Aristotle Ran General Motors

The desire of any business owner is for the overall performance and standards of their organization to be excellent. Although the measure and standards of what’s considered excellent may be as different for every business; the final goal is all the same. That is to have an organization that performs with excellence and employees that contribute to the same level in their work ethics. In Tom Morris book If Aristotle Ran General Motors he provides philosophical lessons that can be used as strategies to implement the teaching of great philosophers like Aristotle. Through the four dimensions of every human experience he provides the foundation for human fulfillment and organization excellence. The four dimensions are: Truth – the intellectual
We have always heard beauty is in the eye of the beholder, nonetheless as subjective as beauty can be viewed, it is as necessary as truth because they work together in the dimension of the human experience. The more aesthetically appealing an environment is, the more productive the people will be. Morris references how when we speak of ugly truths and false beauty, these are misleading forms of expressions, because they are associated with what we see and not what may be at the core or truth of a person or an organization. He says “when we depart far from the truth, we often find it very difficult to establish much beauty around us” (Morris, 1997, p. 71). We take for granted how the aesthetics of our surroundings affect our performance and attitude within the workplace and our lives. A work environment that provides comfort can give a sense of pride to
The answer to the question is they would put them in a position to achieve excellence through the human experience of the four dimensions of truth, beauty, goodness and unity. “It may be argued that peoples for whom philosophers legislate are always prosperous”. – Aristotle (Morris, 1997, p. x) Prosperity in most organizations is always desired and most commonly measured by profits. For an organization to sustain and develop the values of Aristotle is by cultivating an environment that allows the four dimension of the human experience. Through intellect “A man’s mind, stretched by a new idea, can never go back to its original dimensions”. – Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr (Morris, 1997, p. 48). In the aesthetic of what we see “we are the children of our landscape; it dictates behavior and even thought in the measure to which we are responsive to it”. – Lawrence Durrell (Morris, 1997, p. 75). Morality makes “goodness easier to recognize than to define”. – W. H. Auden (Morris, 1997, p. 149). Lastly through spirituality “no task, rightly done, is truly private. It is part of the world’s work”. – Woodrow Wilson (Morris, 1997, p.