Managerial Ethics as a Prerequisite to CSR: The Person Behind the Role

Abstract

Managers occupy a particular position in organisations that make them morally responsible for their own actions as well as key influences on the moral mindset of the staff they supervise. Nevertheless, the concepts of “manager” and “management” remain elusive. Successive management theories have unveiled various organisational and moral implications of managerial responsibilities, and a role-based analysis of managers’ moral responsibilities has proved appealing to researchers, but comes with its own ethical traps. A sustainable ethic requires consistency of character, something a mere role-performer lacks. The moral point of view needs to examine the moral qualities of the self behind the roles, where the self pre-empts the role. In this chapter, we argue that managerial ethics should first and foremost celebrate people rather than organisational actors, selves rather than roles. Anchored in humanity and individuality, we offer a self-based approach to a more sustainable, fulfilling and authentic ethical practice in management. Managerial ethics thus calls for self-reflection and examination, with subtler but no less effective implications for organisational life, ethical business practice and genuine CSR.