Chapter 65: The Ethic Of Work Flashcards
To what does work ethic refer
It refers to principles of what’s considered right and wrong in the work environment which includes what people regard as their duties and obligations, nature of relationship between employees and employers and amount of freedom of choice they have.
What is a market ethic
Period where people learned to sell to make a profit in the process and the profit re-entered the economy as capital which expanded the economy and increased production which freed people from agricultural existence eroding rights of monarchy.
Describe the ethic of freedom
People learned to make their own decisions and began to measure their worth in terms of personal achievement and wealth.
Explain the Protestant work ethic and what it proposed
Protestants believed in goodness of work and that one had to earn goodness through working for the glory of God.
They proposed that
People shouldn’t idle but use available time to work as work is inherently good.
One has to earn what one wants to use and isn’t entitled to anything unless they work for it
Individuals shouldn’t waste and consume more than what’s needed to satisfy their basic needs. Surpluses should be saved or used to improve people’s lives.
Elaborate on the mechanistic ethics
Came about from European Renaissance era where world was seen as a big machine that each person fitted into like cogs and God wound it up. People were seen as part of production machinery having predefined jobs and performance monitored by management who would set goals and implement processes that lower employees had to achieve.
It was successful from production viewpoint but negated individualism and psychological needs of people.
