We live in a "bimoral" society, in which people govern their lives by two contrasting sets of principles. On the one hand there are the principles associated with traditional morality. Although these allow a modicum of self-interest, their emphasis is on our duties and obligations to others: to treat people honestly and with respect, to treat them fairly and without prejudice, to help and care for them when needed, and ultimately, to put their needs above our own. On the other hand there are the principles associated with the entrepreneurial self-interest. These also impose obligations, but of a much more limited kind. Their emphasis is competitive rather than co-operative: to advance our own interests rather than to meet the needs of others. Both sets of principles have always been present in society but in recent years traditional moral authorities have lost much of their force and the morality of self-interest has acquired a much greater social legitimacy, over a much wider field of behaviour, than ever before. The result of this is that in many situations it is no longer at all apparent which set of principles should take precedence. This book sets the world of business in the context of contemporary moral culture.
About the AuthorJohn Hendry is BRESE Professor of Business Administration at Brunel University, a Fellow of Girton College, Cambridge, and Adjunct Professor of International Business Ethics at the University of Notre Dame. After obtaining a degree in mathematics from Cambridge he worked in industry and the accounting profession, before completing an MSc and PhD at Imperial College London. He joined the faculty of the London Business School in 1984 and moved to Cranfield School of Management in 1988. He then joined the Judge Institute of Management, University of Cambridge, where he served as founder director of the Cambridge MBA from 1990 to 1998. In 2000 he moved to Birkbeck College, University of London, and in 2002 to Brunel. He currently chairs the advisory board of the RSA/IBE Forum for Ethics in the Workplace and is on the Court of Henley Management College.
Book InformationISBN 9780199268634
Author John HendryFormat Paperback
Page Count 312
Imprint Oxford University PressPublisher Oxford University Press
Dimensions(mm) 234mm * 155mm * 17mm