From Critique to Action: The Practical Ethics of the Organizational World
This book illustrates the application of ethical thinking to business, management and computing. The authors are not professional philosophers but lecturers, researchers and practitioners based at Liverpool Hope University (LHU) and other international institutes, who have a particular approach that will appeal to pedagogic and scholarly interests as well as to more general readers. Some of the authors are faculty colleagues at LHU, others are directly or indirectly connected with it through teaching and/or research cooperation.
At LHU the ethical dimension runs through every aspect of its corporate life; it is embodied in its corporate mission statement that gives its teaching and research a special flavour, touching other people’s lives and professional practice. This book brings together some significant areas of leading edge research and scholarship in the context of engagement with communities of practice, locally, regionally and professionally, with international students, police, teachers, housing managers, ambulance workers, etc. Most of the chapters are based on the practical experience of the contributors but written in an accessible way. There is a strong intercultural and transnational flavour in this book. It is explicitly cross-disciplinary, and will appeal to readers from areas like organization analysis, computer studies and information systems as well as philosophy and ethics.
This book is part of a series. View the full series, "Ethics", here.
Professor David Weir, currently Professor Emeritus at Northumbria University, has had an extremely successful academic career which has included leading four university Business Schools as the Head of the School of Business, Leadership and Enterprise at University Campus Suffolk, Director of the Bradford Management School, Head of the Glasgow University Business School, Dean and Director of the Newcastle Business School, and Dean of the Scottish Business School. He was also Chair of the Association of Business Schools (UK) and is a Visiting Professor for numerous universities including Liverpool Hope University, Lincoln University and Lancaster University. His research interests are in critical management and intercultural management, and are especially concerned with the Middle East; the breakdown in complex socio-technical systems; operational management in the UK since 1914, with special reference to the writings and influence of Nevil Shute; organisational symbolism; space; rhythm; poetry and process.
Dr Nabil Ahmed Sultan is Head of Division of Management, Business and Enterprise at University Campus Suffolk (UCS). Prior to that, he was Award Director of International MBA at the Business School at Liverpool Hope University (LHU). He is a highly regarded academic with a colourful professional career and research background. He spent his early working years in the Arab Gulf region and later headed a UK business. He also worked for the UNDP in Aden and New York before moving into academia in the late 1990s working initially at the University of Liverpool. He has a strong research background and interest in information management, knowledge management, cloud computing, leadership, ethics and the socio-economic developments of the Arabian Peninsula.
“Containing a range of original and insightful inter-disciplinary chapters, Weir and Sultan’s From Critique to Action: The Practical Ethics of the Organizational World, provides a timely contribution to international debates about the extent to which organisational ethics can have global application. Covering the spectrum of industry, government, and military practice, the authors contributing to this volume eruditely explore discourses positioning high moral fortitude against pragmatic legal obligation. This important contribution is a must read for those concerned about the future of the planet, and interested in exploring the juxtaposition of humanity’s contribution to ethical decline alongside intense commitment to achieving sustainability.”
—Prof. Kate Hutchings, Professor of HRM, Department of Employment Relations and Human Resources, Griffith Business School, Griffith University, Australia
“Ethics has been covered in management, organisation and related areas, though albeit rather late. By it’s nature this is a critical issue, [and] this volume covers it from a critical perspective of a deeper level of a different order. It also has a multicultural and international orientation that is original as far as I know.”
—Prof. John Burgoyne, Professor of Management Learning, Lancaster University Management School, UK
“Superbly edited and engagingly written, From Critique to Action offers a new take on business ethics that is fresh and challenging. The book reveals the complexity and conundrums inherent in organizational ethics and demonstrates refreshingly the value of original ideas and deep research in guiding ethically sound practice.”
—Prof. Charles Harvey, Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Provost, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Newcastle University, UK
“A fine exploration and many good answers on questions of ethics and management; a trend setting study on business ethics.”
—Prof. Dr. Willem Mastenbroek, Department of Economics, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Chief Editor of ManagementSite
“This book is both timely and important. It manages to combine the rigours of good evidence based analysis with the practicalities of the real business world. It transcends national and cultural boundaries and gives us powerful insight into the dilemmas of the modern high speed data rich world in which we now all live.”
—Margaret Exley, CBE, Chairman of Stonecourt Consulting
“This excellent collection of readings adds considerably to our understanding of ethics, management, organizations and work. In particular the various chapters engage with the debate on ethics per se, offer excellent case examples of ethical dilemmas and provides insights into the objectionable underbelly of the global business environment. It should be on the reading lists of all programmes in business and ethics.”
—Dr Steve McKenna, Associate Professor, Human Resource Management Director, Graduate Programs in HRM, School of Human Resource Management Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, York University, Toronto
“This is a fascinating, and valuable exploration of ‘practical ethics’. Beyond the theoretical debate and abstract judgements that dominate this field, the contributors to this volume explore the ethical dilemmas that occur in our professional lives. While people-trafficking and money laundering face clear ethical challenges, here the lens is also pointed at, for example, performance targets for ambulance drivers, the branding of cities as ‘capitals of culture’, and attitudes of staff caring for the elderly. And can there be a universal ethic in a multicultural world? Managers and scholars will find these debates novel and engaging.”
—David A. Buchanan, Professor of Organizational Behaviour, Cranfield, University School of Management
“This book is a thoughtful treatment of ethics in a changing business world. Indeed, the book provides a unique perspective on integrating ethics and business. Various timely ethical business issues are addressed coherently, sensitizing executives to problematic practices and outlining possible paths to minimize the occurrence of ethical scandals and or the avoidance of questionable conduct.
“Senior executives and managers, in general, will find the book useful and insightful. Researchers, too, will benefit from a current and comprehensive treatment of ethics in the business world and in scholarly conduct. This is a fascinating book which enhances our understanding of the necessity of ethical conduct and the centrality of ethics in the business world. It is a welcome addition to any library.”
—Abbas J. Ali, PhD, Professor of Management and Director, School of International Management, Eberly college of Business, at Indiana University of Pennsylvania
"This is a book of its time. It addresses one of the most vital, yet under-researched elements of managment - the ethical issues and judgements of managerial practice. The authors address these questions head on, blending scholarly critique with issues of practical application. This is a brave book that uncovers many of the last taboos of management theory, critiquing dominant western thinking and 'its apprently ethics-free positivism', and offering an range of alternative interdisciplinary approaches that promise to stimulate scholars, teachers, and practitioners to reflect anew on the ethics of management."
— Prof. Sharon Turnbull, former Director of Research, The Leadership Trust Foundation
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