Business Thinkers

Theory

Ethics

Ethics is a branch of philosophy involving concepts of right and wrong behaviour. As one of the early theorists on ethics, Aristotle propounded an ethical system that may be termed "self-realisationism." In his view, when a person acts in accordance with his nature and realises his full potential, he will do good and be content.

Much has been written about ethics and morality in management. As modern management has emerged through Western society, Christian-based ethics have dominated, with positive expression from Rathenau, Weber and Humble; others, including Taylor, Hopf and Urwick refer to God as they could not contemplate that professional managers could act unethically.

Close behind Christian dominance of ethical thinking, Judaism also affected management. With globalisation, other foundation beliefs have had to be accommodated, with Islam, Buddhism and Zen impacting.

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