Bowies Vision of a Universal Morality - Coursework Example

Critically discuss Bowie’s (1999: 174) vision of “a universal morality of business, provid[ing] meaningful work for employees, institute[ing] firms as moral communities, and help[ing] establish a more cosmopolitan and peaceful world, Kantian capitalism show everything a theory of business ethics could do...This claim may be incredible optimistic, but then again so were Kant and the other Enlightenment thinkers.” Professor Norman Bowie of the University of Minnesota is a retired professor who during his active years was not only the chair of corporate responsibility, but also served in the departments of philosophy and strategic management. At the moment, he is a voice in the debates that are ongoing on business ethics. His voice has often and continues to be in favor of Immanuel Kant’s view of ethics. In Bowie’s arguments, he acts as a Kantian translator. In a nutshell, Kantian ethics is a deontological ethical theory that was ascribed by the above named German philosopher. Business ethics can be defined as professional or applied ethics examining the ethical principles and ethical or moral problems that may arise in a workplace setting. Business ethics applies to all business related aspects and is of importance to not all every individual but the whole organization (Amiridis, 2015b). Drawing from the philosophical works of Immanuel Kant, Professor Bowie developed a vision in 1999. His vision involved universal morality in business, provision of meaningful work for all employees, institution of firms as moral communities, and aiding in the establishment of a more peaceful and cosmopolitan world. This vision, as stated above, is a function of Kantian ethics and is therefore to say the least, quite optimistic. This paper will critically analyze Bowie’s vision and it seeks to do so by tying every element of the vision to Kantian philosophy. The first part of Bowie’s vision involves or talks about a universal morality of business. Kant was a systematic thinker; therefore, his moral philosophy was in fact part of a coherent series of thought interlaced with his epistemology, his metaphysics, philosophy of religion and political philosophy among others. There are certain thoughts that drive Kant’s belief in universal morality and it is these and how he explains them that make Bowie optimistic that universal morality in business can be achieved. First, Kant purports that we are all equal. He also believes that there is no moral value for the consequences of people’s actions (Weaver and Trevino, 1994). People can only be judged for things that are under their control. Third is the fact that the only moral evaluation of people’s actions is their will. Based on these believes, Bowie is convinced that understanding of these concepts in a business setting will bring about universal morality in business. Good will is central to the concept of universal morality. For a corporation to be said to have good will, or rather, for its management to be considered to be moral, they have to perform acts of good will (Bowie, 2000). Good will is based on understanding the concepts of free action, moral law and respect for moral law and according them to employees. Many corporations may be unaware of the fact that they need to accord its stakeholders good will and morality and also exercise control over their partners by having them do the same, universal morality may be achieved in business. It is important that an organization exercise its influence where possible so as to spread good will and morality among its partners. If this concept is widespread, instances of exploitation by employees will cease to exist. Therefore sweatshop owners and other like-minded business people will be forced to change their ways. Provision of meaningful employment for workers is another part of Bowie’s vision. This part was a function of the Kantian theory of Meaningful Work. Bowie, in his application of Kantian ethics into business ethics, writes of how Kant offers a vivid and lucid account of the perfect employer-employee relationship. It is from this that Bowie gains optimism of corporations having the ability to give meaningful work to their employees. Bowie has in many other publications claimed that the primary function of any successful business should be the provision of meaningful work to its employees. Should this be successful, Bowie says that said corporation will be able to produce goods and services of the highest quality therefore maximizing on profits (Jones, 2006). However, according to Bowie, management will have to be extremely optimistic and patient in sustaining this goal over a period of time (Reynolds and Bowie, 2004). However in a bid to better understand the concept of meaningful employment, it is important to define the concept. In order for work to be termed as meaningful, it has to first and foremost, be entered into by free will, the work has to allow the worker to exercise both their independence and autonomy, develop rational abilities, the work has to provide sufficient compensation, it has to support employee moral development and finally, it should not have paternalism (Newton, 1985). From the above definition of meaningful employment, Bowie is optimistic that a moral workplace can be achieved if only it provided its employees with meaningful employment. According to Kantian texts, a company can be referred to as being moral if it treats humanity of its employees as an end rather than a means to an end. If a company does this, it will honor employee self-respect. As a function of this, independence and autonomy will be given to employees, their wage will be sufficient for employee welfare and some extent of satisfaction of employee desires (Bliss et al, 1978). Employers should understand their employees needs and attempt to align them with their rights. Ethics therefore is a key in realization of Bowie’s vision. Employers can provide employees with meaningful employment which according to Kantian ethics will be to the benefit of both parties. Bowie’s vision had a third component that relates to institution of firms as moral communities. Kant also had a concept about what he believed a community should be like. Being involved in business ethics, Bowie would translate this concept into the business world thus leading to his desire of firms becoming moral communities (De George, 1987). Based on the above explanation of morality and good will, Bowie believes that it is possible for firms to not only practice morality but also to influence their partners