Critical Moral Philosophy and Management

Abstract

This chapter considers the contribution which critical moral philosophy can make to an understanding and appreciation of management. It concentrates principally upon works in the Critical Theory tradition – authored by such figures as Max Horkheimer, Herbert Marcuse, and Theodor Adorno. It also draws in contributions of other critical writers such as Hannah Arendt who, while not identifying as part of this tradition, nevertheless shared its abiding concerns and Kantian philosophical heritage. The chapter is structured as follows. Section One, Critical Theory on Management, outlines Critical Theory’s take on our administered, rationalized, managed society. Section Two, Reason and the Moral Philosophy of Critical Theory, considers the moral philosophy which informs and underpins Critical Theory. A number of Critical Theory’s philosophical debts are noted, including its fundamental indebtedness to Immanuel Kant’s conceptualization of a reasoned morality. The final section of the chapter, Management, Critical Theory, and Moral Reason, considers what implications the critiques and concepts discussed in this chapter have for management and managers today.