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Social responsibility: a way of requisite holism of humans and their well-being

arotar Z iz ek and Matjaz Mulej Simona S
Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Maribor, Maribor, Slovenia
Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a new non-technological innovation to manage socio-economic crises. Economic theory, which is one-sided and fails, cannot manage these crises; the model suggests that crises should be solved using social responsibility (SR), human requisite holism (RH), and well-being (WB). Design/methodology/approach A qualitative analysis using SR, Human RH, and WB, as well as dialectical systems theory, is applied. Field research involved Slovenian mid-sized enterprises. Findings The current global socio-economic/environmental crisis reects decision makers one-sidedness and resulting oversights. SR supports their holism and honesty and ghts their abuse of impact. SR can help solve crises by reducing human one-sidedness better, if SR is upgraded with increasing WB, not welfare alone. Both SR and WB support RH behavior. The innovative synergy between WB and SR leads to a solution of crises. Dialectical systems theory supports WB and SR. Research limitations/implications The hypothesis is researched to the greatest extent possible, with qualitative analysis in desk and eld research. Practical implications Findings support new requisitely holistic approach to managing socio-economic crises in politics and business. Originality/value Available literature offers no similar concept. Keywords Slovenia, Medium-sized enterprises, Social responsibility, Systems theory, Socio-economic crisis, (Human) requisite holism, Well-being, Dialectical systems theory Paper type Research paper

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The selected problem and viewpoint[1] The daily media indicate that the current socio-economic crisis results from decision-makers one-sided and short-term criteria; the scientic press agrees, albeit less so. The United Nations and European Union (2001, 2011) see the solution in social responsibility (SR) and advise the application of ISO 26000 (ISO, 2010). SR reaches beyond charity and corporate SR to an informal, holistic requisite namely, systemic behavior. The two all-linking concepts in ISO 26000 are: (1) interdependence; and (2) holism. SR is dened as ones responsibility for ones impacts over society (EU, 2011). A Google search for SR shows immense interest in this subject, returning several hundred million hits. Yet very rarely are the concepts from systems theory considered a direct background of SR concepts (Mulej and Hrast, 2010) and even less frequently
The research was supported by Public Agency for Research, Republic of Slovenia, basic research project: 1000-09-212173 in 2010-2012.

Kybernetes Vol. 42 No. 2, 2013 pp. 318-335 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 0368-492X DOI 10.1108/03684921311310639

are both of them bound to human attributes, such as human SR and RH and human well-being (WB) as a factor of responsibility and resulting business success (Sarotar Zizek, 2012). This research is briey reported about here. Our approach to SR is innovative. We suggest a non-technological innovation: WB and SR in a new synergy of WB and SR, leading to requisite holism (RH) as a solution to crises. We use dialectical systems theory (Mulej, 1974; Mulej et al., 2000, 2012; Franc ois, 2004), which addresses the impact of humans in supporting their capacity for interdisciplinary creative cooperation as a precondition for RH, by which one can overcome the danger of over-specialization. In such a context, Bertalanffy (1968/1979, p. VII) created his general systems theory, albeit with poor methodological support. Wieners creation of cybernetics resulted from an interdisciplinary approach. Both are rightly considered sciences of synthesis (Hammond, 2003). They can benet from informal support, such as from SR, human RH, and WB, which can affect efforts to solve the current global and long-lasting socio-economic crisis, in which neo-liberal economics have appeared outdated due to the failure to address the crisis of afuence ( James, 2007; Porter, 1990). In other words, it is one-sided rather than requisitely holistic (Table I). Which viewpoints and networks are essential? This remains authors decision and responsibility and requires impact over humans attributes (knowledge and values (K&V)). However, K&V, taken literally, are not necessarily requisitely holistic ( a DS), neither is motivation alone or the creation of preconditions for life and work alone. K&V and other conditions are all inter-dependent rather than independent, marking the starting points of every human activity. The mentioned one-sided practices of many GST users deviate from Bertalanffys (1968/1979, p. VII) basic intention and denition as he created GST against over-specialization of the current times. The practice of Norbert Wiener, the author of cybernetics, can be seen as the practice of what Mulej calls requisite holism (Mulej and Kajzer, 1998), a part of DST (Mulej, 1974; Mulej et al., 2012). Some insights into the current reality Porter (1990, after Brglez, 1999, pp. 23-4) denes several phases of competitiveness following each other. We extend his idea to develop and add our ideas about the related culture and phase 5. Obviously, the afuence phase in Table II is not the highest development phase thus far; it is also the phase of growing problems of unemployment, supporting everybody, a growing lack of ambition and related drug and abuse, etc. Thus, one must attain and keep RH in order to enter the innovation phase quickly and remain in it as long as possible and/or renew the prevailing VCEN. According to Gerzema (2010), consumers in the USA have started this paradigm shift. The fourth phase can hardly be avoided and might make room for a fth phase, which is needed (Mulej and Prosenak, 2007). However, Porter and Kramer (2006) do not mention phase 5. The Related VCEN data are ours (Mulej et al., 2012).

