Business Ethics - Immanuel Kant

Immanuel Kant and Business Ethics

Immanuel Kant was born in East Prussia , during the eighteenth century A philosopher , Kant was influential in the development of theories in the field of deontology , a field in which he exerted such influence that deontology is sometimes referred to as Kantianism ' His theories discussed the categorical imperative ' a concept that has several characteristics . Norman E . Bowie states that the categorical imperative is defined with these three formulations

Explained in a simple fashion , these formulations state that a person must take only actions that he or

she would expect to apply to everyone (including him- or herself , that a person must treat people only in such a way that they are not being used . Finally , the individual has a responsibility to treat him- or herself the same way in which others are treated . Kantian ethics , therefore , obligate the individual involved in the decision-making process to behave in a moral fashion due to the humanity of both parties

Bowie makes the point that the categorical imperative is not irrelevant in the world of business (7 . He stresses that universalized and self-defeating actions become common , then doing business becomes impossible . If someone , for example , writes a check on an account with insufficient funds , then he or she has behaved unethically . If that behavior is universalized , making the writing of insufficient funds checks acceptable for everyone , then too many such checks would be written and the use of checks for doing business would cease

In addition , Bowie explores the Formula of Humanity ' which admonishes people to always treat the humanity in a person as an end and never as a means merely (7 . Bowie explains that , while this formula does not negate the ability to transact commercial business , it addresses the need to avoid behaving in a coercive manner , as well as the need to contribute to the development of human rational and moral capacities (Bowie 7-8 . This use of the categorical imperative would suggest that business deals that trade away the rights of employees or sales (or lack of sales ) of certain products at the expense of certain customers would be unethical instead of merely part of doing business

Although his perspective changed over the years , Kant 's philosophy always emphasized the importance of humanity in ethics . While not as popular as they once were , Kantian ethics are extremely relevant to the practice of business ethics

Work Cited

Bowie , Norman , E . A Kantian Approach to Business Ethics ' A Companion to Business Ethics , Robert E . Frederick , Ed . Malden , MA Blackwell Publishers , Ltd , 2002 . 3-16...