Professor Andrew Basden

It is a truism that companies that have lasted 100 years tend to be those built on a foundation of ethical principles. Thomas Cook is one of those.

But recently it has declined and is in trouble over its handling of the case of two children dying on one of the holidays it arranged.

Why is this?

Some believe it is because of the reign of lawyers – the company had become so entrapped in legalistic thinking that it had lost its ‘humaneness‘. In this post, I try to look under the surface of this, and find a lot more.

Read more…..

April 2014 is National Autism Awareness Month

“Computers were made by and for people with Asperger’s Syndrome,” goes the joke – but one with a grain of truth. “Academic life suits Aspies” goes another – but is it still true?

I was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome in 2003, though I had it most of his life, unknown. On discovering this, my wife, Ruth, and I began to understand many of the difficulties I had had. Especially in the academic life of today.

The purpose of this post, is to help us understand when academics exhibit Asperger’s Syndrome (A.S.). We usually see A.S. as a disability, but can also view it as a gift. It can be especially helpful when innovation is needed in academic or business life, but is often misunderstood.

Read more…..

Professor Andrew Basden

We all know it’s easy to overlook important aspects that we take for granted, and overplay the importance of others which. Doing this distorts analysis, generates ‘Groupthink’, makes plans irrelevant, and leads to failure in many projects, especially large information systems projects as we teach on the BSc Business Information Technology and  MSc Information Systems Management. How do we ensure everything important is taken into account?

The aspects of human life are diverse. Yet all too often are they not reduced to financial or legal ones? If aspects are not given their due, things go awry – not only when planning an information system, but in business decision making, consultancy, strategy-setting, in environmental sustainability, politics, and in many other areas of human life. Even in the aesthetic professions, a film, novel or computer game needs to portray all aspects if it is to be fulfilling and realistic.

Several of my postgraduate students and myself have been researching around the radical philosophy of the Dutch thinker, Herman Dooyeweerd (1894-1977), and his theories of aspects. For me, he could justifiably be called the best philosopher of everyday life that has so far emerged.

Read more…..