Summary:
Lecture 1: Introduction
Lecture 2: Stakeholder theory
Lecture 3: Moral decision-making
Lecture 4: Reward, incentive, and compensation
Lecture 5: Organizational Justice
Lecture 6: Leadership
Lecture 7: Whistle-blowing
Lecture 8: Corporate social responsibility
Lecture 9: Corporate responsibility standards
Lecture 10: Sustainability
Lecture 11: Globalization
Lecture 12: Questions and summary
Things to understand and watch videos about:
-analytical and continental philosophy:
Analytic vs. Continental Philosophy — the Schism in Modern Philosophy
-Aporia
: Socratic Method 3: Aporia
-Ed Freeman stakeholder:
What is the stakeholder theory ? by R. Edward Freeman | ESSEC Classes
-Milton friedman
: Shareholders Care About More Than Just Profits
-Stakeholder theory:
What is the stakeholder theory ? by R. Edward Freeman | ESSEC Classes
-Philanthro-capitalism:
Philanthrocapitalism
-Consequentialism:
Consequentialism | Ethics Defined
-Jeremy Bentham moral decision making:
PHILOSOPHY - Ethics: Utilitarianism, Part 1 [HD]
-Limitarianism:
Is limitarianism a solution for the super-rich?
-Veil of Ignorance (rawl) :
Rejecting Rawls’ Account of a Competent Moral Judge
-Communitarianism:
Gov 4.07 - Communitarianism
-great man theory:
What is Friedman's Economic Theory???
,-zizek:
Slavoj Žižek – Duty, Ethics, Kant, Lacan and Autonomy
Week 1:
Lectures:
Lecture 1: Introduction
Analytical philosophy and continental philosophy (seen from the perspective of
analytical philosophers)
Analytical (analysis) Continental (synthesis)
• Language analysis • Poetry
• Scientific • Artistic, nonsensical
• Disciplined • Wild, unruly
• Politically neutral • Politically left
• Methodological • Chaotic
• Believe in progress • There is no single truth; no progress
• Real philosophy • Rhetoric
• Optimistic • Pessimistic
Analytical and continental philosophy (as seen from the perspective of
continental philosophers)
Continental Analytical
•Analysis of being • Stuck in language games
• Profound • Shallow
• Realistic • Naïve
• Politically engaged • Realistic • Neutral , but also petty
• Critical about the endeavours of • Docile followers of science
science • Docile followers of liberalism
• Philosophical • Not serious
Please note: the distinction between the two paradigms is only made in Anglosaxon
countries, i.e. in analytical philosophy. ‘Continental ́ is generally used there in a
negative sense.
• This from a review of the book on the left:
• “Rather ‘Continental philosophy’ is a concept ‘internal’ to ‘analytic’ philosophy, a
free- floating phantom of what philosophy should not be. In this way, ‘analytic’
philosophy conceptualizes itself heavily in terms of what it isn't, a tendency that
Glendinning traces to the desire to be free of the risk of being that which all
philosophy risks being – ‘sophistry and illusion.’
,What is ethics?
- It studies good and bad
- It is reflective and critical
- It does not provide any answers but is aporetic
What is morality?
- Prevailing ideas about what is good and bad
Ethics criticises morality!!!
What is business ethics?
• It is the part of practical philosophy which studies good and bad in organizations
• It is keen on improving the status quo in business and organization
• Criticism: It does not question the status quo (it does not, for example, ask serious
questions about the nature of capitalism or the principle of profit)
• In this sense, it is not a serious ethics (for such an ethics is critical and reflexive and
does not provide clear-cut answers)
• In some sense, the agenda of our book is to infuse business ethics with more
(philosophical) ethics
• We bring in continental thought in order to make this possible
A difficult word: aporia
• Aporia – Philosophical problems are deemed to be aporetic if they do not lend
themselves to easy solutions. Literally, aporia means ‘no’ (a) ‘passage’ or ‘opening’
(poros). Aporias cause doubt, puzzlement, confusion, and even perplexity. One of
the synonyms frequently used for ‘aporetic’ is ‘undecidable’. Aporias are then
theoretical situations in which one cannot make a decision. These situations are,
philosophers argue, characterized by UNDECIDABILITY. The concept of aporia has
been pivotal in the work of continental philosophers.It is often used by them to
undermine the idea that words, concepts, sentences, or language as such have
determinate meaning.
