A Note on Virtues and Virtuous Character

3 Pages Posted: 21 Oct 2008

See all articles by R. Edward Freeman

R. Edward Freeman

University of Virginia - Darden School of Business

Patricia H. Werhane

University of Virginia - Darden School of Business

Scott Sonenshein

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Abstract

This brief note explains the concept of virtue as it appears in the literature on business ethics. It examines the relationships among virtue, character, and right action.

Excerpt

UVA-E-0186

A Note on Virtues and Virtuous Character

One important aspect of ethics is the question of good character or “virtue.” Business, like other social phenomena, is a social practice. What is important and often ignored in business analysis is the character of the managers engaged in business: their virtues and vices. Using a point of view derived from Aristotle, virtue ethics argues that the cultivation of excellence in moral character is crucial for managers. Business is part of a community, and managers need to see themselves as good citizens in that community. The development of moral character is a necessary condition for good businesspeople and, therefore, for ethical excellence in business. In a contemporary Aristotelian analysis, Robert Solomon cites six virtues central to business:

Community

To think of the corporation as a community is to insist that it cannot be, no matter how complex its internal politics, a mere collection of self-interested individuals. To see business as a social activity is to see it as a practice that both thrives on competition and presupposes a coherent community of mutually concerned as well as self-interested citizens .… Corporations, like individuals, are part and parcel of the communities that created them, and the responsibilities that they bear are not the products of argument or implicit contracts but intrinsic to their very existence as social entities .… Communities are essential units of morality, and corporations are ultimately judged not by the numbers but by the coherence and cooperation both within their walls and with the larger communities in which they play such an essential social, as well as economic, role. (146, 149, 152)

Excellence

. . .

Keywords: virtue character, ethical issues

Suggested Citation

Freeman, R. Edward and Werhane, Patricia H. and Sonenshein, Scott, A Note on Virtues and Virtuous Character. Darden Case No. UVA-E-0186, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=908450 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.908450

R. Edward Freeman (Contact Author)

University of Virginia - Darden School of Business ( email )

P.O. Box 6550
Charlottesville, VA 22906-6550
United States
804-924-0935 (Phone)
804-924-6378 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.darden.virginia.edu/faculty/freeman.htm

Patricia H. Werhane

University of Virginia - Darden School of Business ( email )

P.O. Box 6550
Charlottesville, VA 22906-6550
United States
434-924-4840 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://www.darden.virginia.edu/faculty/werhane.htm

Scott Sonenshein

affiliation not provided to SSRN

No Address Available

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