Abstract
Ethical decision-making (EDM) theories in behavioural ethics management have been developed through the social sciences, psychology, social psychology, and cognitive neurosciences. These theories are either cognitive, non-cognitive or an integration of both. Other scholars have recommended redefining what ethical means through moral philosophy and theology. Buddhism is a religion, a philosophy, a psychology, an ethical system and an art of living. The divine states (i.e. loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity) in Buddhism are virtues that could be developed by anyone regardless of their religion or non-religion through Buddhist meditation. They are so called because they enable individuals to develop ‘God-like qualities’. The theoretical insights of the divine states indicate how to eliminate negative emotions, such as anger, fear, delusion and envy, by cultivating love and compassion towards both the self and others. Accordingly, this paper contributes to EDM by redefining what ethical means through the meanings managers who practise Buddhist meditation assign to divine states in their lived experience of EDM in organisations in Sri Lanka. The sample consisted of 17 Buddhists, 1 Hindu, 1 Muslim and 1 no-religion. Data were collected using semi-structured in-depth interviews and was analysed with IPA. The findings indicated that how the managers made meaning of an ethical decision was influenced by their loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity. The findings also indicated that the managers justified the reasons for their decisions subsequently through the benefits to themselves as well as their employees. Accordingly, this study supports the view that EDM is an integrated approach.
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Notes
A company that issues shares, the holders of which have the liability to contribute to the assets of the company, if any, specified in the company’s articles as attaching to those shares (in this Act referred to as a “limited company”) (Section 3 (1) (a) of “Companies Act” 2007).
a company, any shares or securities of which are quoted on a licenced stock exchange (529 of the “Companies Act” 2007). Public companies incorporated under the Companies Act No. 7 of 2007 or any other statutory corporation, incorporated or established under the laws of Sri Lanka or established under the laws of any other state (subject to Exchange Control approval) are eligible to seek a listing on the Colombo Stock Exchange to raise Debt or Equity. Companies desiring to be admitted to the official list of the Exchange and to secure a listing of their securities will be required to comply with the relevant provisions of the above act and the Securities and Exchange Commission Act No. 36 of 1987 (as amended) and the Listing Rules of the Exchange (Colombo Stock Exchange 2014, para 2).
A duly incorporated Trust by a Deed of Trust under the “Trusts Ordinance” (1918).
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Acknowledgements
The primary author extends her gratitude towards Dr Andy Godfrey, Associate Dean – Postgraduate Students of AUT University for all his support during her doctoral journey. She is ever so grateful to her meditation teacher, Acharya S.N. Goenka, who taught her the vipassana meditation technique in January 2015. Finally, the authors would like to thank the three anonymous reviewers and the editor for their valuable reviews, comments and suggestions for improvement that made us work harder to improve our paper.
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Jayawardena-Willis, T.S., Pio, E. & McGhee, P. The Divine States (brahmaviharas) in Managerial Ethical Decision-Making in Organisations in Sri Lanka: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. J Bus Ethics 168, 151–171 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-019-04240-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-019-04240-6