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What Makes a Business Ethicist? A Reflection on the Transition from Applied Philosophy to Critical Thinking

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Abstract

This article discusses the transition that business ethics has undergone since its start essentially as a philosophical sub-discipline of applied ethics. Today, business ethics—as demonstrated by four examples of gatekeepers—is a well-established field in general management, and increasingly business scholars without a “formal” background in philosophy are entering the scene. I take this transition to examine an updated positioning of business ethics and offer a proposal to redefine what makes a business ethicist. I suggest taking critical thinking as the common denominator of all business ethics activities beyond the academic silos of various disciplines. In conclusion, by borrowing from the post-colonial theorist Edward Said, this article offers a definition of what makes a business ethicist in the broadest possible sense. Implications are discussed, including the consequences suggesting that if critical thinking is the common denominator, business ethics-as-business-case logic is not considered a part of business ethics publications (except discussing the ethicality of business ethics-as-business-case), but should be addressed within more instrumental publication outlets of business.

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Notes

  1. For an overview of scholarly contributions, I recommend Michalos and Poff’s Citation Classics (2013) compiling 30 years of business ethics research. As introduction to the field and overview I particularly recommend De George (2009), Carroll and Buchholtz (2012), Velasquez (2006), Weiss (2009), Lovell and Fisher (2006), Wicks et al. (2009), Crane and Matten (2010), and Brenkert and Beauchamp (2012).

  2. The three original job postings are with the author, and the code to specify the three examples can be obtained upon request by email.

  3. The Excel file with the author’s names and coding along the three levels can be obtained from the author upon email request.

  4. In this regard is it noteworthy that in non-English speaking academic environments the concept of business ethics is not the only one considered. The German term ‘Wirtschaftsethik’ for example has a much broader scope and unites both business ethics and more macroeconomic economic ethics under one roof (Seele 2014). At the same time it is also worth noting that in business (English) ethics journals also more macro issues and systemic questions are addressed overlapping with political and sociological perspectives.

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Acknowledgement

The author is grateful for comments from Alex Michalos on an earlier version of the paper. Furthermore, the author thanks Nicole Wicki and Giulia Besana for desk research support on the empirical material of the article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Corporate Social Responsibility and Business Ethics, Ethics and Communication Law Center (ECLC), Faculty of Communication Sciences, Institute of Marketing and Communication Management (IMCA), Università della Svizzera italiana (USI), via G. Buffi 13 (R.362), 6900, Lugano, Switzerland

    Peter Seele

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Correspondence to Peter Seele.

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Seele, P. What Makes a Business Ethicist? A Reflection on the Transition from Applied Philosophy to Critical Thinking. J Bus Ethics 150, 647–656 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-016-3177-8

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