Moral Imagination and the Search for Ethical Decision-Making in Management

Moral imagination is the mental ability to create or use ideas, images, discern moral aspects implanted within a situation and develop a range of possible solutions of the situation from a moral point of view. In this research, management decision makers were taken into consideration to dig out the factors that are affecting the decision-making process of management. Business industry has witnessed good and bad business leaders, those who have taken good moral decisions that result in mutual benefit to the company and wider society and those who have taken bad moral decisions that result in wider damage to the society, as well as to the business. Mostly, managers lack the ability to imagine a range of possible issues, consequences and solutions. So just because of their shorter insight and limited conceptual schema, they make wrong moral decisions which later give undesirable impacts to society and business as well. To analyse the complex relationship between the variables, Structure Equation Modelling (SEM) methodology was used. The data collected from 113 respondents in Pakistan were used to test the model by using LISREL 8.80. The model suggested that mutually beneficial decision-making is directly associated with moral imagination, whereas it is not mutually associated with demographic imagination; and on the other hand, moral imagination is significantly associated with empathy, dogmatism and egotism. However, mutual benefit is significantly associated with discerning moral issues and developing alternatives. Key words: Moral imagination, discerning moral issues, developing alternatives, mutual benefit, empathy, dogmatism, egotism, social corporate responsibility (CSR), non-government organization (NGO), structural equation modeling (SEM), goodness-of-fit index (GFI), adjusted goodness-of-fit index (AGFI), non-normed fit index (NNFI), root mean square residual (RMSR), comparative fit index (CFI), root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA).

Patricia Werhane’s landmark book Moral Imagination in Management Decision-making and subsequent related work are practically synonymous with business ethics scholarship on moral imagination. In this chapter, I present an overview of Werhane’s work on moral imagination, discuss its impacts in the business and business ethics literatures and beyond, and then offer a theoretical extension. Integrating Werhane’s scholarship that treats moral imagination as an organization-level concept with Nonaka’s (1991) theory of the knowledge-creating company, I present the concept of the morally imaginative organization. Recognizing that leaders of organizations in complex, dynamic environments will be unable to anticipate, identify, and/or respond to the many moral dilemmas that their organizations enact (or fail to enact), I present a normative model in which moral imagination involves all organizational actors and is embedded into the organization’s strategically important knowledge-creating processes. I call for further research at the intersection of business ethics and social science which honors Werhane’s legacy by exploring how organizations can become more morally imaginative.

Taking the lead from Susan Wolf's and Linda Emanuel's work on systems thinking, and developing ideas from Moberg's, Seabright's and my work on mental models and moral imagination, in this paper I shall argue that what is often missing in management decision-making is a systems approach. Systems thinking requires conceiving of management dilemmas as arising from within a system with interdependent elements, subsystems, and networks of relationships and patterns of interaction. Taking a systems approach and coupling it with moral imagination, now engaged on the organizational and systemic as well as individual levels of decision-making, I shall conclude, is a methodology that encourages managers and companies to think more imaginatively and to engage in integrating moral decision-making into ordinary business decisions. More importantly this sort of thinking is a means to circumvent what often appear to be intractable problems created by systemic constraints for which no individual appears to be responsible.

This essay responds to Patricia Werhane's 1994 Ruffin Lecture address, "Moral Imagination and the Search for Ethical Decision-making in Management," using institutional theory as an analytical framework to explore conditions that either inhibit or promote moral imagination in organizational problem-solving. Implications of the analysis for managing organizational change and for business ethics theory development are proposed.

Abstract:This essay responds to Patricia Werhane’s 1994 Ruffin Lecture address, “Moral Imagination and the Search for Ethical Decision-making in Management,” using institutional theory as an analytical framework to explore conditions that either inhibit or promote moral imagination in organizational problem-solving. Implications of the analysis for managing organizational change and for business ethics theory development are proposed.

Abstract:This essay responds to Patricia Werhane’s 1994 Ruffin Lecture address, “Moral Imagination and the Search for Ethical Decision-making in Management,” using institutional theory as an analytical framework to explore conditions that either inhibit or promote moral imagination in organizational problem-solving. Implications of the analysis for managing organizational change and for business ethics theory development are proposed.