to do so. This would lead to creation or institution of a moral community of firms. An example of this can be drawn from the analogy Kant uses to explain provision of meaningful work to employees, the sweatshop scenario. If a firm were to find out that one of its partners was treating its employees in less than humane ways, the firm should take the initiative to influence change and morality in its partner (Bowie, 1998). In the end all firms will have moral management. It is belief that led Bowie to think that institution of firms as moral communities was possible. Firms can in fact be held responsible for immorality on the part of a partner on whom they have the capacity to exact change. A firm or organization cannot be said to be moral if it lets its partners mistreat its employees or perform other unethical practices. The final part of Bowie’s vision, is about helping in the establishment of a more peaceful and cosmopolitan world. This is clearly a function or a derivation of the Kantian theory of Cosmopolitanism. Kant’s work relating to Perpetual Peace has had a profound impact on history. However, the work is a large departure from his views and work in cosmopolitanism. Kantian ethics elevates peace to a fundamental concept in philosophy. Basically, in this theory, Kant defends subsidiary world republic as he views it as the only means of achieving a long lasting peace or a perpetual peace that is not only unconditional but global (Amiridis, 2015a). Bowie views this theory to contain law morality and politics. The fact that Kant is a cosmopolitan makes it less surprising that cosmopolitanism would be part of Bowie’s vision. He has in his work, like Kant, argued against all minimalist and predominant liberal interpretations of Kantian ethics (Bowie et al, 2004). Bowie is optimistic that the world can be a peaceful cosmopolitan. This is because he is a supporter of Kant’s work in which he interprets a peace that is guaranteed as a function of a world republic. Kant believed that the formation of a global ethical regime would bring about perpetual peace without necessarily having to form a world state (Gottlieb, 2010). Both he and Bowie believed that this could be achieved simply by establishing cosmopolitan law and republican grooming states. It is theoretical situation that has fuelled Bowie’s vision for a cosmopolitan world with perpetual peace. Kant’s cosmopolitan law was basically a new type of jurisdiction that would exist together with local and international law. Cosmopolitan law would simply govern how individuals of a state would relate with those of another state and also towards another state altogether (Schear, 2014). Although Kant’s philosophy has on many occasions been described as overly optimistic, Bowie, being a scholar by his own right, understands the possibilities surrounding this philosophy. He dedicated a large portion of his life to studying Kantian ethics and applying its principles and beliefs into business. He therefore has reasons to believe that Kantian ethics can apply in business and in other fields. It is universal. However, most of Kantian ethics is wishful thinking. The current business community is relatively far from realizing the aspects contained in both Kantian ethics and Bowie’s vision. Ethics still remain lacking in both business and in the world despite legislation insisting on the same. Companies are still finding ways of getting around pieces of legislation that are put in place to ensure that they treat their employees fairly. From the above analysis of Bowie’s vision, it is evident that the vision he constructed it based on Kantian theories. The vision appears farfetched in the real world, but in philosophical sense, based on Kantian ethics, universal morality, and provision of meaningful work, institution of firms as moral communities and establishment of a cosmopolitan and peaceful world are all possible. Each element of his vision is backed up by a theory in Kantian ethics which Bowie is a staunch believer in. Other enlightenment thinkers are also known for having unorthodox and unconventional ideologies that have proved true after critical analysis. The philosophical background of the elements of Bowie’s vision enable one to understand how or why he chose that particular element of rather, what his inspiration was. Kant and Bowie believe in a world with equal and fair employment for all, where relations between nations are favorable and peace is perpetual. A world that can be achieved only if organizations adhere to Kantian ethics. Kantian ethics outlines the moral values that will make any organization or nation at the moral forefront. Word count: 1763 words References Amiridis, K., 2015. Utilty as the Foundational Principle of Business Ethics, OWT229 Business Ethics : Contemporary Issues in Management [online via internal VLE], Lancaster University. Available at https://modules.lancaster.ac.uk/mod/resourse/view.php?id=312767. [Accessed 12 April 2015] Amiridis, K., 2015. In Quest for the Categorical Imperative of Business, OWT229 Business Ethics: Contemporary Issues of Management [Online via Internal VLE], Lancaster University. Available at: https://modules.lancaster.ac.uk/mod/resource/view.php?id=316358. [Accessed 12 April 2015] Bliss, C. J. & Stern, N. H., 1978. Productivity, wages and nutrition : Some observations. Journal of Developent Economics, Volume Vol 5, pp. 363-398. Bowie, N. E., 1998. A Kantian theory of meaningful work. Journal of Business Ethics, Issue ABI/INFORM Global, p. 1083. Bowie, N. E., 2000. A Kantian theory of leadership. Leardeship & Organizational Development Journal, Vol. 21, pp. pp. 185-193. Bowie, N. E. & Anderson, E., 2004. Kants ethical thought. Journal of Business Ethics Education, Volume 3, pp. 115-132. De George, R. T., 1987. The status of business ethics: Past and future. Journal of Business Ethics, Volume Vol 6, pp. 201-211. Gottlieb, G., 2010. Self and world. New Kant Journal, Volume 1, p. Online. Jones, H. B., 2006. The Kantian ethic of capitalism. The Journal of Private Enterprise, Volume XXII, pp. 37-51. Newton, L. (1985), Moral Leadership in Business: The role of structure. Business and Professional Ethics Journal, Volume 5 Nos 3 and 4, pp 74-90. Reynolds, S. J. & Bowie, N. E., 2004. A Kantian perspective on the characteristecs of ethics programs. Business Ethics Quaterly, Volume Vol. 14, pp. pp. 275-292. Schear, J. K., 2014. Kantian ethics. European Journal of Philosophy, Volume 3, pp. 132-134. Weaver, G. R. & Trevino, L. K., 1994. Business Ethics. Business Ethics Quaterly, Volume Vol. 4, pp. 113-128. Read More