The three: virtue, morality and
ethics are not new philosophical terms. To Aristotle the good for human beings must
essentially involve the entire proper function of human life as a whole. And
this must be an activity of the soul so that expresses genuine virtue or
excellence.
Virtue, in short, is a desire for honourable things. Aristotle defined the virtue as habits of acting or dispositions to act in certain ways. In China the term Dé is probably the closest modern English equivalent that means ‘virtue’ in the sense of ‘personal character,’ ‘inner strength,’ ‘virtuosity,’ or ‘integrity.’ Chinese character Dé, written as 德, is composed of the radical彳followed by the number ‘fourteen’ or shí sì (十四) over ‘one’ or yī (一) ‘heart / mind’ or xīn (心). The simple meaning is that one has to have a big heart for fourteen people.
Ethics addresses questions on
morality —concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice,
justice and crime, etc. Also Aristotle
gave careful consideration to the aspects of human nature involved in acting
and accepting moral responsibility. So, ethics is a system of moral principles
hence practical rather than a theoretical approach. Ethics are the body of
moral principles governing or distinctive of a particular culture or group.
And finally, moral is founded on the
fundamental principles of right conduct rather than on legalities, enactment,
or custom. In other words, values describe what is important in a person’s
life, while ethics and morals prescribe what is or not considered appropriate
behaviour in living one's life (Paul Chippendale). In short, one could say: "Virtue
motivates, morals and ethics constrain."
If so, why do we talk about morals and ethics in modern management approaches?
And, why about virtue and values in
leadership?
A later "opinion" of other blogger is here: Difference Between Values, Moral, Ethics, Principles and Conduct
A later "opinion" of other blogger is here: Difference Between Values, Moral, Ethics, Principles and Conduct
But complying with laws is not enough, Aristotle spoke of pride as a crown of all virtues suggesting people need strive for excellence in all things both mind and body. It is not enough to simply be empathic or nice or even fair in treatment of people it is also required to demonstrate excellence of the warrior when the analogy might be the market place or the analytical ability of the geometrician when solving business problems. It is not one of these things but the proportional Golden mean among them all.
ReplyDeleteSteven, great comment - thanks. I just want to point out that here the "law" is not mentioned or even reflected to. And yes leader is not a sponge – has to be stable, has to take decisions, has to take responsibility …
ReplyDeleteVery nice post! thanks!
ReplyDeleteConstructing an accurate ethical-leadership concept that is not over-extended by one’s ideological agenda ought to begin with defining leadership itself. That is to say, more attention should be paid to thinking about what leadership is. Beyond its attributes and any contextual artifacts, leadership itself must be identified as a distinct phenomenon before we can go on to highlight the ethical dimension that completes “ethical leadership.” Then what counts as the ethical dimension of leadership can be clipped back to that which is implied in the definition of leadership, which in turn is entailed in the essence of the phenomenon.See http://thewordenreport.blogspot.com/2013/08/toward-theory-of-ethical-leadership.html
Dr. Worden thank you. I like your thesis about defining leadership which is the key point then the rest comes. But still I do have some hesitations about "ethics" as each group has his own (even criminal ones). You agree?
DeleteBrilliant explanation and insight on virtue, morality, values and ethics thanks for sharing Jaro, I've included this post to supplement my article on Values and morality
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Sridhar for your positive comment.
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ReplyDeleteDo well and have well. What you will do to others, others will do to you in same way. Great article I have read in long time.
ReplyDeleteWell it is not what you do to others but rather how you see things due to your "learnt" knowledge. Thank you for your opinion.
DeleteI am a management student and i found this post really helpful for me. For a manager or a leader virtue, morality and ethics are really important. If you dont have a strong character nobody will follow you. Thqnks for sharing an informative yet worth reading blog.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your positive comment and bringing to the main issue(s).
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ReplyDeleteThis number has decreased since 2017. A 2015 McKinsey report revealed that companies with more gender diversity among leadership saw greater financial gains. The same report also revealed that there was a correlation between diversity and performance, with companies with diverse leadership experiencing higher performance and a more competitive advantage. With many notable advantages to diversity, what can organizations do to attract and retain female leadership? www.asianwomanleadership.com
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