Ethics as an integrating force in management
Journal of Business Ethics · 1984 · Volume 3 · Issue 4
Abstract
Ethics will not become part of the management decision-making process until it ceases to be viewed as an ‘add-on’; first you decide, then you assess the decision ethically. This essay focuses on one ethical concept,the goodorthe valuable, and shows how to incorporate it in an ethically and economically effective decision process. We focus on this concept because it uncovers a key fault in strategic thinking and generates questions central to any complex decision.The concept of the valuable is used to distinguishgoalsandpurposes. A goal is a more or less specific target toward which one aims. A purpose is a way of being or functioning viewed as valuable in itself.Purposes make values operational. We look at values through a set of questions derived from the concept of the valuable. One question probes the range of individuals relevant to a decision. Participatory and dialectical decision approaches are critiqued. A second question probes the standards of rationality implicit in management decisions.We conclude by responding to two objections. The first is that justice in decision-making is insufficiently considered. The second is that there is little reason to think that the proposals made here would work if implemented.
Keywords
Economic Growth, Decision Process, Management Decision, Specific Target, Complex Decision
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