Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-kw2vx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-11T03:00:07.889Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Theorising the Ethical Organization

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 January 2015

Jane Collier
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract:

The aim of this paper is to create a framework which can serve as a guide to the understanding of organizational ethicality. This is done by linking ethical and organizational theory. Organizational ethicality is about “being” as well as “doing”: relevant ethical theory is therefore both substantive (agent-centred, concerned with the “good”) as well as procedural (act-centred, concerned with the “right” in the sense of the moral or just thing to do). The ethical theories of Alasdair MacIntyre and Jurgen Habermas, as representatives of these two traditions, are mapped onto a framework which characterises organizations as assemblages of practices supported by a climate embedded within an organizational culture. Organizational practice is articulated and given meaning within a discourse of “sensemaking” in which narrative creates space-time links between people and events. Within that same communicative climate practices are evaluated and decisions taken. This theoretical framework is specified in such a way as to highlight the parallels with the ethical theories of MacIntyre, who uses notions of practice, tradition and the narrative unity of moral experience to create an ethical theory of the “good,” and Habermas, who spells out the process of moral argumentation by which consensus on the “just” or “right” is reached. Some possibilities for further research are suggested at the end of the paper.

Type
Articles
Information
Business Ethics Quarterly , Volume 8 , Issue 4 , October 1998 , pp. 621 - 654
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Business Ethics 1998

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anderson, N. & West, M. A. (1996). “The team climate inventory: development of the TCI and its application in teambuilding for innovativeness.” European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology 5:1, 53–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anderson, N. & West, M. A. (1994). The team climate inventory: manual and users guide. Windsor: NFER-Nelson.Google Scholar
Argyris, C. (1976). Increasing leadership effectiveness. New York: John Wiley.Google Scholar
Argyris, C. & Schon, D. (1978). Organizational learning: a theory of action perspective. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley.Google Scholar
Astley, W. G. & Van de Ven, A. H. (1983). “Central perspectives and debates in organization theory.” Administrative Science Quarterly 28: 245–273.Google Scholar
Bacharach, S. B. (1989). “Organizational theories: some criteria for evaluation.” Academy of Management Review 14:4, 496–515.Google Scholar
Bartlett, C. A. & Ghoshal, S. (1995). “Changing the role of top management: from systems to people.” Harvard Business Review 73:3, 133–142.Google Scholar
Bartlett, C. A. & Ghoshal, C. A. (1994). “Changing the role of top management: from strategy to purpose.” Harvard Business Review 72:6, 79–88.Google Scholar
Beer, M. et al. (1985). Human resource management: a general manager’s perspective. Glencoe, Ill.: Free Press.Google Scholar
Belbin, R. M. (1996). The coming shape of organization. Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann.Google Scholar
Benhabib, S. (1986). Critique, norm and utopia: a study of the foundations of critical theory. New York: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Bennis, W. (1988). “The dreamless society.” New Management 5:3, 17–24.Google Scholar
Boje, D. M. (1991). “The storytelling organization: a study of story performance in an office-supply firm.” Administrative Science Quarterly 36:106–26.Google Scholar
Boland, R. J. (1996). “Narrating accountability.” In Munro, R. & Mouritson, J. (eds.), Accountability, power, ethos and the technologies of managing. Boston: International Thompson Business Press.Google Scholar
Bruner, J. (1986). Actual minds, possible worlds. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Burrell, G. & Morgan, G. (1979). Sociological paradigms and organizational analysis. London: Heinemann.Google Scholar
Butler, R. J. et al. (1993). Strategic investment decisions: theory, practice and process. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Butler, R. J. (1991). Designing organizations: a decision-making perspective. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Clegg, S. (1994). “Power and institutions in the theory of organizations.” In Hassard, J. & Parker, M. (eds.). Towards a new theory of organizations. London: Routledge, 24–52.Google Scholar
