{"id":5395,"date":"2025-10-09T11:51:40","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T09:51:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/?p=5395"},"modified":"2025-10-09T12:22:21","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T10:22:21","slug":"beyond-moral-education-why-managers-must-learn-to-take-order-responsibilityby-ingo-pies-and-thomas-lange","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.druckerforum.org\/blog\/beyond-moral-education-why-managers-must-learn-to-take-order-responsibilityby-ingo-pies-and-thomas-lange\/","title":{"rendered":"Beyond Moral Education: Why Managers Must Learn to Take \u201cOrder Responsibility\u201d
By Ingo Pies and Thomas Lange"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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From Moral Appeals to Institutional Responsibility<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In times of deep societal transformation\u2014climate change, technological disruption, geopolitical volatility\u2014companies are increasingly called upon to \u201ctake a stand.\u201d Whether on sustainability, AI ethics, or democracy itself, managers are expected to lead with values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet this moralization of business life, however well-intentioned, can easily become paralyzing. Endless appeals to \u201cdo the right thing\u201d often fail to guide concrete action. What we need is not more moral exhortation<\/em>, but more institutional competence<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Managers today must go beyond personal virtue ethics. They must learn how to design and sustain the rules of the game\u2014the institutional frameworks that make responsible action possible in the first place. We call this capacity order responsibility<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Market Economy\u2019s Societal Mandate<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a functioning market economy, business serves society through three core functions<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Efficiency<\/strong> \u2013 meeting needs through competitive value creation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Innovation<\/strong> \u2013 fostering progress through creative rivalry.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Welfare diffusion<\/strong> \u2013 sharing the fruits of progress through better products, lower prices, higher wages, and improved working conditions.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    As Ludwig von Mises and Franz B\u00f6hm emphasized, these functions depend on a public \u201clicense to operate.\u201d<\/em> Legality alone is no longer enough; legitimacy matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When trust in business erodes, the legitimacy of the market economy itself is at risk. That is why managers must help renew this trust\u2014not by moralizing, but by strengthening the order<\/em> that channels self-interest toward the common good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Three Levels of Managerial Responsibility<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Hence, modern management unfolds on three interconnected levels<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    1. Decision-making (Optimization Responsibility)<\/strong> \u2013 Managers make everyday trade-offs, balancing costs, risks, and opportunities within given rules.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. Governance (Steering Responsibility)<\/strong> \u2013 Managers help shape those rules: internal policies, industry standards, or even laws that set fair incentives.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. Discourse (Enlightenment Responsibility)<\/strong> \u2013 Managers engage in public dialogue, building understanding, dispelling moral confusion, and defending the legitimacy of the market system.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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      Figure 1: The Three Levels of Responsibility<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Order responsibility<\/strong>\u2014comprising the governance and discourse levels\u2014is about actively co-designing the conditions <\/em>under which business can remain both profitable and socially accepted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Why Order Responsibility Matters More Than Ever<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The old division of labour\u2014politics as rule-setter, business as rule-follower\u2014is breaking down. Globalization, digitalization, and social media blur boundaries between markets and societies. Under these conditions, societal acceptance becomes a scarce resource<\/em>. Compliance is no longer sufficient; companies must earn<\/em> their legitimacy every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      This shift demands two new core competencies<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n