A Kantian theory of meaningful work

Journal of Business Ethics

Volumn 17, Issue 9-10, 1998, Pages 1083-1092

  Bowie, Norman E ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA   (United States)

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[No Author keywords available]

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EID: 0032353179     PISSN: 01674544     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1023/a:1006023500585     Document Type: Article

References (28)

1. I am indebted to the University of Minnesota for a sabbatical and to the Program in Ethics and the Professions, Harvard University for a fellowship that enabled me to write this paper. I have benefitted greatly from comments made by the fellows in the Program in Ethics and the Professions, Dennis Thompson, Arthur Applbaum, Lawrence Lessig, Arti Rau, Thomas Sorrell, Carol Steicker, and Melissa Williams. I have also received helpful comments from Deborah Johnson, Ellen Klein, David Newell, and Richard Nielsen.
2. See for example, "Challenging the Egoistic Paradox", Business Ethics Quarterly 1 (1991), pp. 1-21 and "The Paradox of Profit", in Papers on the Ethics of Administration. Ed. N. Dale Wright (Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 1990), pp. 97-120.
3. See for example, "Challenging the Egoistic Paradox", Business Ethics Quarterly 1 (1991), pp. 1-21 and "The Paradox of Profit", in Papers on the Ethics of Administration. Ed. N. Dale Wright (Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 1990), pp. 97-120.
4. Immanuel Kant Lectures on Ethics 1775 (New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1963), pp. 160-161.
5. Ibid., pp. 177, 181, 185.
6. Although admittedly Kant wants a job to provide more than a living wage. A living wage is a necessary but not sufficient condition for a "good" job.
7. Kant, op. cit., p. 184.
8. Immanuel Kant, Metaphysical Principles of Virtue (1797) in Immanuel Kant Ethical Philosophy Trans James W. Ellington (Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, 1994), p. 99.
9. I indebted to Bryan Frances for the formalization of this summary. The argument has been reformulated after Robert Frederick pointed out the earlier version's inadequacies.
10. I am not claiming that the only way one can gain autonomy and independence is through work that provides wages sufficient for independence. One can gain self-respect by being a priest or by being an impoverished artist. One can also gain respect by identifying with a group or cause. However if work in corporations is chosen and is to be morally justified, then something like the arguments I have attributed to Kant are necessary. I am grateful to Tanya Kostova for raising this issue.
11. Although business ethicists have not emphasized meaningful work, some are giving it attention. Joanne Cuilla and Al Gini have both made important contributions. My own thinking on this topic has evolved from discussions with my graduate student Kathryn Brewer.
12. Thomas E. Hill Jr., Dignity and Practical Reason in Kant's Moral Theory (Ithaca: N.Y. Cornell University Press, 1992), p. 35.
13. Ibid., pp. 40-41.
14. Recall that an imperfect duty is one that you need to act upon on some occasions but not on all occasions. An imperfect duty should be distinguished from a perfect duty which is a duty one must always act on whenever the duty is present. Thus our duty not to lie is a perfect duty but our duty to aid others is imperfect.
15. Immanuel Kant, Metaphysical Principles of Virtue in Immanuel Kant Ethical Philosophy 2nd ed. James W Ellington, trans. (Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, 1994), p. 43.
16. Ibid., p. 52.
17. Hill, op. cit., Chapter 8.
18. Onora O'Neill, Constructions of Reason (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1989), p. 114.
19. Ibid., p. 115.
20. Jeffrey Pfeffer, Competitive Advantage Through People (Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1994), pp. 215-216.
21. Quoted in Pfeffer, op. cit., p. 209.
22. Ibid., Chapter 2.
23. William Ouchi, Theory Z (Reading, MA: Addison Wesley Publishing Company Inc., 1981), p. 118.
24. Robert C Hill and Sara M Freedman, "Managing the Quality Process: Lessons from a Baldridge Award Winner", Academy of Management Executive 6 (1992), 78. Quoted in Pfeffer, op. cit., p. 214.
25. Robert C Hill and Sara M Freedman, "Managing the Quality Process: Lessons from a Baldridge Award Winner", Academy of Management Executive 6 (1992), 78. Quoted in Pfeffer, op. cit., p. 214.
26. Max DePree. Leadership Is An Art (New York: Dell Publishing, 1989), pp. 23, 32.
27. Quoted in Pfeffer, op. cit., p. 212.
28. Quoted in William Ouchi, op. cit., pp. 136-137.