In today’s world, given the relative importance that companies are giving to corporate social responsibility, sustainability, human rights, and ethics, it is logical to assume that the humanistic trend is gaining support over the economistic, especially in the most developed countries. The paper serves both to introduce the topic of circular migration and to suggest that humanistic management principles are not applied to circular migration programs. First, we contrast humanism with economism as fundamental approaches to business goal setting. Then, we (...) discuss in more depth the concept of circular migration and explain the mechanisms under which this migration happens in the US and Canada. Next, by relying on Melé’s propositions, we elaborate on the case of the Mexican workers who enroll in these temporary job programs, with attention to the programs’ pitfalls and outcomes. Finally, we conclude with reflections on further research in humanistic management as a tool for improving temporary migration movements. (shrink)

Despite the fact that informal labour is a widespread phenomenon, the business ethics literature tends to describe it as a problem that needs to be overcome, rather than contemplating its merits. Informal labour is linked to poor working conditions, low-income and insufficient protection. However, it is also a survival strategy and upholds essential services, such as waste collection and recycling. Through the lens of postmodern ethics, we analyse 45 interviews with formal and informal waste management workers in Kinshasa. The study (...) explores the functioning and limits of recycling services in a metropolis, focusing on the experience of African workers and entrepreneurs. A complex picture of ethical challenges and individual business and survival strategies emerges from the analysis. Our findings demonstrate that labour decisions of voiceless people cannot be reduced to being rational or desperate choices, but that they reflect a careful elaboration of currently available options and strategies for the future. The study contributes to our understanding of entrepreneurship in a post-conflict context, the role of informal labour in the functioning of formal businesses in Africa and the contribution of postmodern theory to the study of businesses in non-Western societies. (shrink)