Supply chain management, humanistic management and circular economy: Fostering industry innovation and decent work through responsible consumption and production through partnerships

Abstract

This chapter provides convincing arguments on how it is possible to achieve a humanistic management perspective on supply chains by leveraging on the circular economy (CE) approach. The former argument is developed through the juxtaposition of CE principles applied by the industry regarding innovation and responsible production through partnerships with those of supply chain and humanistic management. A supply chain is a network of organisations or individuals that procures materials, transforms them into intermediate or finished products and distributes these products to customers. Several changes have occurred regarding how key participants interact within the supply chain to increase its efficiency. Humanistic management arose as an alternative to the “mechanistic” management approach of Frederick Taylor back in the early 20th century, characterised by being focused on profit maximisation and where people were seen as a mere resource. Circular economy represents an industrial system that is restorative or regenerative by intention and design.