Meaningful Work and the Purpose of the Firm

David Silver ()
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David Silver: University of British Columbia

Journal of Business Ethics, 2023, vol. 185, issue 4, No 6, 825-834

Abstract: Abstract This paper argues in favor of the end user thesis, which holds that the fundamental goal of the firm is to create products and services that provide a benefit to the people who ultimately use them. The argument turns on the interest that employees have in work that is meaningful, in the sense that it is an activity worth spending time doing. I argue that a person’s life is diminished to the extent that work constitutes a central feature, but is not meaningful in this way. I argue further that an employee’s work is fully worth doing only if her fundamental aim is to provide a benefit to the people who ultimately use what she produces, and that this is not possible within an organization that aims to maximize profits. The paper concludes by considering arguments that the efficiency gains generated by assigning the firm the goal of profit-maximization justify structuring the firm in a way that does not enable employees to have work that is fully worth doing.

Keywords: Meaningful work; Purpose of the Firm; Social contract theory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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DOI: 10.1007/s10551-023-05342-y

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