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Fictitious holism/realism (inside a single viewpoint)

RH/realism (a dialectical system/ Total real holism/realism DS/of all essential viewpoints) (a system, i.e. network, of all viewpoints)

Table I. The selected level of holism and realism of consideration of the selected topic among the ctitious, requisite, and total holism and realism

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Phase

Economic basis for development

Related VCEN Scarcity and solidarity, collectivism, tradition rather than innovation Growing differences, local competition, individualism, ambition to have more, be rich Growing differences and standard of living, global competition, ethic of interdependence, SR, ambition to create Complacency, no more ambition, consumerism; what is quality, then? Ethic of interdependence and SR, ambition to create, diminish social differences to those caused by creation, including innovation

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Table II. From scarcity via complacency to the danger of a new scarcity or a new fth phase

1. Ownership of natural Natural resources and cheap labor, factors providing for a rather poor life for the majority for millennia 2. Investment in Foreign investment into the areas modern technology economic development; hardly/poor competitiveness in international markets 3. Innovation based on Nation or region lives on its own local knowledge progress and attains a better and better standard of living through international competitiveness 4. Afuence People have nally become rich, which makes them happy in material well-being as a blind alley 5. RH creation and (SR), Material wealth sufces; effort aimed etc. (see later text in at spiritual wealth, healthy natural this book) and social environment as requisitely holistic well-being

The afuence phase becomes a dead end once people lose the ambition to work hard and create (thus far they have done so in history). Crises result and reach beyond neo-liberalistic solutions. The current socio-economic crisis Over-population, climate change, and depleted natural resources are only humankinds basic problems on the surface. They are rather crucial consequences of the real fundamental problems of humankind: the lack of creativity, RH, SR, and related creative interdisciplinary cooperation. Unfortunately, the one-sided and self-contained over-specialization of poorly cooperative specialists prevails, causing oversights and imovic et al., 2002). resulting in failures such as world wars and crises (Ec The 2008 nancial crisis reects the industrial and neo-liberal paradigm of society and economy, which has until recently helped humans overcome their over-dependence on nature and resulting poverty, at least according to the supercial data. Yet the resulting detriments are very high: in times of afuence, 85 percent of humans still live on less than US$6/day (Nixon, 2004). Every hour humankind emits four million tons of CO2 in the atmosphere and 1.7 million tons of nitrogen in the soil as well as cuts 1,500 hectares of woods. The worldwide span of richness (in national income per person per countries) has reached beyond 500:1. In only six decades since the Second World War the world population has grown 2.5 times and consumed seven times more nature, while the Earth has not grown. Until 1820, the GDP of the entire world had grown only 3 percent per thousand years; since 1820 it has grown 5,500 percent (Mulej and Hrast, 2010). Indeed, industrial life has created radically changed conditions that the neo-liberal economics has been unable to resolve due to its one-sidedness, thereby disabling Adam Smiths preconditions of the liberal economy: no monopolies, total transparency of business, no division of owners rights from duties, and their total personal responsibility/accountability (Goerner et al., 2008a, b;

