Abstract
The ethical task confronting the management of organisations in modern society is enormous, and it would be folly to think that organisations on their own can bring about a major change of heart. In a society of limited resources and a shrinking global economy with increasing unemployment and environmental risks and uncertainty, the need for ethical insights and guidelines has never been more urgent and important. The ethical battle is about fighting for something you love and cherish, namely, the moral values of humanity.
In this chapter, ethics is portrayed as an integral part of our whole being, attitude and behaviour, and not a mere observance of certain rules and precepts. Understanding the meaning of ethics cannot be arbitrary or ambiguous. It needs to be seen from all its various modes of interpretation as core moral principles upon which credible decisions are produced. The cascading impact of unethical decision making is discussed using relevant contemporary practical examples. The decision makers who form the dominant coalition in an organisation need to observe stringent governance norms, rules and standards to prevent a cascading consequence of unethical behaviour filtering down to their employees. Subordinate workers in an organisation will become infected by the behaviour of those making the decisions.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Bobbs-Merrill & Carroll, A. (1993). Business and society: Ethics and stakeholder management (2nd ed.). Cincinnati, OH: South –Western.
Brown, M. E. (2007). Misconceptions of ethical leadership: How to avoid potential pitfalls. Organizational Dynamics, 36(2), 140–155.
Foucault, A. (2000). Discipline and punish. London: Allen Lane.
Habermas, J. (1990). The philosophical discourse of modernity (F. Lawrence, Trans). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Hickman, G. R. (1998). Transactional and transforming leadership leading organisations perspectives for a new era (1st ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Hofstede, G. (1980). Culture’s consequences: International differences in work-related values. Beverley Hills, CA: Sage.
Hofstede, G. (1983). “Dimensions of national culture in fifty countries and three regions”, expiscations in cross-cultural psychology. Information Management Journal, 36(4), 42.
Kant, I. (1990). Foundations of the metaphysics of morals. New York: Macmillan.
Kelman, H. C. (1958). Compliance, identification and internalization: Three processes of attitude change. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 2, 51–60.
Kohlberg, L. (1984). Philosophy of moral development. New York: Harper and Row.
Kouzes, J., & Posner, B. Z. (1992). Ethical leaders: And essay about being in love. Journal of Business Ethics, 11(5–6), 479–484.
Larson, B. (2011). Metaphors for environmental sustainability: Redefining our relationship with nature. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Mill, J. (1993). Utilitarianism. Cincinnati, CT: Velazquez.
Mill, J. B.-M. (1957; 1993). Business and society: Ethics and stakeholder management (2nd ed.). Cincinnati, CT: South Western; Velazquez.
Mill, J. B.-M., Carol, A., & Valesquez, M.G. (1957; 1993; 1992). Business and society: Ethics and stakeholder management 2nd edition; business ethics; concepts and cases (3rd ed.). Cincinnati, CT: South Western; Englewood Cliffs N.
Moss, M. (2002). Spreading the ethical word. Information Management Journal, 36(4), 42.
Norton, B. (1991). Toward unity among environmentalists. New York: Oxford University Press.
Ortiz-Ospina, M. R. (2019, January 3). Retrieved from Global Extreme Poverty: https://ourworldindata.org
Ram, K. (2018). Complexity: The tipping point for leadership. In B. S. Thakkar (Ed.), The future of leadership (pp. 93–124). Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan.
Rieke, M. L., & Guastello, S. J. (1995). Unresolve issues in honesty and integrity. American Psychologist, 50, 458–459.
Sen, A. (2000). Development as freedom. First Anchor books edition. New York: Random House.
Solomon, R. C. (1984). Morality and the good life. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Spreitzer, G. M., & Sonenshein, S. (2004). Toward the construct definition of positive deviance. American Behavioral Scientist, 47(6), 828–847.
Stats SA. (2019, April 28). Statistics SA. Retrieved from www.statssa.gov.za
Thornton, L. F. (2009, September). Leadership ethics training: Why is it so hard to get right? Training and Development Journal, 63(9), 58–61. Wiley Blackwell, page 60.
Wicks, A., & Freeman, R. (1998). Organization studies and the new pragmatism: Positivism, anti-positivism and the search for ethics. Organizational Science, 9(2), 123–141.
Wright, T. A., & Goodstein, J. (2007). Character is not dead in management research: A review of individual character and organisational-level virtue. Journal of Management, 33, 928–958.
Zanderer, D. (1992). Integrity: An essential executive quality. Business Forum, 12–16.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Ram, I.G. (2020). Management Philosophy Toward an Ethical Worldview. In: Thakkar, B. (eds) Paradigm Shift in Management Philosophy. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29710-7_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29710-7_8
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-29709-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-29710-7
eBook Packages: Business and ManagementBusiness and Management (R0)