Browsing by Author "Gichure, Christine Prof."

Now showing 1 - 20 of 24
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Altruism and human flourishing in shareholder value and the common good
    (Strathmore University Press, ) Gichure, Christine Prof.
    Book Chapter in book titled Shareholder value and the common good.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Business ethics and wealth creation: a response to Georges Enderle
    Gichure, Christine Prof.
    The paper of Profess or Enderle regarding Business Ethics and wealth creation, after discussing the various meanings of wealth and creation, goes on to highlight the author's personal experience of the poverty condition of the marginalized persons in South America, a subcontinent with a predominant Catholic population.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Business Ethics in Africa
    (Blackwell Publishing Co, ) Gichure, Christine Prof.; Freeman , Edward; Werhane , Patricia
    Entry for Wiley Encyclopaedia of Business Ethics 3rd Ed.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Education and the problem of moral values: the case of Kenya
    (Strathmore University Press, ) Gichure, Christine Prof.
    At the beginning of 2008, Kenya was rocked by a deadly wave of sectarian violence that was sparked off by a dispute over results of December 2007's general elections. During these weeks of anarchy , we saw people who had lived peaceably together for many years take up crude weapons against their neighbours, hacking some to death, injuring scores of others, rendering hundreds of thousands homeless and destroying property worth millions of shillings. The most horrendous incident is a case where elderly men, women and children died after a church they had sought sanctuary in was set ablaze by marauding gangs. This was proof that the worst of human passions had taken over; where hatred, vengeance; murderous instincts and sadism reigned supreme. But whereas it may have been only a fraction of Kenyan society th at engaged in this mayhem, it is safe to say that the actions of that fraction reflect the overall moral bankruptcy of our society today . This view is corroborated by what followed on the heels of the post-election violence , where a new wave of mayhem erupted in our schools in the form of student unrest that also caused its fair share of destruction through arson and murder. These events lead us to ask at least two pertinent questions, namely ; were the people behind these depraved activities , be they leaders or followers, acting as free men? Free, not in the sense of physical bondage to someone else but rather free in the sense of having a mental capacity to understand the import of their actions on the basic principles of human good? And in their actions, were these people really being guided by their conscience as human beings? By conscience we mean the human faculty that appeals to reason, and which is capable of guiding human beings in pursuing the good and eschewing evil. If these actors can give affirmative answers to these questions, then we can only conclude they acted out of sheer malice . But if, on the other hand, doubt can be cast on how free they were in their actions, then we can assume their actions were not executed with malice aforethought, but probably out of ignorance.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Effort & achievement of two decades of business ethics teaching and research in Africa with a special reference to Kenya
    (Springer Science, ) Gichure, Christine Prof.
    This paper makes an overview of the efforts and achievements gained in ethics research and teaching in the last two decades by different stakeholders. These include some philosophical inquiries regarding the existence of and the concept of ethics and the moral character in Africa, the debate regarding the opinion that a viable business ethics for Africa would have to take into consideration the general African cultures and practices, and the efforts gained so far in the ethics and corporate governance. The paper also looks at the efforts and gains made towards entrenching a value system in Kenya by a broad array of stakeholders, from government, private sector, civil society and academia. In conclusion, the paper proposes that in order to imbue a more rationalized understanding of why it makes good sense to observe ethics in business and public life, there is need for education based on the idea of general human good and universal human dignity.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    el docente universitario ante los bienes de su práctica
    (Universidad Industrial de Santander, ) Gichure, Christine Prof.
    We can recognize the teacher and his profession as the attempt to research or to discover, recognize, promote and teach the truth to others. The scope of a teacher’s quality is a topic still debated by those who tackle the issue in its objective and modern significance on the one hand, and those who consider it in its vocational meaning, on the other hand. This article puts forward the notion that it is possible to synthesize these two ways of tackling the meaning of a profession. It also puts forward the idea that efficacy of teaching is defined first by its own objectives—it is not the professional that creates those objectives— and by the availability of the professional. Therefore, a professional teacher is that who can teach his pupils in the best way so that they grasp the objectives and particularities of university education
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Ethics as a solution to Corruption : a case study of the construction industry in Kenya
    (SOBE Publications, 2018-12) Dindi, Adeline M.; Munala, Gerryshom; Alkizim, Ahamad; Kivaa, Titus; Gichure, Christine Prof.
    The construction industry endures a poor reputation and continues to experience ethical problems manifested in collapsed buildings, corrupt deals and a general lack of honesty. In this paper, the authors present results of an investigation into the prevalent ethical problems in the construction industry in Kenya and their impact on projects. A review of literature on corruption shows that emphasis is placed upon putting in place systems and policies for fighting corruption, yet this has not achieved much results. Literature in construction ethics shows that professional codes and ethics are only effective as far as the people are personally ethical. The method of conducting this study was through in-depth interviews of stakeholders to establish prevalent unethical practices in the industry. The authors present the results from a thematic analysis of perceptions of information-rich subjects from different sectors of the industry. The results show that unethical practices such as collusion, kickbacks and supplanting are mostly due to lack of honesty, greed and the desire to get rich quickly. The study concludes that most unethical practices are due to corrupt individual practices and recommends ways of incorporating ethics both at individual and institutional level.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Happiness through human work
    (Philosophy of Action, ) Gichure, Christine Prof.