Crossings:
Meant that you are:
→ Willing to take a critical stance
→ Ready to "cross" positions that have
not been answered
→ Prepared to establish your own
position or perspective on business
problems
The idea of crossings...
By "crossing the bridge" between continental
, and analytical philosophy
Lecture 2:
Ed Freeman’s definition:
“A stakeholder is any group or individual who can affect, or is affected by, the
achievement of a corporation’s purpose. Stakeholders include employees,
customers, suppliers, stockholders, banks, environmentalists, governments and
other groups who can help or hurt the corporation.” (p. 37)
Friedman vs Freeman debate (pp. 38-41)
Milton Friedman Ed Freeman
There is just one social responsibility of We need a plural apperception of the
the corporation: it should increase its relation between business and society
profits (as long as it stays within the • Isolating economic tasks from social
rules of the game) tasks is intellectually fallacious (the
• Stakeholder theory is dangerous (for it separation fallacy!). Thinking that
undermines democracy) economy does not belong to the social
• It is the task of politicians, not of is systematically wrong-headed
entrepreneurs, to decide about the • Stakeholders' interests should
distribution of wealth therefore inform strategic management
• Stakeholder theory is a form of • Freeman opts for a prescriptive
socialism approach, it is, however, not difficult to
• Shareholder capitalism serves the understand stakeholder theory in a
institutions of democracy and freedom descriptive sense: many organizations
much better than stakeholder theory are overwhelmed by clashes of
→ “There is only one social interests.
responsibility of →
business -- to use its resources and
engage in
activities designed to increase its profits
so
long as it stays within the rules of the
game.”
→ Freeman et al. (2010) argued that stakeholder theory has succeeded in
overturning Friedman's "shareholder capitalism
Why does this matter?
• 1. In fact, it is a debate about what we (i.e. society) are supposed to expect from
corporations in terms of their performance
• 2. It matters in a pragmatic sense: managers are keen to know what society
expects from them
Lecture 1: Introduction
Lecture 2: Stakeholder theory
Lecture 3: Moral decision-making
Lecture 4: Reward, incentive, and compensation
Lecture 5: Organizational Justice
Lecture 6: Leadership
Lecture 7: Whistle-blowing
Lecture 8: Corporate social responsibility
Lecture 9: Corporate responsibility standards
Lecture 10: Sustainability
Lecture 11: Globalization
Lecture 12: Questions and summary
Things to understand and watch videos about:
-analytical and continental philosophy:
Analytic vs. Continental Philosophy — the Schism in Modern Philosophy
-Aporia
: Socratic Method 3: Aporia
-Ed Freeman stakeholder:
What is the stakeholder theory ? by R. Edward Freeman | ESSEC Classes
-Milton friedman
: Shareholders Care About More Than Just Profits
-Stakeholder theory:
What is the stakeholder theory ? by R. Edward Freeman | ESSEC Classes
-Philanthro-capitalism:
Philanthrocapitalism
-Consequentialism:
Consequentialism | Ethics Defined
-Jeremy Bentham moral decision making:
PHILOSOPHY - Ethics: Utilitarianism, Part 1 [HD]
-Limitarianism:
Is limitarianism a solution for the super-rich?
-Veil of Ignorance (rawl) :
Rejecting Rawls’ Account of a Competent Moral Judge
-Communitarianism:
Gov 4.07 - Communitarianism
-great man theory:
What is Friedman's Economic Theory???
,-zizek:
Slavoj Žižek – Duty, Ethics, Kant, Lacan and Autonomy
Week 1:
Lectures:
Lecture 1: Introduction
Analytical philosophy and continental philosophy (seen from the perspective of
analytical philosophers)
Analytical (analysis) Continental (synthesis)
• Language analysis • Poetry
• Scientific • Artistic, nonsensical
• Disciplined • Wild, unruly
• Politically neutral • Politically left
• Methodological • Chaotic
• Believe in progress • There is no single truth; no progress
• Real philosophy • Rhetoric
• Optimistic • Pessimistic
Analytical and continental philosophy (as seen from the perspective of
continental philosophers)
Continental Analytical
•Analysis of being • Stuck in language games
• Profound • Shallow
• Realistic • Naïve
• Politically engaged • Realistic • Neutral , but also petty
• Critical about the endeavours of • Docile followers of science
science • Docile followers of liberalism
• Philosophical • Not serious
Please note: the distinction between the two paradigms is only made in Anglosaxon
countries, i.e. in analytical philosophy. ‘Continental ́ is generally used there in a
negative sense.
