Abstract
One of the key debates about applying virtue ethics to business is whether or not the aims and values of a business actually prevent the exercise of virtues. Some of the more interesting disagreement in this debate has arisen amongst proponents of virtue ethics. This article analyzes the central issues of this debate in order to advance an alternative way of thinking about how a business can be a form of virtuous practice. Instead of relying on the paired concepts of internal and external goods that define what counts as virtuous, I offer a version of speech act theory taken from Paul Ricoeur to show how a business can satisfy several aims without compromising the exercise of the virtues. I refer to this as a polyvalent approach where a single task within a business can have instrumental, conventional, and imaginative effects. These effects correspond to the locutionary, illocutionary, and perlocutionary dimensions of meaning. I argue that perlocution provides a way in which the moral imagination can discover the moral significance of others that might have not been noticed before, and furthermore, that for such effects to be practiced, they require appropriate virtues. I look at two cases taken from consultation work to thresh out the theoretical and practical detail.
Highlights
One of the key debates about applying virtue ethics to business is whether or not the aims and values of a business prevent the exercise of virtues
Moore is not without his critics; and surprisingly, the most pronounced of these criticisms comes from proponents of MacIntyre’s moral philosophy who allege that the way MacIntyre conceives practices and moral goods prohibits an application to business
The aim of this article is not to resolve the debate between Moore and his critics, but to use its discussion to set up an alternative approach using a version of speech act theory to understand how business can be a form of moral practice, and subsequently, how virtues are integral to the cultivation of this practice
Summary
One of the key debates about applying virtue ethics to business is whether or not the aims and values of a business prevent the exercise of virtues. The agent-focused, or person-oriented, approach of virtue ethics can be a welcome fit for businesses seeking to provide a greater sense of professional and personal development for their employees. This is mainly due to the way virtues are character traits or intellectual features that help determine how we might act in view of some greater end or goal. The aim of this article is not to resolve the debate between Moore and his critics, but to use its discussion to set up an alternative approach using a version of speech act theory to understand how business can be a form of moral practice, and subsequently, how virtues are integral to the cultivation of this practice. When applied to the realm of business, it will become apparent how any task performed by an employee has different levels of meaning that constitute a richer landscape in which an employee can evaluate her actions with regard to respective ends
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
