Moral Theory and the Language of Ethics and Business - Management Assignment Help

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The Language of Ethics  

Since ethics is an integral part of management, it is vital for managers to become comfortable with the  language of ethics, and to understand how it is inextricable from the language of business. We will examine key  theories of ethics and how they apply to management decision making. These theories provide the content of  ethics as we will use it in this course, as well as the terminology we can use to describe situations in ethical  terms—both to see how ethics is part of the landscape and business and to provide resources for leaders to  defend their choices.  

There is a rich history and diverse range of ethical theory.1 While there are a variety of ways to frame this  vast array of research, we can categorize them in terms of four different traditions we will use in this class:  

1. Principles or standards of conduct—focused on the action  

2. Character of the person or company—focused on the agent  

3. Consequences of a particular action—focused on the outcome  

4. Care extended within relationships—focused on relationships  

Each of these strands of theory provides moral insight. They all capture important elements of the moral  life, yet each has its limitations. For most people and most cultures, none of the four strands of ethics by itself  provides a complete set of moral considerations to live by. Each raises important themes for decision making,  and while all four strands are distinctive, there are often important tensions and interconnections among them  in practice. The next sections take these themes and develop them further in a managerial context.  

Origins of Principles and Standards of Conduct  

Because actions are viewed as having inherently good or bad qualities (e.g., benevolence, murder), it is  important to understand how we derive these norms. Deontological principles can arise from a variety of  sources. For instance, they might arise from various influential religious and philosophical traditions. Much of  Western morality is influenced by Judaism and Christianity, particularly the basic dos and don’ts that come out  of those religious traditions, while Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism have greatly influenced  various cultures around the world as well.  

Additionally, principles might arise strictly from the use of logic. They might emerge from a collaborative  process explicitly designed to arrive at certain agreed-upon principles, or they may simply arise from cultural  traditions. Deontological accounts maintain that there are certain standards of human decency or respect for  the worth of others that apply to everyone and emerge out of any tradition. These standards rule out treating  each other in certain ways (e.g., don’t lie, don’t cheat, don’t steal, don’t murder). Sometimes these principles are  made explicit and codified in some way; other times the principles are simply understood and largely implicit.  Principles often involve concepts such as rights and duties.

Second Tradition: Character  

Ethics deals with more than rules and norms. It also addresses issues of character—the traits and qualities  that define us (as people or as organizations) and shape how others see us. A person of good character is  someone who possesses many important virtues (forms of human excellence), while someone with bad  character has significant failings or vices (expressions of corruption or a lack of excellence). This branch of  ethics, often described as character ethics or virtue ethics, focuses specifically on the “actor” or “agent,”  whether a person or an organization. The primary focus is on how various patterns of conduct come to define  the kind of people we are, how others look at us, and the larger notion of what it means to be a good person.  Thinking about ethics from the standpoint of character involves examining our identity. 

Origins of character  

Notions of character emerge out of understanding what it means to live a good life, and how that notion  fits within a larger community. The study of virtue dates back to Aristotle. Novels, films, and heroic legends all  provide insights into how we generate understanding of both positive qualities (virtues) and negative traits  (vices). Background narratives and organizational contexts (e.g., an investment bank versus an NGO) can  powerfully shape what we think makes a trait positive (or negative). Character is something learned from  childhood, from parents, friends, and community—ways of living that are encouraged and praised. Character  is also something that takes great effort and hard work. We don’t become a good person simply by saying the  right things. We must work hard to learn these abilities and make them a part of who we are. Athletes put in  countless hours, and lots of sweat and effort, to become outstanding at their sport. Similarly, a virtue such as  courage can only be learned by repeated efforts to face danger and respond courageously (rather than with fear  or in a foolhardy manner). 

Importance of character traits  

Firms and managers should not only identify key purposes or goals, but also the character qualities (e.g.,  virtues and vices) they want to develop to help them achieve those purposes; in other words, there are habits,  practices, and ways of doing business that will help them achieve their goals over time (e.g., taking care of their  customers or employees; being a trustworthy and reliable partner with suppliers). Most companies seek “good  people,” which is a shorthand way of saying they want people of good character, the kind of folks who can be  trusted to do their jobs without a lot of supervision, and who will tell the truth, respect others, and give their  best for the organization. We can also think of character as closely related to the brand, a term used in marketing. 

While brand can have connotations that don’t fit with character, it does capture a powerful way in which  character matters in business. We all have a brand; the choices we make define who we are and how others  look at us. Beyond what they can get away with or maximize a particular outcome in a given situation, managers  also need to think about the larger importance of their choices and to see new situations as a chance to reveal  to the world who they are.

Third Tradition: Consequences  

Ethics also has to do with pursuing—and achieving—laudable ends. This includes the quest to make  something of our life (i.e., the search for personal success and happiness) as well as the aspirations for our  communities (e.g., prosperity, security, justice). This branch of ethical thought focuses on the moral importance  of the “ends” a person or firm sets and the desire to try to achieve them through certain actions. Thus the  moral worth of actions should be determined by the likely consequences they would generate. Do our actions  create more good than harm in terms of realizing our goals or purposes (e.g., winning a war, creating profits,  or helping others)? If so, actions can be defended; if not, then those actions are unjustified. The phrase “the  ends justify the means” is often used to describe this branch of ethics, known as consequentialism.  

Importance of consequences  

A key part of the moral life is about creating favorable outcomes: using our resources wisely, saving lives,  limiting waste, and selecting tactics likely to achieve organizational success. A critical part of what managers  need to do is take actions that serve the interests of their organization (and their stakeholders). Firms can have  great ideals and character, yet without a critical focus on how they can create and deliver value for their  stakeholders, they won’t be in business very long. Indeed, one common interest of a firm’s primary stakeholders  is that managers act in a way to consistently generate profits for the firm, particularly since that is a necessary  requirement for them to continue to receive the other benefits they get from being part of the firm. That said,  a number of other consequences merit careful consideration and organizational intentionality.

Importance of relationships and care  

Like character, healthy relationships are a critical aspect of living well as is our ability to generate positive  consequences for the firm. Without healthy stakeholder relationships and getting stakeholders to give their best  every day, firms erode their ability to sustain positive results. Outstanding performance by an organization is,  at least in part, a story about healthy organizational relationships in which stakeholders feel they are part of  something larger than themselves, that they are valued, and that they are critical to the success of the  organization.

Conclusion  

The four traditions of moral theory help us to capture what is going on, morally speaking, within a given  situation; however, there will often be tensions within each tradition as well as across them. This is an acute  problem in many moral dilemmas in business, especially when managers face significant incentives or pressures,  such as going out of business, to bend the rules or adopt unsavory practices. Understanding the underlying  logic and dynamics of each of the four traditions, and being able to express the issues within each, is the core  challenge for us as managers. These tools can help us see the complexity of the situation, identify key points of  tension, and better understand the context from the standpoint of multiple stakeholders, in order to help us  more intentionally create the world we desire with others. 

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