Abstract
Business people act, qua business people, in two institutional contexts which in principle are completely distinct, and normally entail two different ways of relating to other people. On the one hand they are actors in the market, and on the other they are their employees’ managers. We shall assume that different sets of norms govern how to relate to trading partners in the market and how to relate to subordinates in the company. The moral problems which arise in the two different institutions for conducting human relations consequently also differ. The main problem relating to market operations originates in the fact that one achieves the most desirable consequences when the objective as such is difficult to justify on moral grounds.1 Profit is the target, if necessary at the expense of the person one is dealing with. In this context - i.e. in the market - altruistic considerations, or acting out of consideration for the other party, can produce socially undesirable results. The problems confronting the business person as manager are of a different nature. We shall not be considering all aspects of management or consultancy ethics, only what we regard as in principle the fundamental problem, one which in fact applies to all management in modern society.KeywordsSocial ControlMoral DilemmaBusiness WorldManagement TheoryMoral ProblemThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
Published Version
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