Business ethics: Restrictive or empowering? [Book Review]
Journal of Business Ethics 14 (6):445 - 464 (1995)
Abstract |
There is a tendency in the business ethics literature to think of ethics in restrictive terms: what one should not do, and how to control this. Drawing on Lawrence Kohlberg''s theory of moral development, the paper focuses on, and draws attention to, another more positive aspect of ethics: the capacity of ethics to inspire and empower individuals, as well as groups. To understand and facilitate such empowerment, it is argued that it is necessary to move beyond Kohlberg''s justice reasoning so as to appreciate the value and importance of feeling and care. Accordingly, we draw upon case study material to review the meaning of Kohlberg''s higher stages — 5, 6 and 7 — to question the meaning of ethical reasoning. With such deeper understanding of particular ethical codes or practices, it is thought that members of organisations may come closer to thespirit, as opposed to the letter, of ethical conduct in organisations. This, we argue, is consistent with the degree of trust and integrity demanded by leaner, post-bureaucratic ways of organizing and conducting business as well as being personally beneficial to the people involved.
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DOI | 10.1007/BF00872086 |
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References found in this work BETA
Varieties of Moral Personality: Ethics and Psychological Realism.Owen FLANAGAN - 1991 - Harvard University Press.
In a Different Voice: Psychological Theory and Women's Development.Carol Gilligan - 1982 - Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Moral Reasoning and Business Ethics: Implications for Research, Education, and Management. [REVIEW]Linda Klebe Trevino - 1992 - Journal of Business Ethics 11 (5-6):445 - 459.
View all 23 references / Add more references
Citations of this work BETA
Ethical Codes of Conduct in Irish Companies: A Survey of Code Content and Enforcement Procedures.Brendan O’Dwyer & Grainne Madden - 2006 - Journal of Business Ethics 63 (3):217-236.
Questioning Corporate Codes of Ethics.Mollie Painter-Morland - 2010 - Business Ethics, the Environment and Responsibility 19 (3):265-279.
Experimental Design: Ethics, Integrity and the Scientific Method.Jonathan Lewis - 2020 - In Ron Iphofen (ed.), Handbook of Research Ethics and Scientific Integrity. Cham, Switzerland: pp. 459-474.
How Can I Become a Responsible Subject? Towards a Practice-Based Ethics of Responsiveness.Bernadette Loacker & Sara Louise Muhr - 2009 - Journal of Business Ethics 90 (2):265-277.
Questioning Corporate Codes of Ethics.Mollie Painter-Morland - 2010 - Business Ethics: A European Review 19 (3):265-279.
View all 22 citations / Add more citations
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