Contents: Volume I: Series preface Foreword Introduction Part I Frameworks (Integrative Frameworks): Mapping moral philosophies: strategic implications for multinational firms, Christopher J. Robertson and William F. Crittenden A single framework for strategic and ethical behavior in the international context, Scott J. Reynolds Strategy as moral philosophy, Alan E. Singer Corporate social responsibility: a 3-domain approach, Mark S. Schwartz and Archie B. Carroll An agent morality view of business policy, Dennis P. Quinn and Thomas M. Jones. Part II Economics (Economic Principles and Ethical Strategies): Self-interest, self-deception and the ethics of commerce, M. Ali Khan The 'invisible hand', Jan Narveson Corporate social responsibility: a theory of the firm perspective, Abagail McWilliams and Donald Siegel Economics, business principles and moral sentiments, Amartya Sen. Part III Globalization (Corporations as Global Citizens: The battle in Seattle: reconciling 2 world views on corporate culture, John Dobson Business citizenship: from domestic to global level of analysis, Jeanne M. Logsdon and Donna J. Wood Globalization and the ethics of business, John R. Boatright Globalization and ethical global business, Jane Collier. Part IV Market Limitations (Strategic Responses to Market Limitations): Globalization and the good corporation: a need for proactive co-existence, S. Prakash Sethi A model of value creation: strategic view, Cengiz Haksever, Radha Chaganti and Ronald G. Cook Enterprise action for the common good: market limitations as strategic problems, Alan E. Singer. Part V Environment (Green Strategy and Environmental Policy): Toward green narrative: management and the evolutionary epic, Ken Starkey and Andrew Crane Corporate strategies and environmental regulations: an organizing framework, Alan M. Rugman and Alain Verbeke Commentary on 'Corporate strategies and environmental regulations: an organizing framework' by A.M. Rugman and A. Verbeke, John McGee Environmental technologies and competitive advantage, Paul Shrivastava The environment, the moralist, the corporation and its culture, George G. Brenkert. Part VI Stakeholders (Stakeholder Theories and Strategies): Convergent stakeholder theory, Thomas M. Jones and Andrew C. Wicks Divergent stakeholder theory, R. Edward Freeman Toward a descriptive stakeholder theory: an organizational life cycle approach, I.M. Jawahar and Gary L. McLaughlin Missing the target: normative stakeholder theory and the corporate governance debate, John Hendry A communitarian note on stakeholder theory, Amatai Etzioni. Part VII Models (Choosing a Conceptual Model): Philosophizing on strategic management models, Roland Calori Strategy and recursivity, Alan E. Singer Toward a stewardship theory of management, James H. Davies, F. David Schoorman and Lex Donaldson Index. Volume II: Series preface Part VIII Game Theory (Game Theory and its Interpretations): Game theory as a model for business and business ethics, Robert C. Solomon Game theory and business ethics, Ken Binmore Game theory and the evolution of strategic thinking, Alan E. Singer. Part IX Trust (Trustworthiness and Trust-Building): Trust, morality and international business, George G. Brenkert Trustworthiness as a source of competitive advantage, Jay B. Barney and Mark H. Hansen Social contracting as a trust building process of network governance, Jerry M. Calton and Lawrence J. Ladd Trust: the connecting link between organizational theory and philosophical ethics, LaRue Tone Hosmer. Part X Lobbying (Lobbying and Corporate Citizenship): Ethical standards for business lobbying: some practical suggestions, J. Brooke Hamilton III and David Hoch Citizenship and democracy: the ethics of corporate lobbying, Leonard J. Weber A framework for the ethical analysis of corporate political activity, William D. Oberman. Part XI Corruption (Corruption and Strategy): Corruption and change: the impact of foreign direct investment, Christopher J. Robertson Increasing firm value through detection and prevention of white-collar crime, Karen Schnatterly. Part XII Poverty ( The Effects of Business on Poverty): Serving the world's poor, profitably, C.K. Prahalad and Allen Hammond Poverty and the politics of capitalism, R. Edward Freeman Stalking the poverty consumer: a retrospective examination of modern ethical dilemmas, Ronald Paul Hill. Part XIII Knowledge (Intellectual Property and Knowledge Strategy): a pluralistic account of intellectual property, D.B. Resnick Dissolving the digital dilemma: meta-theory and intellectual property, Alan E. Singer and Jerry Calton Intellectual property rights, moral imagination, and access to life-enhancing drugs, Patricia H. Werhane and Michael Gorman. Part XIV Systems (Systemic and Holistic Approaches): Managerial moral strategies a in search of a few good principles, Edward Soule Moral imagination and the search for ethical decision-making in management, Pa

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This article is the precursor to Werhane’s full development of her theory of moral imagination. In this piece she espouses and develops the view that as managers we often get stuck or routinized in mental models or mindsets that we have adopted almost uncritically. That is to say, such managers may operate in a way that they are oblivious to important consequential information, or they fail to question their judgment or think to ask, “why are we doing this?” as detailed in Dennis Gioia’s (1992) confessional article in which he acknowledges not recognizing ethical issues while in the role of Recall Coordinator at Ford Motor Company. Using Gioia as well as other examples, Werhane argues that each of us can often be preoccupied with a single way of looking at our experiences, as through the lens of an ingrained and routinized mental model, and thus we either totally miss or even misinterpret important data. By the use of moral imagination, she argues, managers are able to work their way out of such ethical mires.

Moral sensitivity and moral reasoning are essential competencies biomedical researchers have to develop to make ethical decisions in their daily practices. Previous research has shown that these competencies can be developed through ethics education. However, it is unclear which underlying mechanisms best support the development of these competencies. In this article we argue that the development of moral sensitivity and moral reasoning can be fostered through teaching strategies that tap into students’ moral imagination. We describe how moral imagination can stimulate the development of these competencies through three different merits of moral imagination. Moral imagination can help students to 1) transfer and apply abstract moral concepts to concrete situations and contexts, 2) explore the perspective of others, 3) explore and foresee the moral consequences of different decisions and actions. We explain these three merits of moral imagination in the context of biomedical research and present a theoretical model for how these merits can be used to stimulate the development of moral sensitivity and moral reasoning. Furthermore, we describe multiple teaching strategies for biomedical curricula that tap into the three merits of moral imagination. These teaching strategies can inspire teachers to design ethics education that activates students’ moral imagination for the development of moral sensitivity and moral reasoning.

