The following is a brief summary of Antonio Argandoña’s opening presentation to a large gathering of academics, publicists and professionals who share the goal of giving the home its due as a fundamental source of human capital for society. The book served as a reference point for the discussion to follow.
A business is an organization, and the home is also an organization, i.e. a group of people working together for some common goals that will benefit all of them, though probably for different reasons. This definition contains five key elements:
In summary: a home is an organization that one is always (or almost always) part of, sometimes without explicitly deciding to be. It is a community of persons each with their own reasons for being there, but above all, with an interest in the home’s fulfilling its function and continuing to exist; and it can be replicated in new places, albeit with changes. The key of a home lies in its members’ readiness to work together with others, including people from outside, to make it a place of training in knowledge, abilities, attitudes, dispositions, values and virtues, in regard to different family members at different times. At the same time, the home offers services to its members: an opportunity to live together and fulfill their particular function. The home is an excuse for living together. To construe one, every member must be prepared to do any task when required: each person is necessary, and each must find his or her role at each moment. I illustrated this idea with a phrase of my own: in the home, each member has to be ready and willing to iron an egg or to fry a shirt.
Thanks to the Home Renaissance Foundation for organizing the book launch at IESE Business School.
