Virtuous Structures

Dirk Vriens (), Jan Achterbergh () and Liesbeth Gulpers ()
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Dirk Vriens: Radboud University Nijmegen
Jan Achterbergh: Radboud University Nijmegen
Liesbeth Gulpers: Radboud University Nijmegen

Journal of Business Ethics, 2018, vol. 150, issue 3, No 6, 690 pages

Abstract: Abstract To discuss moral behavior in organizations, a growing number of authors turn to a ‘virtue ethics’ approach. Central to this approach is the so-called moral character of individuals in organizations: a well-developed moral character enables organizational members to deal with the specific moral issues they encounter during their work. If a virtue ethics perspective is seen as relevant, one may ask how organizations can facilitate that their members can exercise and develop their moral character. In this paper, we argue that the way tasks are defined and interlinked (the organization’s structure) has a profound influence on “exercising and developing moral character”—it can enhance and frustrate it. In order to show how structures may support organizational members to exercise and develop their moral virtues, the paper first describes what it means to exercise and develop virtues in an organizational setting and what is required for it. Next, the paper sets out to explain how specific values on different structural parameters (formalization, decentralization, specialization, and unit grouping) at different structural levels (micro, macro, and network) relate to exercising virtues in organizations.

Keywords: Virtue ethics; Moral character; Organizational structure (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1007/s10551-016-3174-y

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