Empowerment in a Community of Purpose

Richard C. Warren

Chapter 13 in Ethics and Empowerment, 1999, pp 369-392 from Palgrave Macmillan

Abstract: Abstract Is empowerment an ethical management practice in business? This chapter presents a virtue-theory perspective on the ethics of empowerment. It begins with a consideration of what empowerment is, and how it is implemented inside the firm. Empowerment strategies are often portrayed as a neutral set of techniques for improving the efficiency of the firm, but it should be recognised that they are also underpinned by normative assumptions which should be open to scrutiny. The persistent criticism made about the exploitative nature of empowerment is considered and partly rejected. The chapter also examines the argument made in the empowerment literature that the common purpose of business is the generation of shareholder value. An alternative conception of business as a community of purpose is proposed as both a more realistic and a useful idea, and one that can hold out the prospect of real empowerment for employees. Some criteria for thinking about the ethics of empowerment according to its effects on character and the common good are then outlined. Finally, in this chapter, suggestions are put forward regarding the institutionalisation of business in society such that it can operate as a community of purpose which contributes to the common good.

Keywords: Business Ethic; Corporate Governance; Human Resource Management; Virtue Ethic; Common Good (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1999
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:palchp:978-0-230-37272-6_14

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DOI: 10.1057/9780230372726_14

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