Klein, 2009; Smith, 2010; Stern, 2006; Toth, 2008). Thus, Earth is becoming critically nik et al., 2008; Brown, 2008; Dyck and Mulej, 1998; Korten, 2009; Stern, ic depleted (Boz 2006; Taylor, 2008; Wilby, 2009, 2010). Data from daily news reports in 2009 and 2010 (Avery, 2010; Berce, 2009; Dams et al., 2010; Dodevska, 2009; Eigendorf and Jost, 2010) further reveal that all countries around the world are in a socio-economic blind alley due to outdated neo-liberal economics and related huge debts (up to 460 percent of the GDP in Japan). Sterns (2006) data support this conclusion. The macro-economic effectiveness of the world economy since the Second World War has been ctious; costs for the maintenance of a healthy natural environment have not been covered, but postponed and piled up to huge amounts, requiring possibly 20 percent of the worldwide GDP to restore the natural nik et al., 2008). Nature can live without humans, but ic preconditions for human life (Boz humans cannot live without healthy nature. To visualize some effects of the crisis, Tables III and IV present some crucial data. The 2008 crisis: another perspective The 2008 crisis seems to have been caused by organizations. Indeed, their inuential members caused it, with permission from the inuential members of the social decision-making bodies (governments, etc.) to separate responsibility from rights. This opposes Smiths model of liberal economy (Toth, 2008). Perhaps the inuential persons caused this separation even intentionally (Estulin, 2008; Klein, 2009, after tefanc ic , 2009) to perform neo-liberal privatization and abuse more easily. The market S is deemed to be omnipotent, if un-regulated; it is based on the ancient Roman law dening private property as the owners right to use and abuse everything, including dependent humans, and the unlimited seizing in favour of a small minority of people (e.g. slavery and feudal times). Legal limitations exist, but power-holders preferring prot to human WB tend to disregard them, while the powerless people depending on jobs and left to the mercy of owners and managers do not dare ght for their rights (Tatlow, 2010). However, the one-sided power-holders forgot certain facts, including: . Liberal capitalism emerged to implement the English, American, French, and Central-European (1770s-1850s) revolutions triple concept freedom, equality, and brotherhood in synergy against the earlier feudal abuse of humans by owners, which their subordinates rebelled against. Feudalism was liquidated because it failed to foster requisitely holistic rather than one-sided power-holders behavior. It came back, although not legally, as feudal capitalism (Estulin, 2008; Fleissner and Wanek, 2008; Goerner et al., 2008a, b; Prunk, 2009). . In synergy, humans have the following inter-dependent attributes: physical/biological, professional, social, spiritual, mental/emotional, and economic attributes. This dialectical system of attributes makes humans multi-layered entities. Education for, and practice of, narrow specialization poorly considers this synergy, thereby causing one-sidedness instead of RH and resulting in crises. The 2008 crisis was not caused in 2008; it only surfaced then, caused by the long-prevailing one-sidedness rather than RH of decision-makers. Today, the Earth is like a bottle with no chance to become bigger, but it continues to become fuller until there is an impending danger that the current civilization will disappear (Mulej, 2010).

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Population (000s) 2007 Area (000s km2) Labour force (000s) 2007 GDP (billion US$) 2008 Life expectancy at birth (women, men) 2006

Source: OECD Observer (2010): adapted

Table III. Selected countries: general information Ireland 4.339 70 2.202 197.3 82.1; 77.3 10,604 92 5.618 246.6 82.3; 75.5 11,193 132 4.918 334.7 82.0; 77.0 82,257 357 41.685 2,927.3 82.4; 77.2 Portugal Greece Germany France 61,938 549 27.702 2,140.7 84.4; 77.5 UK 60,975 245 90.721 2,211.0 81.1; 77.1 EU 324,650 2,495.8 152.127 9,208.81 83.35; 77.45 USA 301,290 9,376 154.365 14,196.5 80.7; 75.4

% change unless otherwise indicated 2 2.3 13.5 0.1 9.1 2 8.2 2 2.1 1.4 13.7 1.0 9.9 2 8.6 2 2.1 1.7 13.7 0.6 10.1 2 8.0 2 2.1 2 4.7 5.3 2.1 8.0 2 12.6 2 2.6 1.2 5.8 1.7 9.3 2 13.3 2 2.4 2.2 5.5 0.5 9.5 2 12.5 2 2.0 2 4.0 11.8 0.2 9.4 2 6.1 2 0.6 0.9 11.9 0.9 10.6 2 6.7 2 0.1

