Between Enterprise and Ethics Business and Management in a Bimoral Society

by Hendry, John

• ISBN13: 9780199267552
• ISBN10: 0199267553
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-05-06
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

We live in a 'bimoral' society, in which people govern their lives by two contrasting sets of principles. On the one hand there are the principles associated with traditional morality. Although these allow a modicum of self-interest, their emphasis is on our duties and obligations to others:to treat people honestly and with respect, to treat them fairly and without prejudice, to help and care for them when needed, and ultimately, to put their needs above our own. On the other hand there are the principles associated with the entrepreneurial self-interest. These also impose obligations,but of a much more limited kind. Their emphasis is competitive rather than cooperative: to advance our own interests rather than to meet the needs of others. Both sets of principles have always been present in society but in recent years traditional moral authorities have lost much of their forceand the morality of self-interest has acquired a much greater social legitimacy, over a much wider field of behaviour, than ever before. The result of this is that in many situations it is no longer at all apparent which set of principles should take precedence.In this book John Hendry traces the cultural and historical origins of the 'bimoral' society and explores the challenges it poses for the world of business and management. The developments that have led to the 'bimoral' society have also led to new, more flexible forms of organizing, which havereleased people's entrepreneurial energies and significantly enhanced the creative capacities of business. Working within these organizations, however, is fraught with moral tensions as obligations and self-interest conflict and managers are pulled in all sorts of different directions. Managing themsuccessfully poses major new challenges of leadership, and 'moral' management, as the technical problem-solving that previously characterised managerial work is increasingly accomplished by technology and market mechanisms. The key role of management becomes the political and moral one ofdetermining purposes and priorities, reconciling divergent interests, and nurturing trust in interpersonal relationships.Exploring these tensions and challenges, Hendry identifies new issues for contemporary management and puts recognized issues into context. He also explores the challenges posed for a post-traditional society as it seeks to regulate and govern an increasingly powerful and global business sector.

Author Biography

John Hendry is BRESE Professor of Business Administration at Brunel University, a Fellow of Girton College, Cambridge, and Adjunct Professor of International Business Ethics at the University of Notre Dame. After obtaining a degree in mathematics from Cambridge he worked in industry and the accounting profession, before completing an MSc and PhD at Imperial College London. He joined the faculty of the London Business School in 1984 and moved to Cranfield School of Management in 1988. He then joined the Judge Institute of Management, University of Cambridge, where he served as founder director of the Cambridge MBA from 1990 to 1998. In 2000 he moved to Birkbeck College, University of London, and in 2002 to Brunel. He currently chairs the advisory board of the RSA/IBE Forum for Ethics in the Workplace and is on the Court of Henley Management College.

Table of Contents

List of Figures	ix
Abbreviations	x
1. Introduction	1	(36)
Obligation and Self-interest in an Ordered Society	4	(5)
The Power of Business	9	(1)
The Legitimacy of Self-interest	10	(4)
The Weakening of Moral Constraints	14	(5)
The Moral Culture of Contemporary Society	19	(3)
The Moral Tensions of Management	22	(4)
The Challenge of Contemporary Management	26	(6)
The Challenge for Contemporary Society	32	(5)
2. Obligation, Self-interest, and the Development of Modern Society	37	(32)
Morality and Social Structure	37	(7)
The Growth of Civilization	44	(10)
Entrepreneurial Licence and Moral Duty	54	(7)
Moral Obligation in the Business Bureaucracy	61	(6)
Conclusion	67	(2)
3. Free Enterprise and the Power of Business	69	(29)
The Growth of Business and the Modern Company	70	(6)
Corporate Freedom and Corporate Power	76	(6)
From Local Influence to Global Dominance: Business Institutions in the Contemporary World	82	(14)
The Failure of Corporate Governance	96	(2)
4. Economic Culture and the Legitimacy of Self-interest	98	(22)
The Economic Mindset	99	(6)
Economics and Popular Thinking	105	(4)
Economic Ideas in Business: The Flexible Economy and its Rules	109	(4)
Economic Thinking in Politics and the Public Sector	113	(3)
Economics, Self-interest, and Common Sense	116	(4)
5. Technology, Liberalism, and the Weakening of Moral Constraints	120	(28)
The Collapse of Moral Authority	122	(14)
The Erosion of Cultural Boundaries	136	(8)
The Suburbanization of Society	144	(3)
Conclusion	147	(1)
6. The Crisis of Morality and the Moral Culture of Contemporary Society	148	(29)
The Crisis of Morality	149	(17)
Summary and Review	166	(2)
The Bimoral Society	168	(7)
Conclusion	175	(2)
7. The Moral Tensions of Management	177	(26)
Management, Morality, and the New Corporate Culture	177	(4)
The Manager as Boss	181	(10)
The Manager as Colleague: The Ethics of Teamwork	191	(3)
The Manager as Employee: Between Work and Home	194	(3)
The Paradox of Freedom	197	(6)
8. The Challenge of Contemporary Management	203	(28)
Holding it all Together: The Challenge of Leadership	204	(10)
Maintaining a Moral Community: The Challenge of Management	214	(10)
Managing Without Rules: The Challenge of Learning	224	(7)
9. The Challenge for Contemporary Society	231	(21)
Globalization and its Problems	234	(4)
Rights, Humanity, and the Foundations of Moral Consensus	238	(6)
Regulation and Corporate Governance	244	(8)
10. Conclusion	252	(9)
Notes	261	(30)
Index	291