Clegg, S. (1989). Frameworks of power. London: Sage.Google Scholar
Colby, M. (1995). “Narrativity and ethical relativism.” European Journal of Philosophy 3:2, 132–156.Google Scholar
Collier, J. (1995b). “The virtuous organization.” Business Ethics: a European Review 4:3, 143–148.Google Scholar
Collier, J. (1995a). “Business ethics research: shaping the agenda.” Business Ethics: a European Review 4:1, 6–12.Google Scholar
DeGeorge, R. T. (1991). “Will success spoil business ethics?” In Freeman, R. E. (ed.) Business ethics: the state of the art. New York: Oxford University Press, 42–57.Google Scholar
Denison, D. R. (1996). “What is the difference between organizational culture and organizational climate? A native’s point of view on a decade of paradigm wars.” Academy of Management Review 21:3, 619–654.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Derry, R. & Green, R. M. (1989). “Ethical theory in business ethics: a critical assessment.” Journal of Business Ethics 8: 521–533 Google Scholar
Doody, J. A. (1991). “MacIntyre and Habermas on practical reason.” American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly 65:2, 143–158.Google Scholar
Elliott, D. (1980). “The organization as system.” In Salamen, G. & Thompson, K. Control and ideology in organizations. Milton Keynes: Open University Press.Google Scholar
Fombrun, C.; Tichy, N. M.; & Devanna, M. A. (eds.) (1984). Strategic human resource management. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Freeman, R. E. (ed.) (1991). Business ethics: the state of the art. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
French, P. A. (1995). Corporate Ethics. New York: Harcourt Brace.Google Scholar
French, P. A. et al (eds.) (1988). Midwest Studies in Philosophy. Vol. XIII: Ethical theory, character and virtue. Notre Dame, Ind.: University of Notre Dame Press.Google Scholar
French, R. & Grey, C. (eds.) (1996). Rethinking management education. London: Sage.Google Scholar
Friedman, M. (1970). “The social responsibility of business is to increase its profits.” New York Times Magazine, September 13, pp. 32–33, 122–126.Google Scholar
Gabriel, Y. (1991). “Turning facts into stories and stories into facts: a hermeneutic exploration of organizational folklore.” Human Relations 44:8, 857–875.Google Scholar
Ghoshal, S. & Bartlett, C. A. (1995). “Changing the role of top management: beyond structure to process.” Harvard Business Review 73:1, 87–96 Google Scholar
Giddens, A. (1984). The constitution of society. Cambridge: Polity Press Google Scholar
Giddens, A. (1979). Central problems in social theory. London: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Giddens, A. (1976). New rules of sociological method. London: Hutchinson.Google Scholar
Gray, R.; Owen, D.; & Adams, C. (1996). Accounting and accountability. London: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
Habermas, J. (1995). “Reconciliation through the public use of reason: remarks on John Rawls’ political liberalism.” Journal of Philosophy 92:3, 109–131.Google Scholar
Habermas, J. (1993). Justification and application. Translated by Cronin, Ciaran. Cambridge: Polity Press.Google Scholar
Habermas, J. (1990). Moral consciousness and communicative action. Translated by Lenhardt, Christian & Weber Nicholsen, Shierry. Cambridge: Polity Press.Google Scholar
Hampden-Turner, C. (1993). The seven cultures of capitalism. New York: Doubleday.Google Scholar
Handy, C. (1993). “What is a company for?” Corporate Governance 1:1, 14–17.Google Scholar
Harris, C. C. (1980). Fundamental concepts and the sociological enterprise. London: Croom Helm.Google Scholar
Hassard, J. & Pym, D. (eds.) (1990). The theory and philosophy of organizations. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Hassard, J. & Parker, M. (eds.) (1994). Towards a new theory of organizations. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Hickson, D. et al (1986). Top decisions: strategic decision-making in organizations. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.Google Scholar
Hofstede, G. (1991). Cultures and organizations: software of the mind. London: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Hofstede, G. (1980). Culture’s consequences: international differences in work-related values. Beverly Hills, Calif.: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Hogarth, R. M. (1980). Judgement and choice: the psychology of decision. Chichester: Wiley.Google Scholar
Horton, J. & Mendus, S. (eds.) (1994). After MacIntyre. Cambridge: Polity Press.Google Scholar
