St. Ignatius, Cura Personalis and Human Resource Management

Cura personalis, which is “care for the whole person” in Latin, is at the heart of Jesuit education. Although the concept has been applied to a variety of contexts, no previous work has addressed the relationship between cura personalis and human resource management (HRM). We believe St. Ignatius, who founded the Society of Jesus in 1534 and inspired the practice of cura personalis, laid the foundation for modern HRM. This paper offers an overview of cura personalis, provides a thorough history of HRM, explains how St. Ignatius’ recommendations relate to HRM, and describes a class activity for an introductory HRM class. By giving some historical context to cura personalis and HRM, this activity shows students how treating organizational memberswith care is a time-tested approach to achieving organizational success.