Abstract
O’Neill posed some broad Kantian-derived principles applicable to society’s discourse. They are reviewed and utilized here as especially relevant for reasoned managerial discourse. Applications to the politically sensitive issues of globalism, diversity (racism, sexism, and other problems), the company’s control system (responsibility assignment, performance evaluation, and rewards systems), and environmental degradation and restoration, are provided. The latter is examined in detail as a significant issue capable of benefitting from these principles of social discourse.
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
Notes
- 1.
See Fruhan et al. (1992).
- 2.
See Chapter 3: “The Categorical Imperative Process and Moral Duties”.
- 3.
Ibid.
- 4.
- 5.
Kant’s universal principle of right (or justice) argues that the freedom of individuals should be maximized subject to non-interference with the freedom of others. See Kant (1797, 6: 231). This applies to freedom to try and persuade, an aspect of communication.
- 6.
See Chapter 3: “The Categorical Imperative Process and Moral Duties”.
- 7.
Ibid.
- 8.
Exchange rate risk includes those risks to business resulting from potential exchange rate movements. These movements can raise the costs of production, or lower the value of assets measured in terms of the home currency, or reduce sale revenue.
- 9.
See Robinson and Shah (2019).
- 10.
- 11.
IMF Staff Report of 2008.
- 12.
“Market power” can be loosely defined as the ability to raise process above costs so that more than a competitive return is earned. It results when an industry moves from a high level of competition to oligopoly, See Ferguson (1972), Chapter 10: “Fair Stakeholder Negotiations” and Chapter 11: “The Philosophy of Action and Authority in The Entrepreneurial and Management Ethics”, and also Henderson and Quandt (1958), and Chapter 6: “The Nexus of Managerial Imperfect Duty: Relations of Virtue, Discourse, and Due Diligence”.
References
Ferguson, C.E. 1972. Microeconomic Theory. 3rd ed. Homewood, IL: Richard D. Irwin Inc.
Fruhan, William E., W. Carl Hester, Scott P. Mason, Thomas R. Piper, and Richard S. Ruback. 1992. Case Problems in Finance. 10th ed. Boston MA: Irwin Publishers.
Henderson, James M., and Richard E. Quandt. 1958. Microeconomic Theory: A Mathematical Approach. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Kant, Immanuel. 1784a. In What is Enlightenment? in Basic Writings of Kant, The Modern Library Classics, ed. Allen W. Wood. New York: The Modern Library.
———. 1784b. The Idea for a Universal History with Cosmopolitan Intent. In Basic Writings of Kant, Modern Library Classics (2001), ed. A.W. Wood. New York, NY: Random House.
———. 1785. Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals. In Basic Writings of Kant, The Modern Library Classics, ed. Allen W. Wood. New York: The Modern Library.
———. 1788. Critique of Practical Reason, in Basic Writings of Kant. In Wood, The Modern Library Classics, The Modern Library (2001), ed. W. Allen. New York, NY: Random House Inc.
———. 1793. Religion Within the Limits of Reason Alone. In Basic Writings of Kant, The Modern Library Classics, ed. Allen W. Wood. New York: The Modern Library.
———. 1797. In The Metaphysics of Morals, ed. Mary Gregor. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
O’Neill, Onora. 1995. Constructions of Reason: Explorations of Kant’s Practical Philosophy, Cambridge University Press, New York, NY.
Robinson, Richard. 2019a. Imperfect Duties of Management: The Ethical Norm of Managerial Decisions. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan.
———. 2019b. The Management Nexus of Imperfect Duty: Kantian Views of Friendship, Discourse and Due Diligence. Journal of Business Ethics 157: 119–136.
Robinson, Richard, and Nina Shah. 2019. Business Environmental Obligations and Reasoned Public Discourse: A Kantian Foundation for Analysis. Journal of Business Ethics 159: 1181–1198.
Wood, Allen W. 1998. Kant on Duties Regarding Non-Rational Nature. Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society Supplement 72: 189–210.
Supplemental Readings
Robinson (2019, Chapter 5) presents the seminal material of reasoned discourse in business.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Robinson, R.M. (2022). Chapter 8: Reasoned Managerial Discourse. In: Business Ethics: Kant, Virtue, and the Nexus of Duty. Springer Texts in Business and Economics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85997-8_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85997-8_8
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-85996-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-85997-8
eBook Packages: Business and ManagementBusiness and Management (R0)