If the River Stopped: A Talmudic Perspective on Downsizing

In a weak economy, both managers and scholars may seek an ethical framework to guide decisions about layoffs and downsizing. Agency and stakeholder theories offer limited practical guidance about ethical norms. This paper looks to the Talmud, an ancient compilation of law, legend, and critical analy...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Carver, Robert H. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Springer Science + Business Media B. V 2004
In: Journal of business ethics
Year: 2004, Volume: 50, Issue: 2, Pages: 137-147
Further subjects:B Business Ethics
B Downsizing
B layoffs
B Talmud
B Jewish Law
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Summary:In a weak economy, both managers and scholars may seek an ethical framework to guide decisions about layoffs and downsizing. Agency and stakeholder theories offer limited practical guidance about ethical norms. This paper looks to the Talmud, an ancient compilation of law, legend, and critical analysis for insights into the modern employment relationship. In its method of analysis and in its specific discussion of the treatment of employees, the Talmud provides an approach and a framework for assessing the ethical standing of particular layoff decisions. The article introduces readers to elements of Talmudic analysis and then applies that framework to particular kinds of corporate downsizing decisions.
ISSN:1573-0697
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of business ethics
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1023/B:BUSI.0000022149.67363.4d