resources each year (billions of pesos).), due to the lack of adequate strategic management models, in addition to the undeniable practices of corruption, they are not able to become genuine satisfiers of social needs, ranging from infrastructure projects to productive and social projects.
In this context, where the efficiency and effectiveness of public management are questioned, it is worth making a representation (example) of one of the many cases (evidence) that demonstrate the importance of strategic administration in the public sector and where it is verifies that the persistence of bad practices in public administration the only thing they guarantee is the postponement of the development of society:
The Mexican state, by constitutional mandate, is obliged to support and promote companies in the social and private sectors of the economy. This obligation attracts the responsibility of designing the appropriate policies and strategies to achieve the benefits demanded by this broad productive sector.
However, the review of the multiple experiences raised and collected every day by businessmen, entrepreneurs and the general public with the intention of venturing into the productive field of business, shows us that public work has wide deficiencies that range from strategic planning and operational, the programming, budgeting and execution of resources, as well as the monitoring or follow-up of the operation of the various funds and programs that could prevent possible deviations from objectives and goals and finally, in the evaluation of the achievements / results that It should be the only condition for the continuity of the program or the operational structure, which in most cases is the latter where the greatest responsibility lies.
Talking about non-fulfillment of objectives and goals is a very serious matter, since all government effort is possible thanks to the large amount of public resources that are invested and that without exception must generate social benefits.
To point out that deficiencies in public management cover practically the entire administrative process is not an exaggeration, it is enough to see that there are periods (months) during the year in which the budgetary or financial resources are not available to grant the credits demanded by the citizens, a situation that inevitably translates into the loss of business opportunities, jobs, benefits, due to programming and / or budgeting that is obedient to criteria far removed from the needs of citizens. Ironically, it is the social demand that has given rise to the same governmental institutions / structures, although they do not attend to the cause.
On the other hand, the absence of mechanisms or operating rules that are more congruent or compatible with the characteristics of the scenarios where support is demanded leads to bureaucratic requirements that hinder, delay and even block the productive intentions of citizens who resort to public authorities with the hope of being financially supported.
In contrast, dishonest practices allow the cases (projects) in which it should be reviewed with greater technical criteria, not to be classified as such, leading to the increasingly evident sterile investments, where the inadequate design of the projects (from which it could be avoided its financing) brings with it adverse effects such as the loss of public resources and even family assets.
Signs from situations such as those mentioned should be detected in a timely manner, for this, monitoring or follow-up plays an extremely important role. Having control mechanisms generates certainty about the way in which actions and possible achievements are being carried out, which finally, when evaluated as a whole, the qualifications on the fulfillment of objectives and goals will be objective and useful for planning. and restart of the next administrative cycle of the companies or, where appropriate, the fiscal year that governs government activity.
It is worth remembering the proposal made by Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton, Professor at Harvard Business School and president of the Balanced Scorecard Collaborative, respectively, through their article “How to implement a new strategy without disturbing your organization”, published in the Harvard Business Review:
“A management system based on the Balanced Scorecard model is the best way to align strategy and structure. Executives at all levels of the corporation, from regional sales managers to group CEOs, can use the tools of the model to drive the performance of their units. Strategy maps allow executives to define and communicate the cause and effect relationships that determine the value proposition of their units, and the scorecard is a powerful tool to implement and monitor your strategy. A system based on the Balanced Scorecard, therefore, provides a common pattern and language for gathering and communicating information on value creation ”
In this context, it is worth adding that Information Systems (IS) play a fundamental role in the strategic administration of organizations, let's talk about the public (government) or private (companies) sector, by contributing to the generation of information for the decision making. As is known, ISs are a collection of technologies that take information from the environment as input, process it and produce an information output that is very useful for the organization.
Derived from the SI, Information Technologies (IT) have been developed, which are defined as useful tools and techniques to collect, transport, process and use the information found in the environment. IT generates competitive advantages in organizations.
However, as Peter Drucker pointed out, " Few executives have learned to ask themselves: What information do I need to do my job? When do I need it? In what form? And from whom should I receive it?"
As we can see, it is not the quality of the structures nor that of the strategies to which the only responsibility could be attributed with respect to the conditions or scenarios of organizations today. The experiences in organizations, private or public, show that even having an acceptably carried out strategic planning, the achievement of the objectives is not guaranteed.
There are organizations that have a reasonable structure and also with clear and convincing strategies, however the results reflect something very different, that is, the results show that there are operational deficiencies in the organization that prevent the generation of positive results and even that put into risk to the organization.
The current scenario in the business world, which is finally influencing government apparatus, has greatly disturbed entrepreneurs, from large corporations to microentrepreneurs and, of course, the public administration. Approaches such as what should I improve, the structure or the strategy? How can I protect myself and survive the crisis? they are heard quite often.
But I believe that before carrying out modifications in the structure or strategies, it is necessary to review and ensure that the Strategic Administration of the organization is adequate. That is, the vision, mission, strategic objectives, SWOT, etc. must be corroborated. It must be ensured that everyone who is part of the organization knows this strategic information, which should drive operational dynamics. With this exercise we will be in a position to know if all the members of the organization know where it is intended to go, what it is intended to achieve and how it will be achieved.
Additionally, the scope of strategic planning in the organization must be recognized. In recent years a growing aversion to risk has been observed, that is to say, fewer and fewer organizations, mainly micro-enterprises, do not project plans beyond one year. The lack of business prospects significantly limit the development and growth of the organization, in addition to the fact that according to strategic thinking, if you do not know where you want to go, you will not get anywhere.
The exercise of analysis of the situations mentioned is beneficial for any organization, it will undoubtedly provide relevant information that leads to the confirmation or, where appropriate, to the redefinition of the organization's strategic planning and administration, with its continuity, development and growth being the best experience for all its members.
It is always important to remember that current Strategic Management, based on successful strategic and operational planning, helps companies, organizations or government institutions carry out the following practices:
• Develop better information for top management to make better decisions.
• Develop a frame of reference for budgets and short-term operating plans.
• Analyze opportunities and threats, strengths and weaknesses to better understand the potential of the company.
• Provide yourself with a document indicating where the company is going and how it will get there.
• Set more realistic, urgent, and achievable goals.
• Give managers security by providing them with a better understanding of changes in the environment and the ability of the company to adapt.
• Develop better coordination of activities within the organization.
• Improve or change the direction of the company.
• Accelerate growth and improve productivity.
• Improve administration and staff.
• Develop optimal communication.
• Promote the flow of strategic ideas for senior management to take into consideration.
• Concentrate resources on important cases or issues.
• Improve control of operations.
• Mental exercise.
• Staff training.
• To diversify.
• Generate real social and / or private benefits.
Sources:
- Savater, Fernando. The adventure of thinking. First edition: September 2008. Random House Mondadori, SA Barcelona, Spain.
- www.wikipedia.org
- www.gestiopolis.com
- Drucker, Peter F. Drucker his vision on: the administration, the organization based on the information, the economy, the society. 1996. Grupo Editorial Norma. Bogota Colombia.
- Kaplan, Robert S., and David P. Norton. How to implement a new strategy without disrupting your organization. Harvard Business Review Latin America Magazine. 2006. Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation.
