Article by Charles Handy on what it takes for organizations to endure successfully and productively through time. Handy begins the article discussing how Menotti performed Mahler’s “Resurrection” symphony, and how Mahler observed through his music that each person must, at some time, question what their expressions in life are for. Handy interprets Mahler’s last movement in the symphony as a declaration that, for all of life’s ups and downs, it is ultimately about surviving and potentially contributing something glorious to the world. Handy proceeds to translate the lesson of Mahler’s symphony to the meaning of business, stating that the survival of a business is not sufficient justification for workers’ lives, and argues that businesses must thrive and exist for something beyond profit. He then concludes that the greatest businesses have always been known for that which they have given the world, rather than what they have taken from it, and that they have withstood the test of time by continuously growing and changing for the better.
Handy, Charles B Management today series Mahler, Gustav, 1860-1911 Handy, Elizabeth Catholic Church Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus, 1756-1791 Handel, George Frideric, 1685-1759 Umbria (Italy) Menotti, Gian Carlo, 1911-2007 Organizational change Organizational effectiveness Organizational behavior Industrial organization Industrial productivity Industrial relations Spoleto Festival Mitsui and Company Bologna University
Source
Article by Charles Handy on what it takes for organizations to endure successfully and productively through time, 1996; Charles Handy Papers; Box 20, Folder 11; 1 page
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