Ethics in organizations: A practice theoretical perspective

Anders Buch

Publikation: Bidrag til bog/antologi/rapport/konference proceedingKonferenceartikel i proceedingForskningpeer review

Abstract

It is a fundamental challenge for organizational theory to understand and explain how organizations work: what drives processes of organizational learning and change, and how is coordinated action brought about in organizations? It is well recognized that organizational theory rests on – or implicitly presumes – fundamental philosophical assumptions. Organizational theories are based on ontological and epistemological assumptions about what an organization is, how actors act and learn in organizational settings, and how researchers can come to know about organizational phenomena. But it is less recognized that organizational theory also presumes and express ethical and normative perspectives on organizations. This is also the case in the new branch of organizational theory that has been developed with an inspiration from theories of practice (e.g. Schatzki 2005, 2006; Nicolini 2013; Gherardi 2015). Although practice theoretical approaches have made an effort to critically reflect on the ontological and epistemological assumptions of organizational theory the literature only contains very few attempts to understand the role played by normativity and ethics in organizations (Erden et al. 2014). In this paper I will attempt to discuss how the practice theoretical approach to organizational theory can become more explicit about the role of normativity and ethics in order to better understand organizational practices.
I will do this by discussing two prominent early practice theoretical theories of ethics, namely Alasdair MacIntyre’s virtue ethics and Charles Taylor’s ethics of authenticity. I will argue that these two ethical approaches fail to substantiate an adequate practice theoretical approach to the study of organizational practices. I will further argue that practice theoretical approaches might find inspiration in John Dewey’s thoughts on ethics, and that these thoughts resonate well with ontological assumptions made by contemporary practice theoretical approaches to organizational theory. This paper thus discusses the role of normativity and ethics in practice theoretical approaches to organizational theory.
My discussion will proceed in three steps. I will start by characterizing the practice theoretical perspective on organizational activity, thereby outlining the ontological and epistemological assumptions of this approach. I will then proceed to discuss the role played by normativity in the practice theoretical perspective. Thirdly, I will discuss how a practice theoretical conception of normativity can reflect on ethical problems in organizational practice. This discussion examines MacIntyre’s and Taylor’s ethical theories. The discussion is concluded by suggesting that contemporary practice theory might look to Dewey in order to develop an ethical perspective that is compatible with its view on normativity.
OriginalsprogEngelsk
TitelPapers presented at the conference Pragmatism Today
Antal sider16
Publikationsdato2016
Sider1-16
StatusUdgivet - 2016
BegivenhedPragmatism Today: Perspectives on Cognition, Education and Society - Danish School of Education, Aarhus University, Denmark, Aarhus C, Danmark
Varighed: 30 nov. 20162 dec. 2016
http://conferences.au.dk/pragmatismtoday2016/

Konference

KonferencePragmatism Today
LokationDanish School of Education, Aarhus University, Denmark
Land/OmrådeDanmark
ByAarhus C
Periode30/11/201602/12/2016
Internetadresse

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