Ethics and social responsibility in management

¶ … repositories of ethical values, religion, philosophy, cultural experience, and law influence managers. Although different doctrine controls different religions, all of the major religions preach some form of responsibility to society in general. Christian managers reading and seeking direction from the Bible exemplifies the use of a religious text to influence the managerial thought process. Many passages from the various religious texts draw a comparison between a shepherd and the shepherd's responsibilities. If each person is considered a shepherd, then each person has responsibilities beyond what they do for themselves. In some cases a religion teaches that moral responsibility extents to the indirect results business activity, such as pollution. In spite of the pressures to remain open for business seven days a week, some Christian-oriented businesses refuse to open on Sundays even though this decision hurts them directly in terms of lost business, but also hurts them because of the loss of prime retail space to companies willing to open on Sundays. Many other examples of businesses respecting a sacred day of the week or a sacred time of day exist. However enormous competitive pressure continue to build in the retail business sector to stay open nearly 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so-called "24/7," and 365 days a year.

The repository of philosophy ranges over a wide degree of ethical values. Ancient philosophers, particularly the ancient Greeks Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, set forth a doctrine revolving around the concept of a higher morality, an ideal society. Using the mind allowed one to achieve a sense of morality identified as absolute morality. The Greeks and the Romans saw true success in terms of leading a "good life" rather than achieving great financial wealth. Christian concepts of ethical behavior dominated for a number of centuries. The Christian concepts focused on the need for ethical behavior on Earth to gain life after death. At the end of the Middle Ages marked by the beginning of the Enlightenment, non-religious philosophers replaced as the most influential philosophers. Philosophers of the Enlightenment sought to explain ethics through analysis rather than a mandate of God. Another form of secular philosophy evolved from the work of Bentham and the philosophy that any action should be measured based on whether it caused pleasure or pain to society in general. The philosophy became known as Utilitarianism. Although an inappropriate use of Utilitarianism, the philosophy justified industrialization and economic growth benefiting the many even if the few had to sacrifice everything. A completely different approach called "realism" assumed that man possessed good and evil characteristics. Adoption of the realistic philosophy eliminated the possibility of an ideal ethical society. Different versions of realism included a philosophy of the ends justify the means, a survival of the fittest, and individuals who had supernatural moral qualities. In fact some things that were considered Christian virtues became weaknesses in the thinking of realistic philosophers. There is at least one philosophy that fits the desired actions of any manager, so a manager can justify his actions.

The repository of ethical values associated with cultural experience depends on the particular stage of cultural development. In the earliest stage of development when man has to kill his own food and grow his own food, survival of the fittest applies. The second stage moves away from a philosophy of violence to a philosophy where hard work, careful financial saving, and peaceful living. The third and current stage of development corresponds to industrial development. Self-gratification through excessive consumption and focus on materialism characterize this stage of development. The resulting ethical values of the stage have not been completely defined at this point.