Hosmer, L. T. (1995). “Trust: the connecting link between organizational theory and philosophical ethics.” Academy of Management Review 20:2, 379–403.Google Scholar
Industrial Society (1996a). Managing ethics. Managing Best Practice No. 26. London.Google Scholar
Industrial Society (1996b). Teambuilding. Managing Best Practice No. 19. London.Google Scholar
Industrial Society (1995). Self-managed teams. Managing Best Practice No. 11. London.Google Scholar
Isenberg, D. J. (1984). “How senior managers think.” Harvard Business Review 62 (Nov–Dec.), 80–90.Google Scholar
Jones, M. O. (1991). “What if the stories don’t tally with the culture?” Journal of Organizational Change Management 4:3, 27–34.Google Scholar
Kanungo, R. N. & Mendonca, M. (1996). Ethical dimensions of leadership. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage.Google Scholar
Kelly, M. (1989). “MacIntyre, Habermas and philosophical ethics.” The Philosophical Forum 21:1, 70–92.Google Scholar
Law, J. (1994). “Organization, narrative and strategy.” In Hassard, J. & Parker, M. (eds.) (1994). Towards a new theory of organizations. London: Routledge, 248–268.Google Scholar
Leflaive, X. (1996). “Organizations as structures of domination.” Organization Studies 17:1, 23–47.Google Scholar
Legge, K. (1995). Human resource management: rhetorics and realities. London: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Litwin, G. & Stringer, R. (1968). Motivation and organizational climate. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Lonergan, B. (1958). Insight. London: Darton, Longman and Todd.Google Scholar
MacIntyre, A. (1994). “A partial response to my critics.” In Horton, J. & Mendus, S. (eds.) After MacIntyre. Cambridge: Polity Press, 283–304.Google Scholar
MacIntyre, A. (1985). After virtue: a study in moral theory. 2nd. ed. London: Duckworth.Google Scholar
MacIntyre, A. (1984). “Does applied ethics rest on a mistake?” The Monist 67:498–513.Google Scholar
McPhee, R. D. & Tompkins, P. K. (eds.) (1985). Organizational communication: traditional themes and new directions. Beverly Hills, Calif.: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Mahler, J. (1988). “The quest for organizational meaning: identifying and interpreting the symbolism in organizational stories.” Administration and Society 20:3, 344–368.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Manz, C. C. & Sims, H. P. (1996). Business without bosses: how self-managing teams are building high-performance companies. London: Wiley.Google Scholar
March, J. G. (1988). Decisions and organizations. London: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Martin, J. et al. (1983). “The uniqueness paradox in organizational stories.” Administrative Science Quarterly 28: 438–453.Google Scholar
Meyer, A. D.; Tsui, A. S.; & Hinings, C. R. (1993). “Configurational approaches to organizational analysis.” Academy of Management Review 36: 1175–95.Google Scholar
Mintzberg, H. et al. (1976). “The structure of unstructured decision processes.” Administrative Science Quarterly 21:2, 246–275.Google Scholar
Morgan, G. (1990). “Paradigm diversity in organizational research.” In Hassard, J. & Pym, D. (eds.) (1990). The theory and philosophy of organizations. London: Routledge, 13–29.Google Scholar
Mulhall, S. & Swift, A. (1992). Libertarians and Communitarians. Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Payne, R. L. (1990). “The concepts of culture and climate.” Working Paper No. 202, Manchester Business School.Google Scholar
Pence, G. E. (1984). “Recent work on virtue ethics.” American Philosophical Quarterly 21:4, pp. 281–297.Google Scholar
Pondy, L. R. et al. (eds.) (1983). Organizational symbolism. Greenwich, Conn.: Jai Press Inc.Google Scholar
Poole, M. S. (1985). “Communication and organizational climates: review, critique and a new perspective.” In McPhee, & Tompkins, (eds.) (1985) Organizational communication: traditional themes and new directions. London: Sage, 79–108.Google Scholar
Porter, J. (1993). “Openness and constraint: moral reflection as tradition-guided inquiry in Alasdair MacIntyre’s recent works.” Journal of Religion 73: 514–536 Google Scholar
Pugh, D. (1966). “Modern organizational theory.” Psychological Bulletin 66, 235–51.Google Scholar
Rawls, J. (1989). “The domain of the political and overlapping consensus.” New York University Law Review 64:233–55.Google Scholar
Rawls, J. (1987). “The idea of an overlapping consensus.” Oxford Journal of Legal Studies 7:1–25.Google Scholar
Reed, M. J. (1992). The sociology of organizations: themes, perspectives and prospects. London: Harvester Wheatsheaf.Google Scholar
