Divine Friendship and the Practice of Management

The purpose of this paper is to engage in an in-depth examination of the infused virtue of charity as it is taken up in the Summa Theologiae of St. Thomas Aquinas. Aquinas’ elaboration of the interior and exterior effects of charity is used to prescribe a normative management pathway. The methodology is a conceptual/theoretical one. The paper underlines the relevance of love to managerial work. Human dignity and the proper end of organizational endeavor are highlighted. The paper pulls forward the insights on charity of the great medieval scholar St. Thomas Aquinas as they apply to contemporary management practice.