This paper attempts to build on the contribution to moral imagination theory by Patricia Werhane by further integrating moral imagination with new theoretical developments that have taken place in the business ethics field. To accomplish this objective, part one will review the concept of moral imagination, from its definitional origins to its full theoretical conceptualization. Part two will provide a brief literature review of how moral imagination has been applied in empirical research. Part three will analyze and apply the construct of moral imagination as it relates to the key process stages of ethical decision making including awareness, judgment, intention, and behavior. Immoral imagination is then discussed, along with other behavioral ethics concepts as they relate to moral imagination. The paper concludes with potential future research directions, as well as teaching and managerial implications for the moral imagination construct.

If you want to teach students to be ethical and socially responsible, you have to develop their moral imaginations, critical thinking skills and evoke their emotions or passion to act on what is morally right. Moral learning must reach the body, the head, and the heart. Punishment and rewards act on the body to behaviorally reinforce lessons about right and wrong. Teachers educate the head by giving students information about the world that is necessary for ethical decision making. Educating the heart is perhaps the most difficult and ignored part of teaching ethics, because it is about cultivating the emotions and feelings necessary for morality, and the will or desire to be moral. In this paper I focus on educating the head and the heart. I argue that critical thinking skills are crucial to ethics education and that the point of ethics courses should be to develop moral sentiment, will and imagination. My comments will specifically address the relevancy of these areas to leadership studies, but what I have to say applies in general to the liberal arts.

Chapter 1: An Essay to the Festschrift in Honor of Patricia Werhane R. Edward Freeman, Sergiy Dmytriyev, Andrew C. Wicks, and James R. Freeland.- Chapter 2: Werhane's Role in the Development of The Discipline of Business Ethics: A Critical Appreciation Richard T. De George.- Chapter 3: Employee Rights, Moral Imagination, and the Struggle with Universal Values: A Quick Overview of Werhane's Contributions to Ethics in Employment Norman E. Bowie.- Chapter 4: Patricia Werhane and Adam Smith, With Side Comments on Aesthetics and Wittgenstein Ronald F. Duska.- Chapter 5: Aristotle and Werhane on Moral Imagination Edwin M. Hartman.- Chapter 6: Building on Werhane's Foundation: Toward a Theory of the Morally Imaginative Organization Timothy J. Hargrave.- Chapter 7: Ethical Decision Making Surveyed Through the Lens of Moral Imagination Mark S. Schwartz and W. Michael Hoffman.- Chapter 8: Trading Zones and Moral Imagination as Ways of Preventing Normalized Deviance Michael E. Gorman.- Chapter 9: Weaving the Embodied Fabric of Moral Imagination: Implications for Women in Business Mollie Painter-Morland.- Chapter 10: Building Bridges: Patricia Werhane, Business Ethics and Health Care Sergiy Dmytriyev and Andrew C. Wicks.- Chapter 11: Moral Imagination and the Business of Education Carla J. Manno.- Chapter 12: Making Ethics Practical in the Undergraduate Classroom Howard Harris.- Chapter 13: Closing Remarks from Patricia Werhane: An Informal Appreciation David Bevan.- Chapter 14: Patricia Werhane's Response to the Works on Her Contributions to Business Ethics and Beyond Patricia H. Werhane.

One of Patricia Werhane’s most significant contributions to the field of business ethics is her work related to Moral Imagination. Grounded in the work of others, particularly that of Mark Johnson, Werhane makes this concept directly applicable to understanding the challenges in taking an ethical approach to business and individual decision making. Werhane also suggests applying these concepts to a larger framework for how we can shift our thinking at a macro scale in ethical approaches to business. While there have been many other theorists and practitioners who have extended the work of Pat Werhane in the research of business ethics, there are myriad other fields ripe for these considerations. Here, I explore the application of moral imagination to the ‘Business of Education’: examining the theory as a natural fit for education based largely on the challenges and similarities to business ethics decision making as applied to K-12 education in the United States. Specifically, I consider moral imagination in application to the business of education in three cascading and interdependent levels: at the individual leadership development level, the larger management of education level, and at the broader policy development levels. Conclusions and future research and practice suggestions support that the lessons from case study explorations and frameworks provided throughout the work of Pat Werhane on moral imagination hold direct application for educators, promising a path towards wise, rational, non-‘pendulum shift’ focused reform.

We propose a ‘Moral Imagination’ methodology to facilitate a culture of responsible innovation for engineering and product teams in technology companies. Our approach has been operationalized over the past two years at Google, where we have conducted over 60 workshops with teams from across the organization. We argue that our approach is a crucial complement to existing formal and informal initiatives for fostering a culture of ethical awareness, deliberation, and decision-making in technology design such as company principles, ethics and privacy review procedures, and compliance controls. We characterize some distinctive benefits of our methodology for the technology sector in particular.