Culture is certainly not reducible to its display

Observe a lack of general culture in business

Having spent the great oral of ENA or the lesson of aggregation is not necessary to pursue a professional career. It is obvious. But from there to reduce culture to the conversation in the dinners in the city, it is going too far. Culture is certainly not reducible to its display. But it provides economic, historical, artistic, literary references that give to those who possess thinking necessary to their action, the ability to explain and justify this action, rooting it in ethics. We bring to the company our technical know-how, but also (and perhaps especially) our personality and our values, rooted in our culture.

And the cultural level of graduates

Graduates have berries on the world, while we do have Windows! In all French schools, the general culture has a large place and she globalized the multiplication of internships and study abroad. Remember the movie "the Spanish hostel". Now accumulate of general culture is not enough, make sure that this learning, this accumulation, is organized. Have a great library does not always mean well read a book. Schools need to give a more important place to the social sciences and Humanities, which structure the knowledge.

Can the general culture be an asset in working life

The general culture is akin to an enlightened humanism: acquire it, to be listening to the other, accept dialogue, open mind. The share must be Act of pedagogy, make an effort of belief, of mutual respect. This is what is the human management and often structure lasting business relationships based on trust, which is the fundamental characteristic of the markets. Adam Smith had used to say that the market began with loyalty. Trade in ideas, allowing the release of general culture in a given society, has some parallels with the trade of goods and services, which implies permanent, renewed, equal exchange!

An example of usefulness of the general culture to an Economist: he knows the history, it will be capable of interpreting contemporary facts. I am struck the quality and the relevance of current analyses of the crisis and the proposals for solutions, all clearly inspired knowledge and a thorough analysis of the great depression.

I also emphasize the fact that the general culture is first an openness to diversity of the world and that, in Multipole, multi-national and global enterprises, it is essential to the conduct and the functioning of the organizations. Learn, understand, know Chinese, Japanese, Indian, civilization so far from our repositories schemas is factor of effectiveness as early as today and tomorrow even more, of course. The history of religions is essential to who wants to develop financial activities today in the world. And read novels from the four corners of the planet to understand the behaviour and expectations of its customers or colleagues.

I would finally add that the knowledge of science social anthropology, Ethnology, sociology, psychology, philosophy, etc. is very useful for the understanding of any company. There is often more similarities between the tribal behaviour observed by anthropologists and behaviours observed in companies that alleged! There the potlatch is organizations in Indian tribes, the don and the contre-don also, the search for scapegoats certainly...

Do you ever refer to an author or a particular artist

My past of economist is known, and I therefore refer to the major theorists Adam Smith to Keynes, Bastiat Samuelson, and many others. I found in the study of the philosophy of significant references to the great German philosophers Kant and Hegel, as an economist, Fichte and Marx, for example, and, of course, in the field of moral Jankélévitch. And I followed the course of Yvon Belaval, who was the Chair of general philosophy at the Sorbonne with passion. In my academic life, I had the great pleasure to be Professor at EHESS, where I have worked with major social science intellectuals, historians, demographers, sociologists, anthropologists... also many French nationals.