Between Enterprise and Ethics

We live in a ‘bimoral’ society, in which people govern their lives by two contrasting sets of principles. On the one hand there are the principles associated with traditional morality. Although these allow a modicum of self-interest, their emphasis is on our duties and obligations to others: to treat people honestly and with respect, to treat them fairly and without prejudice, to help and care for them when needed, and ultimately, to put their needs above our own. On the other hand there are the principles associated with the entrepreneurial self-interest. These also impose obligations, but of a much more limited kind. Their emphasis is competitive rather than cooperative: to advance our own interests rather than to meet the needs of others. Both sets of principles have always been present in society but in recent years traditional moral authorities have lost much of their force and the morality of self-interest has acquired a much greater social legitimacy, over a much wider field of behaviour, than ever before. The result of this is that in many situations it is no longer at all apparent which set of principles should take precedence.
In this book John Hendry traces the cultural and historical origins of the ‘bimoral’ society and explores the challenges it poses for the world of business and management. The developments that have led to the ‘bimoral’ society have also led to new, more flexible forms of organizing, which have released people’s entrepreneurial energies and significantly enhanced the creative capacities of business. Working within these organizations, however, is fraught with moral tensions as obligations and self-interest conflict and managers are pulled in all sorts of different directions. Managing them successfully poses major new challenges of leadership, and ‘moral’ management, as the technical problem-solving that previously characterised managerial work is increasingly accomplished by technology and market mechanisms. The key role of management becomes the political and moral one of determining purposes and priorities, reconciling divergent interests, and nurturing trust in interpersonal relationships. Exploring these tensions and challenges, Hendry identifies new issues for contemporary management and puts recognized issues into context.
He also explores the challenges posed for a post-traditional society as it seeks to regulate and govern an increasingly powerful and global business sector.

Author Biography

John Hendry is BRESE Professor of Business Administration at Brunel University, a Fellow of Girton College, Cambridge, and Adjunct Professor of International Business Ethics at the University of Notre Dame. After obtaining a degree in mathematics from Cambridge he worked in industry and the accounting profession, before completing an MSc and PhD at Imperial College London. He joined the faculty of the London Business School in 1984 and moved to Cranfield School of
Management in 1988. He then joined the Judge Institute of Management, University of Cambridge, where he served as founder director of the Cambridge MBA from 1990 to 1998. In 2000 he moved to Birkbeck
College, University of London, and in 2002 to Brunel. He currently chairs the advisory board of the RSA/IBE Forum for Ethics in the Workplace and is on the Court of Henley Management College.