ULTIMATE QUESTIONS: RELATIONAL STAKEHOLDER THEORY AND THE GOOD LIFE.

The article focuses on a business ethics course titled “Ultimate Questions and Creating Value for Stakeholders” taught at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, which explores profound human themes such as identity, purpose, and coexistence alongside the role of business in society. It critiques the dominant economic view that business is solely driven by self-interest and profit, advocating instead for stakeholder theory, which emphasizes creating value for all parties involved—customers, employees, suppliers, financiers, and communities. The course encourages students to engage deeply and vulnerably with these ultimate questions, fostering leadership that integrates ethical reflection with practical business concerns. This approach highlights business as a moral activity centered on mutual benefit and empathy, challenging simplistic profit-only models and promoting richer, more inclusive understandings of human motivation and organizational success. [Extracted from the article]