2009

France 2010 2011 2009 2011 2009

UK 2010

EU 2010

2011 1.7 11.9 0.7 10.8 2 6.2 0.3

2009 2 2.5 3.9 2 0.4 9.2 2 11.2 2 3.0

USA 2010 2.5 4.0 1.7 9.9 2 10.7 2 3.4

2011 2.8 4.0 1.3 9.1 2 9.4 2 3.7

GDP growth Household savings ratio Consumer price index Unemployment rate (%) General government nancial balance (% GDP) Current account balance (% GDP)

Source: OECD Observer (2010): adapted

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Table IV. Macro-economic information

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Humans abuses of both humans and nature are rmly incorporated into the industrial paradigm and neo-liberalism. Three current alternatives are possible: (1) continue the usual practices, giving our children/grandchildren a dying planet; (2) make some supercial corrections to governmental and corporate actions of 2008 and 2009, not resolving the roots of the crisis; or (3) radically innovate the paradigm, such as by WB and SR. We chose the third approach. The rst two ways result from one-sided limitation of the human approach to single viewpoints, such as economics and technological innovation. One needs the dialectical system (Mulej, 1974 and Table I) for synergies of all crucial viewpoints providing for RH (Mulej and Kajzer, 1998). Unfortunately, real (i.e. total) holism reaches beyond humans natural capacities as it requires consideration of all attributes from all viewpoints and/or professions in synergy and simultaneously (Mulej, 2007a, b). The third way offers new opportunities for RH as a way to escape the crises. WB and SR supports RH. Background information on WB and SR separately abounds, but no model of their nik et al., 2008; Brown, 2008; Crowther ic synergy (i.e. WB and SR) is known. SR (Boz and Caliyut, 2004; Crowther and Ortiz Martinez, 2004; Crowther et al., 2004; Esposito, 2009; Hrast et al., 2006, 2007; Hrast and Mulej, 2008, 2009, 2010; Knez-Riedl et al., 2006; Korten, 2009; Prosenak and Mulej, 2008; Prosenak et al., 2008; Taylor, 2008; Zenko and Mulej, 2011; Waddock and Bodwell, 2007) means honesty, beyond legislation, rather than abuse of the power-holders/owners toward their co-workers, businesses, and other partners as well as broader society (including charity, as its part/subsystem) and nature. SR prevents costs resulting from dissatisfaction, expressed in strikes, lost markets, and riots all the way to international terrorism, eco-remediation, and health problems. CSR improves the image and position of enterprises as well, applying the informal RH approach to lead toward the wholeness of outcomes of human activity. Meanwhile, WB (Diener and Biswas-Diener, 2000; Diener and Seligman, 2004; Easterlin, 1995, 2001, 2003; Frey and Stutzer, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2009; Musek, 2006, 2008; Musek and Avsec, 2002; Ryan and Deci, 2001; Ryff, 1989; Ryff and Keyes, 1995; Ryff et al., 2002; Samman, 2007) reaches beyond material welfare to include happiness based on creativity and acceptance of the natural fact that humans are multi-layered rather than only economic beings; after a threshhold, material welfare adds less or even nothing to WB. Thus, WB also implies RH, as a human attribute. Human RH: a new model is needed for humankind to survive Nowadays, humans are specialized experts, hopefully capable of creative interdisciplinary cooperation. This capability is less common with over-specialists. In light of their one-sidedness, Bertalanffy (1968/1979, p. VII) created his general systems theory. RH is more attainable with specialists who are aware of, and practicing, the ethics of interdependence with each other and with nature (Mulej, 1974, 2007a, b; an and Mulej, 2007; Mulej et al., 2012). Mulej and Kajzer, 1998; Potoc Societies exposed only to freedom and hardly considering equality and brotherhood have created competition without cooperation under the industrial and neo-liberal paradigms in recent centuries. As a result, many humans have become increasingly spiritually apathetic specialists, not implementing the essense of their existence: RH as

