Reflections on the Practical Relevance of Feminist Thought to Business

1996 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 523-531 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew C. Wicks
Keyword(s):  
Business Ethics ◽  
Stakeholder Theory ◽  
Potential Contribution ◽  
Practical Relevance ◽  
Feminist Ethics ◽  
Feminist Thought ◽  
The Feminine ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Moral Grounding

AbstractI appreciate the opportunity to comment on two recent papers (Burton and Dunn, “Feminist Ethics as Moral Grounding for Stakeholder Theory” and Dobson, “The Feminine Firm: A Comment”—both in the April 1996 edition of BEQ) which deal with the subject of feminism in business ethics. Both raise important issues for how we think about the relevance and potential contribution of feminist thought to this area of research.

Macintyre’s Position on Business: A Response to Wicks

1997 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 125-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Dobson
Keyword(s):  
Business Ethics ◽  
Virtue Ethics ◽  
Moral Philosophy ◽  
Moral Theory ◽  
Alasdair Macintyre ◽  
Practical Relevance ◽  
Feminist Thought ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Classical Philosophy ◽  
Cultural Force

Andrew Wicks recently reflected “On The Practical Relevance of Feminist Thought to Business.” Part of his reflection focussed on my contributions to this subject. In critiquing my work, Wicks notes the similarity between my views on business and those of Alasdair MacIntyre. He goes on to give a brief overview of our position as he sees it. Wicks’s overview, although insightful, is misleading in certain key respects. My purpose in this response, therefore, is to clarify MacIntyre’s views on business. In doing this I will, by default, clarify my own.MacIntyre himself might be surprised by the frequency with which his name appears in the business-ethics discourse. Although, over a period spanning nearly fifty years, he has written prolifically on the subject of ethics, he has only, as far as I am aware, written two brief articles directly addressing the subject of business ethics. Why then should we in business or in business ethics concern ourselves with his views? I think our interest in MacIntyre stems from our interest in virtue ethics, specifically our interest in the applicability of the virtues to business. When it comes to virtue ethics MacIntyre is recognized as an authority, if not the authority. Even his fiercest detractors would, I hope, admit that he has been largely responsible for the resurrection of classical philosophy in the latter half of this century. His book After Virtue, in which he criticizes modernity and praises a classical virtue-based approach to ethics, is undoubtedly one the most influential books on moral philosophy written this century. Indeed, as postmodernism gains steam as a cultural force, its full influence is perhaps yet to be determined. If MacIntyre’s critique of modernity proves correct, then much of business-ethics theory—not to mention moral theory in general—would be discredited. Thus interest in MacIntyre’s thesis, from many quarters, is understandable.

A Feminist Reinterpretation of The Stakeholder Concept

1994 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 475-497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew C. Wicks ◽  
Daniel R. Gilbert ◽  
R. Edward Freeman
Keyword(s):  
Business Ethics ◽  
Stakeholder Theory ◽  
Global Marketplace ◽  
Strategic Objectives ◽  
Stakeholder Groups ◽  
Feminist Thought ◽  
Management Literature ◽  
Recent Trends ◽  
Practical Guidance ◽  
Integrating Ethics

Abstract:Stakeholder theory has become one of the most important developments in the field of business ethics. While this concept has evolved and gained prominence as a method of integrating ethics into the basic purposes and strategic objectives of the firm, the authors argue that stakeholder theory has retained certain “masculinist” assumptions from the wider business literature that limit its usefulness. The resources of feminist thought, specifically the work of Carol Gilligan, provide a means of reinterpreting the stakeholder concept in a way that overcomes many of the existing limitations. This reading provides a different understanding of the identity and meaning of the firm, specifically in terms of its relationship to stakeholder groups and what it means for a firm to succeed. The alternatives proposed also converge with recent trends in the wider management literature and provide practical guidance for firms which face a myriad of challenges in the increasingly complex and global marketplace.

Feminist Ethics as Moral Grounding for Stakeholder Theory

1996 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian K. Burton ◽  
Craig P. Dunn
Keyword(s):  
Stakeholder Theory ◽  
General Principle ◽  
Moral Theory ◽  
Feminist Ethics ◽  
Business Decisions ◽  
Stakeholder Approach ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Missing Element ◽  
Moral Grounding

AbstractStakeholder theory, as a method of management based on morals and behavior, must be grounded by a theory of ethics. However, traditional ethics of justice and rights cannot completely ground the theory. Following and expanding on the work of Wicks, Gilbert, and Freeman (1994), we believe that feminist ethics, invoking principles of caring, provides the missing element that allows moral theory to ground the stakeholder approach to management. Examples are given to support the suggested general principle for making business decisions under feminist moral theory.

