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Moral Compromise and Personal Integrity: Exploring the Ethical Issues of Deciding Together in Organizations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 January 2015

Jerry D. Goodstein
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Abstract:

In this paper I explore the topic of moral compromise in institutional settings and highlight how moral compromise may affirm, rather than undermine, personal integrity. Central to this relationship between moral compromise and integrity is a view of the self that is responsive to multiple commitments and grounded in an ethic of responsibility. I elaborate a number of virtues that are related to this notion of the self and highlight how these virtues may support the development of individuals who are responsive and reasonable in moral discourse and discerning in establishing moral limits on compromise. I look at how moral regret is closely connected to moral compromise and emphasize its significance for reinforcing personal integrity. The paper closes with a discussion of the relevance of these topics to the field of business ethics.

Type
Articles
Information
Business Ethics Quarterly , Volume 10 , Issue 4 , October 2000 , pp. 805 - 819
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Business Ethics 2000

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