Virtue in Organizations: Moral Identity as a Foundation for Moral Agency

Abstract

Framing issues of organizational ethics in terms of virtues and moral agency (rather than in terms of rules and ethical behavior) has implications for the way social science addresses matters of morality in organizations. In particular, attending to matters of virtue and moral agency directs attention to the moral identity, or self-concept, of persons, and to the circumstances that influence self-identity. This article develops parallels between philosophical theories of virtue and the concept of moral identity as developed in social cognitive identity theory. Explicating notions of virtue and moral agency in terms of social cognitive identity theory, in turn, helps direct attention to a range of factors—including both organizational and extraorganizational, macro-cultural ones—that can foster or inhibit moral agency in organizations.

Responsible Leadership as Virtuous Leadership

“…Most articles focus on the debate about whether or not virtuousness actually exists (Alzola 2008;Wright and Goodstein 2007;Weaver 2006;Whetstone 2003), on the development of virtue in societies (Moore and Beadle 2006;Nielsen 2006), or on the definition of the term (Fowers 2009;Moberg 1999;Rachels 1999). A few articles have attempted to identify universal 1 Responsible leadership characteristics are reported to include ''building public trust,'' ''sustaining an impeccable reputation,'' ''walking the talk,'' ''managing with integrity,'' ''making profits with principles,'' ''delivering on the triple bottom line,'' ''creating value for stakeholders,'' ''mobilizing people and teams,'' ''coaching and reinforcing employees,'' ''creating incentives to encourage respectful collaboration,'' ''safeguarding freedom of speech,'' ''ensuring adherence to employment standards,'' ''proving fair and equal employment opportunities,'' ''making sure that products and services meet customer needs,'' ''ensuring that ethical standards are respected,'' ''driven by a values-based vision of the future,'' ''having a fundamental values base,'' ''maintaining personal and professional integrity,'' ''making principled decisions,'' ''using values as a moral compass,'' ''promoting active citizenship inside and outside the organization,'' ''being rooted in an ethics of care,'' ''being driven by a desire to serve others,'' ''humility and modesty,'' ''an inclination to support others and to care for their interests and needs,'' ''being connected and close to stakeholders,'' ''growing and sustaining a web of stakeholder connections,'' ''having a drive to realize the vision in and through stakeholder engagement,'' ''being cooperative,'' ''being inclusive,'' ''being empathetic,'' ''creating a values-based sense of identify among stakeholders,'' ''a combination of cognitive, emotional, relational, and moral qualities,'' and other characteristics (see Maak and Pless 2006a, b;Pless 2007 (Fineman 2006).…”

Mitos no Desengajamento Moral: Retóricas da Samarco em um Crime Corporativo

“…Ainda de acordo com a TSC, as ações morais são produtos da interação recíproca de influências cognitivas, afetivas e sociais (Bandura, 2002;Barsky, 2011;Weaver, 2006), e o pensamento moral é um processo cujas regras e padrões são a base para o julgamento da conduta (Bandura, 1991, Detert et al, 2008. Nessa direção, os mecanismos de desengajamento moral, termo cunhado por Bandura (1999), são capazes de desativar no indivíduo o processo de autorregulação de sua conduta quando esse pretende RAC, Rio de Janeiro, v. 22, n. 1, art.…”

Teaching and learning business ethics in a multicultural group

“…This increases students' opportunities to position themselves in the situation of a decisionmaker and can foster students' understanding of what it means to be a responsible moral agent (Weaver, 2006).…”

“…Consequently, ethics teaching may not have any significant effect on students' performance. When learning the principles of right and wrong, students do not learn what moral conduct requires from them in practice (Weaver, 2006). As put by McDonald (2015, p. 511), "the dominant approach […] constitutes an education about responsibility.…”