scholarly journals Incumbent Stakeholder Management Performance and New Entry

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
André Laplume ◽  
Kent Walker ◽  
Zhou Zhang ◽  
Xin Yu
Keyword(s):  
Business Ethics ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Stakeholder Theory ◽  
Stakeholder Management ◽  
Stakeholder Group ◽  
Curvilinear Relationship ◽  
Management Performance ◽  
Entrepreneurial Entry ◽  
Very High ◽  
New Entry

Abstract Instrumental stakeholder theory seeks to explain how managing stakeholders effectively can yield competitive advantage for incumbent firms. We extend instrumental stakeholder theory to explain and predict future competition operationalized as new entrepreneurial entries. Our study is among the first to empirically examine the relationships between aggregate stakeholder management performance and the entrepreneurial entries of individuals. Using a combined U.S. dataset from 2003 to 2013 from the Kinder, Lydenberg and Domini (KLD) Index, Compustat, and Kauffman’s Entrepreneurship Survey, we find support for three hypotheses. First, higher levels of stakeholder management performance are related to lower rates of entrepreneurial entry. Second, a curvilinear relationship exists between stakeholder management performance and entrepreneurial entry, where both low and very high stakeholder management performance increase entrepreneurial entry. Third, the greater the variance in stakeholder management performance across stakeholders, the more entrepreneurial entry. Our findings suggest that managing for stakeholders can help to avoid future competition. We add an entrepreneurship lens to the business ethics of stakeholder theory showing how incumbent stakeholder management performance shapes opportunities for entrepreneurs, a largely neglected stakeholder group.

Learning from Disequilibrium and Educating the Feminine Voice in Philosophy

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naoko Saito
Keyword(s):  
Female Voice ◽  
Democratic Politics ◽  
University Education ◽  
Biological Origin ◽  
Feminine Voice ◽  
Political Criticism ◽  
The Feminine ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Voice ◽  
Alternative Idea

This article broaches what can sometimes be seen as the suppression of the female voice, sometimes the repression of the feminine. To address these matters involves the reconsideration of the political discourse that pervades education and educational research. This article is an attempt to disclose inequity in apparently equitable space, through the acknowledgment of the voice of disequilibrium. It proposes to re-place the subject of philosophy, and the subject of woman, through an alternative idea of the feminine voice in philosophy. It tries to reconfigure the female voice without negating its fated biological origin and traits, and yet avoiding the confining of thought to the constraints of gender divides. In terms of education, it shall argue for the conversation of justice as a way of cultivating the feminine voice in philosophy: as the voice of disequilibrium. This is an occasion of mutual destabilization and transformation of man and woman, crossing gender divides, and preparing an alternative route to political criticism that not only reclaims the rights of women but releases the thinking of men and women, laying the way for a better, more pluralist, and more democratic politics. The feminine voice can find a way beyond the dominance of instrumental rationality and calculative thinking in the discourse on equity itself. And it can, one might reasonably hope, have an impact on the curriculum of university education.

Towards Business Ethics as an Academic Discipline

1996 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georges Enderle
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Business Ethics ◽  
System Approach ◽  
Academic Discipline ◽  
Human Action ◽  
Business Practice ◽  
Ethical Framework ◽  
Practical Relevance ◽  
Teaching Business Ethics ◽  
Theoretical Understanding

AbstractRecalling several profound disagreements about business ethics as it is currently discussed in Western societies, I emphasize the need for business ethics as an academic discipline that constitutes the “backbone” for both teaching business ethics and improving business practice (section 1). Then I outline a conceptual framework of business ethics that promotes a “bottom-up” approach (section 2). This “problem-and action-oriented” conception appears to be fruitful in terms of both practical relevance and theoretical understanding. Finally, I argue for (section 3) the relevance of discussing goals at all levels of human action (i.e., individuals, organizations, systems) as well as the indispensability of human rights, and propose Amartya Sen's “goal-rights-system” approach as a normative-ethical framework for business ethics that integrates these two fundamental aspects.

Mixed Methods Research Online

2015 ◽  
pp. 411-432
Author(s):  
Theodora Issa ◽  
David Pick
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Business Ethics ◽  
Research Methods ◽  
Research Design ◽  
Mixed Methods Research ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Practical Relevance ◽  
Mixed Methods Design ◽  
Survey Tool ◽  
Sensitive Issues

Contributing to the ongoing debate in research on sensitive issues such as business ethics, this chapter provides a discussion of mixed methods research design, examining the processes and challenges of developing and deploying an online survey tool using technology within an interpretive mixed methods design. This chapter provides pointers on how to deploy this approach through technology to research business ethics using the example of researching ethical mindsets and its components, including spirituality and aesthetics. It is found that mixed methods research is an effective approach because it allows often sensitive issues (i.e. business ethics, aesthetics, spirituality) relating to questioning individuals' inner values and ethical propensities, which are usually subtle and difficult to measure and analyze constructs. While this tool was developed in the Australian context, it has the potential to form a foundation for wider examination and research in business ethics. The chapter contributes to the collective discussion of research methods using a framework that has both practical relevance and theoretical rigor.

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