• This from a review of the book on the left:
• “Rather ‘Continental philosophy’ is a concept ‘internal’ to ‘analytic’ philosophy, a
free- floating phantom of what philosophy should not be. In this way, ‘analytic’
philosophy conceptualizes itself heavily in terms of what it isn't, a tendency that
Glendinning traces to the desire to be free of the risk of being that which all
philosophy risks being – ‘sophistry and illusion.’
,What is ethics?
- It studies good and bad
- It is reflective and critical
- It does not provide any answers but is aporetic
What is morality?
- Prevailing ideas about what is good and bad
Ethics criticises morality!!!
What is business ethics?
• It is the part of practical philosophy which studies good and bad in organizations
• It is keen on improving the status quo in business and organization
• Criticism: It does not question the status quo (it does not, for example, ask serious
questions about the nature of capitalism or the principle of profit)
• In this sense, it is not a serious ethics (for such an ethics is critical and reflexive and
does not provide clear-cut answers)
• In some sense, the agenda of our book is to infuse business ethics with more
(philosophical) ethics
• We bring in continental thought in order to make this possible
A difficult word: aporia
• Aporia – Philosophical problems are deemed to be aporetic if they do not lend
themselves to easy solutions. Literally, aporia means ‘no’ (a) ‘passage’ or ‘opening’
(poros). Aporias cause doubt, puzzlement, confusion, and even perplexity. One of
the synonyms frequently used for ‘aporetic’ is ‘undecidable’. Aporias are then
theoretical situations in which one cannot make a decision. These situations are,
philosophers argue, characterized by UNDECIDABILITY. The concept of aporia has
been pivotal in the work of continental philosophers.It is often used by them to
undermine the idea that words, concepts, sentences, or language as such have
determinate meaning.
Crossings:
Meant that you are:
→ Willing to take a critical stance
→ Ready to "cross" positions that have
not been answered
→ Prepared to establish your own
position or perspective on business
problems
The idea of crossings...
By "crossing the bridge" between continental
, and analytical philosophy
Lecture 2:
Ed Freeman’s definition:
“A stakeholder is any group or individual who can affect, or is affected by, the
achievement of a corporation’s purpose. Stakeholders include employees,
customers, suppliers, stockholders, banks, environmentalists, governments and
other groups who can help or hurt the corporation.” (p. 37)
Friedman vs Freeman debate (pp. 38-41)
Milton Friedman Ed Freeman
There is just one social responsibility of We need a plural apperception of the
the corporation: it should increase its relation between business and society
profits (as long as it stays within the • Isolating economic tasks from social
rules of the game) tasks is intellectually fallacious (the
• Stakeholder theory is dangerous (for it separation fallacy!). Thinking that
undermines democracy) economy does not belong to the social
• It is the task of politicians, not of is systematically wrong-headed
entrepreneurs, to decide about the • Stakeholders' interests should
distribution of wealth therefore inform strategic management
• Stakeholder theory is a form of • Freeman opts for a prescriptive
socialism approach, it is, however, not difficult to
• Shareholder capitalism serves the understand stakeholder theory in a
institutions of democracy and freedom descriptive sense: many organizations
much better than stakeholder theory are overwhelmed by clashes of
→ “There is only one social interests.
responsibility of →
business -- to use its resources and
engage in
activities designed to increase its profits
so
long as it stays within the rules of the
game.”
→ Freeman et al. (2010) argued that stakeholder theory has succeeded in
overturning Friedman's "shareholder capitalism
Why does this matter?
• 1. In fact, it is a debate about what we (i.e. society) are supposed to expect from
corporations in terms of their performance
• 2. It matters in a pragmatic sense: managers are keen to know what society
expects from them