creative entities enjoying WB based on RH creation. Without the latter, they feel like living tools abused by monopolistic/monopsonistic organizations/humans (Prosenak and Mulej, 2008; Prosenak et al., 2008), which threatens humans WB and resulting economic success (Diener and Biswas-Diener, 2000; Diener and Seligman, 2004; Easterlin, 1995, 2001, 2003; Frey and Stutzer, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2009; Musek, 2006, 2008; Musek and Avsec, 2002; Ryan and Deci, 2001; Ryff, 1989; Ryff and Keyes, 1995; Ryff et al., 2002; Samman, 2007). Throughout history, humans have developed their subjective attributes, applied in their work processes as starting points in synergies of: . Values to answer: what sense does this action make? . Know-what to answer: what is going on? . Know-how to answer: how to solve the surfacing problems/topics? (for details, see Mulej, cited references). Values select the crucial and less crucial topics, know-what makes them understandable, and know-how makes them solvable. The application of these triple attributes has always impacted humans WB. Humans can accomplish WB by RH. Thus, we dene the RH of approach and behavior of humans as being conscious of themselves as synergy while including all of the above attributes. SR action supports RH to help humans be requisitely holistic humans able to provide relevant answers to crises: RH and SR can help humans develop from owners to (RH) creators. Fromm (2002, 2003, 2004) considered this transition important, as did Smith (Toth, 2008). Creators enjoy more WB than others (Sarotar Zizek, 2012). SR and WB in synergy SR covers socio-economic innovation for humans rightfully wanted goal (Mulej and Hrast, 2008) namely, the prevention of and solution to crises by preventing the abuse of legal, economic, and natural laws. SR must replace short-term and narrow standards with broader and longer-term criteria distinguishing right from wrong and subsequent benets from detriment (Mulej and Hrast, 2008). Thus, SR supports human WB and vice versa. If the market was free of modern monopolies, it could provide for SR and WB. Smith (2010) warned two centuries ago, that an uncontrolled market is dangerous. There are strong and visible subjective and unholistic hands for inuential powers, such as the Bilderberg Group (Estulin, 2008). The SR and WB of many/all rather than the current limited few is required for the current civilization to survive. According to Tables I through IV, the dialectical-systemic approach to the problem should be used to include and connect all requisite aspects in a new synergy for RH (Petzinger, 2000). Smith (2010) called the invisible hand a tool of interdependence, not independence and abuse by those with the upper hand. Humans are social beings; they are inter-connected and inter-dependent. Hence, one should strive to achieve an as-holistic-as-possible quality of life (RH of WB), including human solidarity in equality and brotherhood along with freedom. The current crises further underscore this idea. WB results from acknowledging the meaning and strengthening of ethics of interdependence, including respect for ecological sensibility and limitations. Hence, SR demands reconciliation of narrower, broader, short-term, and long-term perspectives in SR as human values, cultures, ethics, and norms (Prosenak and Mulej, 2008).

