Seven management moralities

Abstract

Many people believe 'management' and 'ethics' are opposing ideas. Others simply laugh and shake their heads in utter disbelief. Perhaps rightly so! In our lifetime alone, management's moral failings range from Thalidomide (1950s) to today's Enron, BP, and Bernie Madoff's 'Ponzi Scheme'. Maybe management's dilemma with morality has been perfectly expressed as 'greed is good!' (Gordon Gekko in the film 'Wall Steet'). Is it really all about greed, money, and shareholder value? Seven Management Moralities examines management's moral behaviour from seven different perspectives. These are derived from Kohlberg's development of human morality. The seven levels range from 'macho-management' at level 1, selfishness (2), virtue ethics (3) law and order (4), wellbeing (5), to universalism (6) and environmental ethics (7). This volume has three sections: (I) applies ethics to management, (II) contains seven levels of management morality, and (III) concludes with an assessment of management when measured against an ascending scale of morality.