Virtue at Work

Abstract

Virtue at Work is about good organizations, good managers, and good people, and how these can contribute to good communities. It is aimed at practitioners—principally managers at all levels and in all kinds of organizations. It provides an integrated and philosophically grounded framework which enables a coherent approach to organizations and organizational ethics from the perspective of practitioners in the workplace, of managers in organizations, as well as of organizations themselves. The philosophical grounding comes from the work of the philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre. In line with MacIntyre’s own commitments, the book makes philosophy down to earth and practical. It provides a new way of understanding ethics and organizations which is both realistic and attractive, but also challenging. It also provides tough but realistic suggestions in order to put this approach into practice. Virtue at Work not only applies theory in a readable and compelling manner, but also shows how this has been applied to a wide variety of organizations and occupations. Examples are drawn from architecture, accounting, human resource management, banking, investment advising, open source software, health and beauty retailing, pharmaceuticals, garment manufacturing, Fair Trade, car manufacturing, symphony orchestras, circuses, jazz, the UK’s National Health Service, surgery, nursing, churches, and journalism. If you are entirely happy with the way the world is, including your experience of organizations as an employee or manager, then this book is not for you. If, however, you have even the slightest hesitation when reflecting on life, management, or organizations…read on.

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