A Kantian approach to the organizational design of a business firm as a ‘kingdom of ends’ would endorse these principles: o The firm should consider the interests of all the affected stakeholders in any decision it makes.o The firm should have those affected by the firm’s rules and policies participate in the setting of those rules and policies before they are implemented.o The interests of one stakeholder should never automatically take priority.o No business rule or practice can be adopted which is inconsistent with the first two formulations of the categorical imperative.o Every profit-making firm has a limited, but genuine, duty to do good.o Every business firm must establish procedures designed to ensure that relations among stakeholders are governed by rules of justice. Soanes, C & Stevenson, A (2010). I understand Kant's theory of "act by a maxim that you would want universalized" and the three steps to see whether a maxim can become a categorical imperative, such as universalization, seeing humans as an ends mean and kingdom of means. Kantian duty-based ethics says that some things should never be done, no matter what good consequences they produce. It allows for a definition of meaningful work consistent with Kant’s views. Susie (Student), "We have found your website and the people we have contacted to be incredibly helpful and it is very much appreciated." An individual’s interest has the power to overrule the interest of the whole group. A contract that is made 5 years ago may no longer be relevant today. Kantian Ethics, Means and Ends. A Kantian approach to business ethics The importance of purity of motive ... For example, for Kant if a merchant is honest so as to earn a good reputation, these acts of being honest are not genuinely moral. ( Log Out /  Kant and Applied Ethics is an ambitious attempt to assess the success of Kant's moral theory in the field of applied ethics.The book defends Kantian answers to a number of central questions in applied ethics but it also raises objections to Kant's ethical theory. Critical Theory Ethics for Business and Public Administration. Each maxim will be examined on their strengths and weaknesses supported by examples that are related to business. It can be due to being respected or the work is meaningful giving the workers a sense of satisfaction. Although Kant’s duty-based ethics have its limitations and challenges but if the three maxims are taken as a whole, it can serve as a guide to managers and professionals on managing their organizations better (Boje, 2008). When employees are given more autonomy in an organization, they will feel a sense of belonging making them more motivated to do a better job. I'm taking a two year course on philosophy and ethics. No one would enter into a contract if he or she believed the other party had no intention of honoring it. Fords cost/benefit analysis determined it would cost less to ignore it than recall all Pintos. Meanwhile, applied ethics will look at, examine and analyze moral issues that are specific or controversial such as abortion and homosexuality (Shaw & Barry, 2009). Business ethics is the study of how a business should act in the face of ethical dilemmas and controversial situations. For example, from a business point of view, a company who tried to re-negotiate a contract is considered as immoral. When this situation does not happen, critics debate that employers are not exercising human rights. New York. No one is used as merely a means in a voluntary economic exchange where both parties benefit. For example, the airline industry offers first class, business class and economy class seats on many of their airplanes. ( Log Out /  Painter-Morland, M & Werhane, P (2010). Jennifer Juo. Since motives are not considered in telling whether such action is morally acceptable or not the application of the Kantian theory in business night later on results to problems. For Kant, he believes that categorical imperative is the basis principle to determine whether one’s action is deemed to be ethically correct. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Open book management was developed by Jack Stack at the Springfield Manufacturing Company. Content Marketing Team Lead at Udemy for Business . Kant’s Duty-Based Ethics: Strengths and Weaknesses Based on the first maxim from the categorical imperative, Kant suggests that every action should follow a certain set of guidelines that is adheres by everyone as a universal law without any exception (Pfeiffer & Forsberg, … When duties are conflicted, Kant duty-based ethics does not suggest any resolution for the situation (Donaldson & Werhane, 2007). The Open-Book Management: Coming Business Revolution. According to Soanes & Stevenson (2010), ethics can be defined as ‘a set of moral principles, especially ones relating to or affirming a specified group, field or form of conduct.’ Ever since the olden days, human beings have been trying to decide a clear distinction between right and wrong. (Amazon Verified Customer), "Wow! When put into the business perspective any action has a maxim which will then become a universal law. New York. Kantian ethics follows the Stakeholder theory which is supported by Havard Business School. Business + the Environment. Therefore, these moral philosophies are inter-related. Kant’s Duty-Based Ethics: Strengths and Weaknesses. Such forms of theorizing are prevalent within business ethics: not only the work of Rawls (see, for example, Cohen 2010;Marens 2007) but an array of other Kantian and neo-Kantian … • Formulation three stands opposed to authoritarian hierarchical organizational structures. Ferrell, O. It will also include suggestions for managers or professionals who want to apply this ethical theory in their organization and the benefits that they can gain from it. Negative freedom emphasizes that an individual should not be deceived or coerced into doing something (Ferrell & Fraedrich, 2010). HarperBusiness. The business ethics area this issue falls under is ethical issues in the workplace, which include for example discrimination, invasion of privacy but the main concentration in this report will be put on workplace harassment. Would such a tactic pass the test of formulation one? Normative ethics involves coming up with a moral standard to judge an action whether it is morally right or wrong (Shaw & Barry, 2009). A manager taking the Kantian approach to business ethics would regard providing such meaningful work as a moral obligation. For example, suppose you’re a software engineer and learn that a nuclear missile is about to launch that might start a war. The choice between consequentialist and Kantian ethics is a difficult one, as there are many examples which are challenging to each sort of view. He believed in placing the emphasis on happiness the theory completely misunderstood the true nature of morality. A Kantian would morally object to a hierarchical structure that requires those lower down to carry out the orders of those above, more or less without question. However, Rawls has given Kantian theory a largely empirical orientation to make it more acceptable to mainstream currents of thought. This provides little discrimination according to race, class or age etc. Business Learn more about hiring developers or posting ads with us ... At the moment, we're studying Kantian ethics. Wadsworth Publishing. Based on the first maxim from the categorical imperative, Kant suggests that every action should follow a certain set of guidelines that is adheres by everyone as a universal law without any exception (Pfeiffer & Forsberg, 2004). 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