Increasing knowledge is seen by some as the driver of ethical improvement, but the pace of knowledge accumulation, as seen by the exponential growth of new technologies, is far outpacing humankinds ability to assimilate it and nurture pari passu an appropriate ethics. This book draws on the vigorous code of honour of that quintessential man of action, the Japanese samurai, points out the close relationship of their ethics (bushido) with the Wests roots in mediaeval chivalry and scholarship, and aims at a synthesis that can be taken up throughout the world, drawing on the best that each different tradition has to offer, with their common features providing the anchor points. And the most difficult issue confronting the scientific appraisal of our world, namely its complexity, is tackled from the root, providing fundamental insight into how to run a business. Throughout, the book is never far from practical application: one section deals with dynamic meditation as an extraordinary instrument for achieving a perfectly balanced life; and the final section deals with concrete contemporary issues such as the design of our built environment, sustainability, social responsibility and spirituality in the workplace, and performance improvement among the workforce.

About the Author

JEREMY RAMSDEN is Professor of Nanotechnology at Cranfield University, UK, and Director of Research at Cranfield University at Kitakyushu, prior to which he was a member of the Faculty of Natural Philosophy at the University of Basel. Previous books include The New World Order (1991) and Bioinformatics: an Introduction (2004). He has published about 150 research articles, and is Editor-in-Chief of Nanotechnology Perceptions

ANDREW KAKABADSE is Professor of International Management Development at Cranfield School of Management, UK, and the H. Smith Richardson Fellow at CCL, North Carolina, USA. His research covers boards, top teams and the governance of governments. He has published twenty-six books, 169 articles and sixteen monographs, and is co-editor of the Journal of Management Development and Corporate Governance: International Journal of Business in Society.

SHUHEI AIDA is Chairman and CEO of the Human Media Foundation in Japan, professor emeritus at the University of Electro-Communications in Tokyo, Director-General of Cranfield University Japan Centre and visiting Professor at Cranfield University, UK. He has published about 150 research papers and thirty books in the fields of system engineering, information technology and global environmental issues, and has received the Mainichi Cultural and Publishing Award. He has been decorated AL MERITO DELLA REPUBBLICA ITALIANA by the President of Italy.