Reed, M. J. (1989). The sociology of management. Hemel Hempstead: Harvester Wheatsheaf.Google Scholar
Reed, M. J. (1985). Redirections in organizational analysis. London: Tavistock Google Scholar
Rehg, W. (1994). Insight and solidarity: a study in the discourse ethics of Jurgen Habermas. Berkeley and London: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Rehg, W. (1991). “Discourse and the moral point of view: deriving a dialogical principle of universalization.” Inquiry 34:27–48.Google Scholar
Reyes, J. R. & Kleiner, B. H. (1990). “How to establish an organizational purpose.” Management Decision 28:7, 51–4.Google Scholar
Roberts, J. (1996). “Management education and the limits of rationality.” In French, R. & Grey, C. (eds.) Rethinking management education. London: Sage, 54–75.Google Scholar
Robertson, D. (1993). “Empiricism in business ethics: suggested research directions.” Journal of Business Ethics 12:585–599.Google Scholar
Salamen, G. & Thompson, K. (eds.) (1980). Control and ideology in organizations. Milton Keynes: Open University Press.Google Scholar
Schein, E. H. (1988). Organizational psychology, 3rd ed. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
Schein, E. H. (1985). Organizational culture and leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
Schwartz, H. S. (1990). Narcissistic process and corporate decay. New York: New York University Press.Google Scholar
Senge, P. M. (1990). The fifth discipline: the art and practice of the learning organization. New York: Currency Doubleday.Google Scholar
Shils, E. (1981). Tradition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Simon, H. (1976). Administrative behaviour: a study of decision-making processes in administrative organizations. 3rd. ed. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
Singh, J.; Verbeke, W.; & Rhoads, G. K. (1996). “Do organizational practices matter in role stress processes?” Journal of Marketing 60:69–86.Google Scholar
Smircich, L. (1983). “Concepts of culture in organizational analysis.” Administrative Science Quarterly 28:339–358.Google Scholar
Solomon, R. C. (1992). Ethics and excellence: cooperation and integrity in business. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Stark, A. (1993). “What”s the matter with business ethics?” Harvard Business Review 71 (May–June), 38–43.Google Scholar
Sternberg, E. (1994). Just business: business ethics in action. London: Little, Brown.Google Scholar
Strauss, A. (1978). Negotiations: varieties, contexts, processes and social order. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
Taylor, C. (1994). “Justice after virtue.” In Horton, J. & Mendus, S. (eds.) After MacIntyre. Cambridge: Polity Press, 16–43.Google Scholar
Tsoukas, H. (1993). “Analogical reasoning and knowledge generation in organization theory.” Organization Studies 14:3, 323–346.Google Scholar
Tversky, A. & Kahneman, A. (1981). “The framing of decisions and the psychology of choice.” Science 211, 453–8.Google Scholar
Van, Buskirk & McGrath, D. (1992). “Organizational stories as a window on affect in organizations.” Journal of Organizational Change Management 5:2, 9–24.Google Scholar
Venkatraman, N. (1989). “The concept of “fit” in strategy research: towards verbal and strategic correspondence.” Academy of Management Review 14:3, 423–444.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weaver, G. R. & Gioia, D. A. (1994). “Paradigms lost: incommensurability vs. structurationist inquiry.” Organization Studies 15:4, 565–589.Google Scholar
Weick, K. E. (1995). Sensemaking in organizations. London: Sage.Google Scholar
Weick, K. E. (1979). The social psychology of organizing. (2nd ed.) Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley.Google Scholar
Werhane, P. H. (1985). Persons, rights and corporations. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
West, M. A. (1994). Effective teamwork. Leicester: BPS Books.Google Scholar
Wilkins, A. L. (1983). “Organizational stories as symbols which control the organization.” In Pondy, L. R. et al. (eds.) Organizational symbolism. Greenwich, Conn.: Jai Press Inc., 81–92 Google Scholar
Williamson, O. E. (1981). “The modern corporation: origin, evolution, attributes.” Journal of Economic Literature 19:1537–68.Google Scholar
Willmott, H. (1990). “Beyond paradigmatic closure in organizational enquiry.” In Hassard, J. & Pym, D. (eds.) (1990) The theory and philosophy of organizations. London: Routledge, 44–62.Google Scholar
Winkler, E. R. & Coombs, J. R. (eds.) (1993). Applied Ethics. Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Zadek, S. & Evans, R. (1993). Auditing the market: a practical approach to social accounting. London: New Economics Foundation.Google Scholar