Towards Authenticity: A Sartrean Perspective on Business Ethics

Abstract

Taking a Sartrean existentialist viewpoint towards business ethics, in particular, concerning the question of the nature of businesspersons' moral character, provides for a dramatically distinct set of reflections from those afforded by the received view on character, namely that of Aristotelian-based virtue ethics. Insofar as Sartre's philosophy places human freedom at center stage, I argue that the authenticity with which a businessperson approaches moral situations depends on the degree of consciousness he or she has of the various choices at stake. Finally, I consider some practical changes in business ethics education, managerial decision-making, and business organizations that Sartrean reflections might prompt.

The Philosopher Leader: On Relationalism, Ethics and Reflexivity—A Critical Perspective to Teaching Leadership

“…In leadership studies, authenticity is seen as improving profi ts and sustainable growth through self-awareness, selfdevelopment, leading through values, being passionate about your purpose, leading with heart and head, and being yourself (George, 2003;George et al, 2007;Goffee and Jones, 2005). In this context, authenticity is rarely attributed to phenomenology (Jackson, 2005 andSparrowe, 2005 being notable exceptions). From a phenomenological perspective, authenticity is about understanding, being responsible, and being true to ourselves in relation to the pressures and infl uences around us.…”

Strategy Making and the Search for Authenticity

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Recent work in the business ethics field has called attention to the promise inherent in the concept of authenticity for enriching the ways we think about core issues at the intersection of management ethics and practice, like moral character, ethical choices, leadership, and corporate social responsibility [Driver, 2006;Jackson, 2005;Ladkin, 2006]. In this paper, I aim to extend these contributions by focusing on authenticity in relation to a set of organizational processes related to strategy making; most specifically an organization's strategic intent, arguing that these provide an ideal venue for particularising this exploration, as they represent the key processes through which an organization defines the self it aspires to be.

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“…In this paper, my aim is to explore this potential, building on important recent work in the ethics area that uses authenticity to argue for new framing of core issues like moral character, ethical choices, leadership, and corporate social responsibility (Driver, 2006;Jackson, 2005;Ladkin, 2006). I begin by reviewing evidence for authenticity as an idea of increasing interest and relevance in our current society and then move on to explore its use and contribution in the literature of multiple disciplines.…”

Farming and tourism enterprise: Experiential authenticity in the diversification of independent small-scale family farming

“…Thus, Heidegger viewed such authenticity as inherently related to experiencing the natural world, the antithesis of technological modes of existence. Often bound up with the pressures of modernity, and increasing separation from nature and sanitized living, it also carries with it notions of the conscious self, distinctions between the self and the other, and the real and imagined (Garrety, 2008;Jackson, 2005;Liedtka, 2008).…”