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Thus, SR could be an efcient concept for dealing with the 2008 crisis, but it must be completed with the law of RH (Table I) for humans to attain RH behavior as a foundation to SR working for the requisite wholeness of outcomes. Yet in the literature and political documents, we detected very little attention to the single humans as the basis of the practical implementation of SR. According to the references cited thus far, humankind knows how to resolve problems into which it has brought itself with its concept of monopolistic (i.e. feudal-like) capitalism included in legal and socio-economic concepts of its industrial and neo-liberal ages with no supra-national law. Today, human impacts are global and long-term, but humans select viewpoints triggering mostly narrow and short-term human actions. Therefore, there are no developed and developing countries, only self-destroying ones (Taylor, 2008). Humankind needs the political will to innovate itself. SR and RH can help. All of humankind should attain WB. No crisis, or problems arising with it, can be solved with measures from which they emerged (e.g. neo-liberalism replacing neo-liberalism); humankind needs new solutions. Options include corporate and humans SR based on the law of RH and humans WB. Completing the SR concept with the concept of personal RH Humans as multi-layered beings SR is based on humans personal responsibility. Hence, the power-holders/owners should consider humans as multi-layered, not only professional entities (see above) more than in the current practice (Sarotar Zizek, 2012). These and other attributes make several synergies, which cannot be discussed here due to space constraints. The current world has competent humans; their intelligence, knowledge, and other intangible attributes are essential. Their emotions and imagination are not organizational units in power-holders/owners organizations, but a philosophy and a viewpoint m and Ridderstra le, 2001). A world without SR and WB makes people doubt and (Nordstro hesitate; they lack clear missions and do not search for them (Neumann, 2001). Modern humans are therefore numb and bored (Lesar, 2002). A solution exists in spiritual motivation, which focuses on ones will and meaningful values by ones inner wish for a worthy life (Musek, 1998). Therefore, human personality needs development, including spiritual attributes aimed to bring humans closer to RH. WB of all humans should result but how? Humans RH and WB Bertalanffys (1968/1979) study of wholeness is crucial. The RH that Mulej authored (Mulej, 1974; Mulej and Kajzer, 1998; Mautner, 1995; Chopra, 2006) includes everything essential, but not everything, and in synergy (Table I). This state of personality shows up, when I am as an individual equals I am everywhere. Hence, Mulejs dialectical systems theory, rather than other versions of systems theories, is important to our research as it covers other viewpoints. We need knowledge about achieving appropriate (i.e. requisite) holism of behavior (Sarotar Zizek, 2012). Once RH is applied to humans, in addition to philosophy, economy, management, spirituality, and sociology, psychology also matters in order to investigate personality and its basic attributes, structure of personality, and personality development. According to the existential analysis and Frankls (1962, 1994, 2005) understanding of human development and behavior in the world matter, Frankls concept emphasizes

the undoubted priority of spiritual motivation. The human values select a meaning, such as humans inner wish to nd life valuable and meaningful. Frankl denes the lack of a meaningful life as a basic neurosis of modern humans, manifesting itself as feelings of meaninglessness and emptiness in ones life/being. Musek (1999) emphasized that issues of self-awareness and personalitys boundaries exceed the framework of scientic (i.e. factographic nature-describing) research; they enter the philosophical, even transcendental, aspects of personality. Here one passes to spirituality inuencing the development of the human WB, including its positive consequences. Hence, humans RH supports WB (and SR). Subjective WB reects the positive evaluation of ones life, including positive feelings, work, pleasure, and meaning (Diener and Seligman, 2004). The growing social prosperity connects the differences in humans WB decreasingly to their incomes and increasingly to their interpersonal relations and pleasure with their work (Diener and Seligman, 2004). Authors nd social capital, democratic leadership, and human rights important non-economic indicators of good feeling in society as non-economic indicators reect/inuence pleasure with work and benet. The expected (economic) outcomes more often result from WB than the other way around (Diener and Seligman, 2004): humans with high WB have higher income and more success at work than humans with low WB. Satised employees are better co-workers and help others in many ways. Humans with WB have better social relations. WB includes health and longevity. Thus, WB helps not only humans, but also economics. Yet WB depends on personal RH, which Slovenian practice, as an average EU practice, shows empirically (Sarotar Zizek, 2012). These facts indicate that monitoring WB in countries and in organizations is necessary for WB to become a topic in the creation of leadership politics; the measuring of WB belongs to basic obligations of social and business strategies (Diener and Seligman, 2004; Sarotar Zizek, 2012). To measure WB, authors have used variables that include both positive and negative feelings, commitment, purpose and meaning, optimism, trust, and a RH-concept of happy life. For measuring WB, one must research social conditions, income, work, psychic health, and mental disturbances. Pibernik (2009) suggested many measures of WB that could provide a useful background to the synergetic measure called happiness (Hornung, 2006) or to the one cited by Korten (2009): happy planet index (life satisfaction life expectancy divided by ecological footprint). These measures crucially have a human focus. GDP alone imposes measures that are too one-sided (Stiglitz et al., 2009). WB is dened as a practice and self-awareness, as stated earlier. WB reects RH and presents a good basis for SR, which would contribute to solving the current crisis and preventing crises in the future. The WB of the majority should result; however, no model for achieving this was available in existing literature (Sarotar Zizek, 2012). Our completed model of SR including WB of most humans This research is dedicated to nding a way out of the crisis, in which we avoid operating with means and ways of thinking that caused it in the rst place. Neither the government nor the employers or trade unions have published anything that would give us a clue about their efforts to nd a way out of the crisis with their concern about the

