Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-g7gxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-04T19:14:00.882Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

In Support of Ethical Holism: A Response to “Religious Perspectives in Business Ethics”

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 January 2015

Andrew Gustafson
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract:

In much of the written work on Christian or religious business ethics, a holistic framework is assumed but not argued for practically or supported philosophically. In this article I 1) outline a position of ethical holism, explaining its logic, motives, and consequences; 2) attack the ethical dualism of Carr, Friedman, and French; and 3) defend my theory against five possible objections. My basic thesis is that if a corporation wishes to hire employees who will act in compliance with ethical codes of the corporation, employees who both have a deeply rooted personal ethic that parallels that of the corporation and who see their business practices to be an extension of their personal ethic will be better suited candidates simply because they are more likely to be compliant. In other words, personal convictions and values are relevant to hiring practices, and a view that holds personal and business ethics to be separate affairs (Carr, Friedman, French) is misguided.

Type
Articles
Information
Business Ethics Quarterly , Volume 10 , Issue 2 , April 2000 , pp. 441 - 450
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Business Ethics 2000

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Albert, Z. Carr. Is Business Bluffing Ethical? New York Times, March 9, 1967.Google Scholar
Brady, Neil and Velasquez, Manuel. Catholic Law and Business Ethics. Business Ethics Quarterly 7: 83–108.Google Scholar
Clarke, Stanley G. and Simpson, Evan. Anti-Theory in Ethics and Moral Conservatism. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1989.Google Scholar
Dorff, Elliot N.Judaism, Business and Privacy. Business Ethics Quarterly 7: 31–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
French, Peter. Corporate Ethics. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1995.Google Scholar
Gardner, E. Clinton. Christocentrism in Christian Social Ethics. Washington D.C.: UPA, 1983.Google Scholar
Gustafson, James. Theology and Christian Ethics. Philadelphia: United Church Press, 1974.Google Scholar
Hebblethwaite, Brian. Ethics and Religion in a Pluralistic Age: Collected Essays. Edinburough: T&T Clark, 1997.Google Scholar
Kotwa, Joseph J.The Christian Case for Virtue Ethics. Washington D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 1996.Google Scholar
McCann, Dennis P.Catholic Social Teaching in an Era of Downsizing: A Resource for Business Ethics. Business Ethics Quarterly 7: 57–70.Google Scholar
Roels, Shirley J.The Business Ethics of Evangelicals. Business Ethics Quarterly 7: 109–122.Google Scholar
Rossouw, Gedeon Josua. Business Ethics: Where Have all the Christians Gone? Journal of Business Ethics 13: 557–570.Google Scholar
Stackhouse, Max. Public Theology and Political Economy. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987.Google Scholar