Week 7 Flashcards
what is the idea of the bimoral society?
- Our lives are governed by two conflicting forms of morality, market morality of self interest and traditional morality of obligations to others (Hendry 2004).
what are the two angles in a bimoral society?
- The principles of traditional morality such as, obligations and duties towards others, ideas of right vs. wrong
- The principles of entrepreneurial self-interest where the emphasis is on competition in a market rather than cooperation, how entrepreneurs practice morality
what are advantages and disadvantages of this idea of the bimoral society?
ADV:
- The benefits of globalized entrepreneurial self interest are evident in the increased living standards
enjoyed by many in advanced capitalist societies (Lafferty 2016).
DISADV:
- This progress has also contributed to increasing inequalities and a decay in the planetary climate and
concerns over the sustainability of the natural eco-systems in the unrelenting pursuit of economic growth and profits
according to Hendry (2004) what has happened as a result of the bimoral society?
Hendry (2004) argues that the success of the free market in providing prosperity, coupled with neoliberal ideology has legitimized self interest in society through the colonizing effects in society of individualism. This has led to a reduction in the influences of traditional morality, as it has made systems of saying ‘its legal’ which people then use as a justification for their actions, that their business actions are ethical, which they may not be thus reducing importance of traditional morality
what is the global displacement of morality?
- Hendry’s thesis of the bimoral society and the increasing legitimacy of economic self interest in society is supported at the global level of business.
- MNC’s and transnational organisations have contributed to the erosion of moral principles through the subordination of societies to economic self interests (Lafferty 2016).
what is the issue of social responsibility and its challenges for management?
- CSR is about responsibility and accountability. This means responsibility, not just at the corporate and social level, but also at the individual level.
- The most recent scandals eg VW highlight the point, that despite extensive, even award winning status, CSR policies and codes of ethics, it was individuals that acted unethically resulting in severe reputational damage and considerable costs to business
- Corporate arguments for self-regulation and being able to seamlessly combine moral principles with corporate objectives has been shown to be impractical as evidenced by corporate scandals.
what are the moral tensions?
There are new tensions between the ‘pull’ of traditional
morality and the demands of the market morality.
- These tensions produce new challenges for managers as well as employees.
what are the changes in organisations recorded?
- From big bureaucracies to flexible organisations.
- New breed of managers that are enterprising and autonomous individuals, taking responsibility for their
own careers, learning and actions
* Market values are accepted within the organisation, not just business values they consider future aspects eg sustainability
what is Hendry’s first challenge for management?
- Challenge of leadership
- managing both market morality and traditional morality principles
- Directing, synchronising and constructive contribution of individual entrepreneurial energies can be challenging to manage as people may not agree
- challenges can arise from Strategy and direction taken by the organisation, this has an effect on leaderships ability to manage the two angles
- challenge of leadership holding it all together, eg considering external parties whilst thinking about internal values so that everything flows
what is the impact leaders have on business?
- leaders behaviour is replicated among employees under them, whether ethical or unethical
- some leaders will justify their behaviour with ‘commitment’ as their justification for their actions
- Cut back on commitment to employees, but not lessen demand for dedication and commitment from them to the objectives of the organisation.
what is Hendry (2004) second challenge for management?
- The Moral Community
- a moral leader coupled with strategic leadership aspects creates success in a competitive environment
- if we operate on the idea of the moral community, it reduces the costs of unethical personal conduct and reduces risk of accidents or misguided decisions that destroy reputations
- flexible organisations are reliant on ethical conduct because they dispense with traditional bureaucracy that helped to restrain unethical behaviour.
- through the idea of moral community, Hendry focuses on the idea of social capital which includes shared values of sympathy, goodwill, value of resources and understanding importance of human beings
why is trust important in organisations?
- its key in businesses, an organisation should ensure top to bottom fairness which refers to treating all employees equally, develop interpersonal trustworthiness and foster moral discretion
what is Hendry (2004) third challenge for management?
- Managing without the rules
- Contemporary organisations have replaced structural rules with more personal kinds of engagement
- how comfortable people are without rules affects its implementation
- hard to have faith in conduct or practice, this breaks trust that the conduct can work.
what did Schein believe about having the right leadership?
- if Edgar Schein (2010) is correct and leaders do develop organisational cultures, then care is needed in developing a culture that provides an ‘ethical environment’
- BUT, can business ethics only be a corrective response and therefore controlled by corporations for their own ends, without fundamental changes to the unchallenged assumptions of the ‘profit principle’, demands for growth and reflecting upon the ‘legitimate purpose’ of business enterprise in contributing to society?