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subjective WB of employees being based on creativeness, which is the same or similar to what we are doing. According to Dr Ackoffs research the level of application of capabilities and talents of the workforce in the USA amounts to only 23 percent. The owners and their authorized representatives (i.e. governors and managers) all too often believe that the organizational hierarchy is still a one-way dictatorship and the objective conditions for its existence and functioning are still the same as in the ancient times of building the Egyptian pyramids, when such a hierarchy began to emerge and was used for a swift transfer of the few experts knowledge to the large number of their co-workers. The rise of the quoted 23 percent has a very direct and fundamental importance for economy and society. It probably cannot become higher without a clear picture and development of employees WB as co-workers. A higher percentage could pave the way out of the dead end of the afuent society with the destroyed natural environment as creativity is (has been) understood and practiced far too narrowly; the economic measures of effectiveness are (have been) even more narrowly practiced. The gross national product, for instance, measures the volume of operations including the exploitation of nature, rather than saying how much capacity nature has for self-reproduction and, therefore, the further existence of human civilization. The economic growth is not an end in itself; it is a means for the WB of the people as employees/co-workers and citizens thus, just part of the means for socio-economic development. The previously mentioned afuence is, of course, a relative conception, as long as we use just the traditional economic indicators. It would therefore make sense to measure afuence from the negative side, as it destroys the ambition to work. Thus, reasonable indicators would include, for instance, a percentage of people poisoning themselves with drugs (from marijuana to alcohol or passive TV-mania and computer games, etc.), as they do not see any sense in life and have an unpleasant time at work and empty leisure time as they do not enjoy creativity. Therefore, they have low self-esteem, resulting in many negative consequences also from the economic point of view. A huge part of the potential talent remains socially and personally idle and unused. More attention to the WB of co-workers could help society facilitate becoming an innovative and socially responsible society and consequently equal to the most developed societies from the contemporary period. It should be considered that, at the top of worldwide development, there are the areas with the biggest share of the creative class, not those with the most mineral and similar natural wealth. The WB of co-workers belongs with the essential transition factors. Thus, the fth phase, mentioned in our hypothesis (also internationally published, however as yet not a nished model), could become a reality representing an escape from the present blind alley. The current crisis is not just a nancial crisis, which is just the surface, nor solely an economic crisis, but a crisis of a socio-developmental nature that has come to its end without a new one emerging. With the model for the WB of employees, based upon creativity, SR, innovation, and RH rather than laziness, the chances of success are more favorable. Yet we must rst know-how to dene and measure it, yet existing literature does not tell us how. Figure 1 shows that sufcient and necessary personal integrity is based on a multi-layered human being determined with ve key dimensions, from physical balance to economic stability. Sufcient and necessary personal integrity has an effect on psychological well-being (PWB), which in our case consists of PWB,

SPIRITUAL ENTITY

RH Physical balance

PWB SEWB

ORGANIZATION HRM

Social responsibility

Mental maturity PHYSICAL ENTITY Spiritual balance Social integration Economic stability MENTAL ENTITY ECONOMIC ENTITY SOCIAL ENTITY

PWB'
SELFDETERMINATION Performance - Financial aspect - aspect of growth and development - Aspect of well-being

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SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Notes: PWB = psychic well-being; SEWB = subjective emotional well-being; PWB' = psychological well-being; HRM = human resource management