    In what follows, I analyze the nature of work as human action. From there I discuss the triple dimension of human perfectibility through man's operative powers: the intellect, will and affections or emotions. After that, I focus on human work as the basis for the integration of ethics and practice: the root of human and cultural development of the individual and society.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Human Nature and Identity in Muntu Anthropology and Ubuntu Worldview
    Gichure, Christine Prof.
    “Recent ethnic history of the peoples of Africa, though lacking in written documents, is seen to be very complex, yet rich in spiritual, social and individual experience, much worthy of further analysis research. Many customs and rites, once considered to be strange, are seen today, in the light of ethnological science, as integral parts of various social systems, worthy of study and commanding respect”. These words pronounced three decades ago have been part of the inspiration for this paper. Another source of that inspiration was the work of Henry Oruka, in which he presents what he called ‘Sage Philosophy. Oruka defended his work with the argument that philosophical study of any topic in Africa needs to be approached under one or other of the various philosophical approaches. One such approach is the hermeneutical in which the scholar attempts to cull out the philosophical meaning from African wisdom, often hidden in myths, religions, sayings, songs, and poetry. This paper is an attempt to present human nature and identity in the Muntu Anthropology and Ubuntu worldview which shall be described in the body of the paper.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Human nature/identity : the ubuntu world view and beyond
    Gichure, Christine Prof.
    This paper is about the understanding of human nature and identity in the African context called Ubuntu. In the Introduction I explain the meaning of Ubuntu worldview. Following this I present the notion of Nature, and Human Nature, as can be culled from the mythologies of origin of the Bantu people of Eastern Africa. Kenya has been particularly chosen because ‘the philosopher must begin her reflections with her own life experience’. My experience is Kenyan. The fourth attempts to identify commonalities and divergences between the African, Ubuntu understanding of human nature and those of classic and contemporary realism in Philosophical Anthropology in the belief that “a‘philosophy of man’ is something altogether distinct from an expression of merely personal standpointor value system”.1Hence Seneca’s saying: “The truth is no one’s property”2. I conclude by highlighting the need for common ground regarding the essentials of human nature for any possible moral discourse within the whole idea of the common good, human dignity, and the respect of human rights.For the framework of the paper I follow two Ganda sayings. The first one says:No culture is so poor that it cannot teach anything positive to other cultures. Put in KiGanda: Omuggo oguli ewa mulirwano, tegutta musota guli mu nju yo,3 literally translated as: “A stick in your neighbor’s house can never kill asnake in your house”. The second saying encourages openness and says: ‘no culture is so perfect that it cannot learn from other cultures’ “Amagezi muliro, bwe guzikira ewuwo ogunona ewa munno, literally translated as:“Wisdom is like fire, when it is extinguished in your home, you get it from the neighbor”
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Human nature/identity: constant or changing in Ubuntu worldview concept and beyond Ubuntu.
    Gichure, Christine Prof.
    This paper is about the understanding of human nature and identity in the African context called Ubuntu. In the Introduction I explain the meaning of Ubuntu worldview. Following this I present the notion of Nature, and Human Nature, as can be culled from the mythologies of origin of the Bantu people of Eastern Africa. Kenya has been particularly chosen because ‘the philosopher must begin her reflections with her own life experience’. My experience is Kenyan. The fourth attempts to identify commonalities and divergences between the African, Ubuntu understanding of human nature and those of classic and contemporary realism in Philosophical Anthropology in the belief that “a ‘philosophy of man’ is something altogether distinct from an expression of merely personal standpoint or value system”.1 Hence Seneca’s saying: “The truth is no one’s property”2. I conclude by highlighting the need for common ground regarding the essentials of human nature for any possible moral discourse within the whole idea of the common good, human dignity, and the respect of human rights
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    La Etica de la profesion docente. Estudio Introductorio a la deontologia de la educacion
    (Ediciones Universidad De Navarra, S.A Pamplona, ) Gichure, Christine Prof.
    Este libro introduce un campo de gran importancia pero aun poco explorado.La ética de la profesión docente es un tema del máximo interés teórico y practico, muy particularmente en nuestros días. ?Es docencia una vocación, una profesión, o simplemente un empleo? Que códigos éticos --de deontología profesional--se le deben aplicar al profesor? ?Basta con ellos para comprender plenamente la ética del educador? un mundo como el nuestro, en el que el numero de instituciones educativas es muy elevado y creciente, no puede desatender estas cuestiones. La ética de la profesión docente se ha elaborado desde claves hondas de filosofía de la educación.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    On Time. What is time?
    Gichure, Christine Prof.
