Re-evaluating the Realist Conception of War as a Business Metaphor
The state of war is a popular metaphor employed by many business writers seeking to explain the imperatives of strategic decision-making. It is a metaphor which draws on a “realist” characterisation of war as a Hobbesian state of nature devoid of a moral dimension. However, the work of Walzer (1977)...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
1999
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| In: |
Teaching business ethics
Year: 1999, Volume: 3, Issue: 1, Pages: 27-35 |
| Further subjects: | B
Corporate Strategy
B Aristotlean ethics B Whistleblowing B war analogy B Ethical Relativism |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | The state of war is a popular metaphor employed by many business writers seeking to explain the imperatives of strategic decision-making. It is a metaphor which draws on a “realist” characterisation of war as a Hobbesian state of nature devoid of a moral dimension. However, the work of Walzer (1977) has demonstrated that rules of war, established over generations and across cultural divides, play a significant role in the conduct of warfare. Through identifying and analysing rules of war in parallel with ethical dilemmas in business life, such as whistleblowing, it is possible to develop a more sophisticated understanding of the war metaphor in place of simplified, state of nature realism. This alternative version of the war metaphor is a useful means of introducing students to Aristotlean virtues as well as challenging their preconceptions about the nature of business activity. |
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| ISSN: | 1573-1944 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Teaching business ethics
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1023/A:1009753807317 |