Figure 1. Completed up model of SR

subjective emotional WB, and self-determination. This then has a direct impact on what happens in the organization or through SR. However, this has an impact on the performance of the organization from three key aspects. Conclusions Humans often behave one-sidedly, although they are complex beings. Therefore, humans must strive to achieve RH behavior, which strengthens WB on the one hand and presents necessary foundations for it on the other hand. This leads to the requisite wholeness of outcomes rather than disappointing failures. Therefore, the essence of SR can be more easily realized, leading us from the current blind alley of humankind in afuence and toward humankinds world peace and its fth phase of socio-economic and personal development, which still has to be created. The prolongation of the current industrial-period and neo-liberalistic economic model cannot help us anymore. SR and WB based on humans RH promises a better future.
Note 1. Abbreviations: CO2 carbon dioxide; CSR corporate social responsibility; DST dialectical systems theory; EU European Union; GDP gross domestic product; GST general systems theory; K&V knowledge and values; RH requisite holism; SR social responsibility; UN United Nations; USA United States of America; VCEN values, culture, ethics, norms; WB well-being; PWB shish well-being; SEWB subjective emotional well-being; PDP psychological well-being, HRM human resource management. References Avery, S. (2010), US job claims up but hope on the horizon, The Globe and Mail, Vol. 24, July, p. B13. Berce, J. (2009), Gospodarstvo in inovacije: Reset za izhod iz krize (Economy and innovations: reset as a way out from the crisis), Delo, Sobotna priloga, Vol. 30, October, pp. 12-13 (in Slovenian).

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Further reading Arias, A.O. (2008), An interpretive systemic appraisal of corporate social responsibility and learning, Systems Research and Behavioral Science, Vol. 25, pp. 361-70. Collins, J. (2001), Why Some Companies Make the Leap . . . and Others Dont. Good to Great, Random House Business Books, Sydney. Collins, J.C. and Porras, J.I. (1997), Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies, HarperBusiness, New York, NY. Maclagan, P. (2008), Organizations and responsibility: a critical overview, Systems Research and Behavioral Science, Vol. 25, pp. 371-81. Maon, F., Lingreen, A. and Swaen, V. (2008), Thinking of the organization as a system: the role of managerial perceptions in developing a corporate social responsibility strategic agenda, Systems Research and Behavioral Science, Vol. 25, pp. 413-26. Mulej, M. (2009), Lack of requisitely holistic thinking and action a reason for products to not , B. and Rus, M. (Eds), The Winning Products, become winners, in Rebernik, M., Bradac IRP Institute for Entrepreneurship Research, Maribor, pp. 161-75. Mulej, M., Hrast, A. and Prosenak, D. (2008), A good future by social responsibility, not technology alone, Managing the Unmanageable/16th Interdisciplinary Information ichu v Hradec, Czech Republic, Universita tsverlag R. Trauner, Management Talks, Jindr Linz, pp. 177-87. Porter, T.B. (2008), Managerial applications of corporate social responsibility and systems thinking for achieving sustainability outcomes, Syst. Res., Vol. 25, pp. 397-411. Reynolds, M. (2008), Getting a grip: critical systems for corporate responsibility, Syst. Res., Vol. 25, pp. 383-95. About the authors arotar Z iz ek is a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Economics and Business, University Simona S of Maribor. She holds a PhD in Economic and Business Sciences. In 1998 she was employed with the company Mura d.d. as Assistant Director, Total Quality Management Department. In 2004 she became secretary of the Board of the company Mura d.d. and later became the Head of Strategic Development. After nine years, she joined University of Maribor as senior lecturer in HRM. She is author or co-author of articles in several international and Slovenian journals and arotar Z iz ek is the corresponding author and can be scientic and expert conferences. Simona S contacted at: simona.sarotar-zizek@uni-mb.si Mulej, PhD, is Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Matjaz Maribor, Slovenia. He holds an MA in Development Economics and Doctorates in Systems Theory and in Management. He retired as Professor Emeritus of Systems and Innovation Theory. He has over 1,500 publications in more than 40 countries (see: IZUM Cobiss, 08082). He was a Visiting Professor abroad for 15 semesters and is the author of the Dialectical Systems Theory (see Franc ois (Ed.), 2004, International Encyclopedia) and Innovative Business Paradigm for Catching-up Countries. He is a member of the New York Academy of Sciences (1996), European Academy of Sciences and Arts, Salzburg (2004), European Academy of sciences and Humanities, Paris (2004), president of International Academy of Systems and Cybernetic Sciences, Vienna, (2010-2012), now vice-president. Many Whos Who entries, including Hall of Fame for Distinguished Accomplishments, ABI, Raleigh, NC.

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