    This has been a central question in philosophy from time immemorial. And even to describe that long period, we have no other term to use but ‘time’. We find it discussed at some length by Aristotle, touched on somewhat by Augustine in his Confessions to be taken up by Aquinas and expounded later on by Immanuel Kant. Against this background we find another way of seeing it, not naming it perhaps but despising its fleetness. Hence, Africa declares, ‘In Africa there is no hurry’. People talk of “saving time”, or of “whiling away the hours’, or of ‘killing time’. Thus if time can be saved, killed or whiled away, it must be something burdensome; something weighty, something which, therefore, can both be used and recycled for further use. In this I make reflections on time based on the value that authors, both profane and sacred have given it and why.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Philosophy: 'What Is It All About?'
    (Kenyatta University, ) Gichure, Christine Prof.
    The number of students enrolling for philosophy courses in our public universities is dwindling. Philosophy, the mother of all intellectual learning, is on the verge of being erased from Kenyan universities' curricula. From discussions with students over a whole decade it has become evident to me that one of the reasons why students fear philosophy is the impression that its main content and purpose is simply the acquisition of prowess in criticality and in the use of modem symbolic or mathematical logic, with the underlying hermeneutics of suspicion, skepticism and intellectual paranoia often associated with philosophical debates. This paper, by tracing the main highlights of the history of philosophy, is intended to avert those fears by underscoring the fact that, while criticality and modem logic are useful aspects for philosophy, the field of philosophy per se is not reduced to them; it has its proper content that is open to every person committed and devoted to the pursuit of truth and its possibility regarding the world and nature, who and what the human being is- his origin, purpose, activity and end- life and death, society and human relations, good and evil. Its proper role is sapiential: the 'love of wisdom.'
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Shareholder value and the common good
    (Konrad Adenauer Foundation, ) Gichure, Christine Prof.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Teaching business ethics in Africa : what ethical orientation? the case of East and Central Africa
    Gichure, Christine Prof.
    This paper starts off from what seems to be a difficulty of ethics in African Business today. For several years now Transparency International has placed some African countries high on its list of most corrupt countries of the world. The conclusion one draws from this assessment is that either African culture has no regard or concern for ethics, or that there has been a gradual loss of the concept of the ethical and the moral in contemporary African society. Equally problematic is the teaching and promotion of Business ethics in organizations. Western philosophical theories and systems alone have not succeeded in providing access to ethical life of people in modern Africa. This paper is an attempt to inject an orientation that takes into account African manners and customs, their religious convictions and their understanding of the world as a whole, in the teaching of Business Ethics. East and Central Africa have been selected due to their common lingua franca, Kiswahili, and the fact that the author has more teaching experience within that region.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The Beginnings of Kibondeni college, Nairobi : a historical and sociological overview
    Gichure, Christine Prof.
    The theme of this article is Kibondeni College, a corporate work of Opus Dei in Kenya, East Africa. Its focus is the pre-history, the initial stages and the development of the school which started as a service unit alongside Strathmore and Kianda Colleges. The article seeks to highlight the role of the teaching, faith and vision of St. Josemaría Escrivá with respect to hospitality work as a noble career for women, and how several ladies of Opus Dei implemented it at a difficult moment in Kenya’s history.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    To what extent does personal virtue of project participants affect project management success?
    (2019-01) Dindi, Adeline M.; Gichure, Christine Prof.; Alkizim, Ahamad; Munala, Gerryshom; Kivaa, Titus
    This paper explored the influence of personal virtue or project participants on the success of construction projects. Literature was reviewed on virtue from the point of view of practice. A survey assessed the success of construction projects and evaluated the personal virtues of project participants, and the two were then analysed and correlated. The findings suggested that there was no significant relationship between project management success and personal virtue of project participants. Based on these findings, moral education for practitioners was recommended to sensitize them on the importance of virtues in work for betterment of the practice.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Towards a new African worldview: quandaries of moral business and leadership in modern Africa
    Gichure, Christine Prof.
    Africa’s poverty problems are often linked to its post independence poor leadership and corruption. In order to address and solve the problems of corruption in Africa it is important to understand their origins. This paper is an effort to look at the factors that form the roots of corruption in Africa today. I begin by discussing some of Africa’s unique environmental challenges in section one. I then look at what the legacies of slavery and colonialism left behind in section two. I go on to give an overview of current issues in section three, and an account of how these factors helped create corruption and poverty in Africa in section four. Finally, I offer suggestions that can contribute to reduce corruption in Africa in section five.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Towards instilling ethics in African business and public service: the case of Kenya
    (International Business Ethics Institute, ) Gichure, Christine Prof.
    This article discusses post independence governance and corruption challenges in Africa. In addition, this article explores the development of business ethics and good governance in Africa, with a particular emphasis on Kenya. As recently as January 2004, the World Economic Forum still presented Africa’s economies as performing poorly since the 1970s with per capita incomes 10% lower than what they were in the 1980s. Its GDP growth was shown to have been negative throughout the 1990s at regional levels, and only slightly improved in South Africa (Taylor et al., 2003 p. 3-7). Historical, structural, and ideological factors have been used to explain this lack of economic growth. Africa is materially poor and it continues to experience many difficulties: sometimes severe droughts and other times floods; political upheavals and conflicts in countries such as the Sudan and Somalia; the genocides in Rwanda and Burundi; endemic diseases such as Malaria and now AIDS; and massive unemployment.