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Practices, Governance, and Politics: Applying MacIntyre’s Ethics to Business

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  • Sinnicks, Matthew

Abstract

This paper argues that attempts to apply Alasdair MacIntyre’s positive moral theory to business ethics are problematic, due to the cognitive closure of MacIntyre’s concept of a practice. I begin by outlining the notion of a practice, before turning to Moore’s attempt to provide a MacIntyrean account of corporate governance. I argue that Moore’s attempt is mismatched with MacIntyre’s account of moral education. Because the notion of practices resists general application I go on to argue that a negative application, which focuses on regulation, is more plausible. Large-scale regulation, usually thought antithetical to MacIntyre’s advocacy of small-scale politics, has the potential to facilitate practice-based work and reveals that MacIntyre’s own work can be used against his pessimism about the modern order. Furthermore, the conception of regulation I defend can show us how management is more amenable to ethical understanding than MacIntyre’s work is often taken to imply.

Suggested Citation

  • Sinnicks, Matthew, 2014. "Practices, Governance, and Politics: Applying MacIntyre’s Ethics to Business," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 24(2), pages 229-249, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:buetqu:v:24:y:2014:i:02:p:229-249_00
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Paul Oslington, 2023. "Alasdair MacIntyre and Adam Smith on markets, virtues and ends in a capitalist economy," Business Ethics, the Environment & Responsibility, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(4), pages 1126-1138, October.
    2. Nicholas Burton & Matthew Sinnicks, 2022. "Quaker Business Ethics as MacIntyrean Tradition," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 176(3), pages 507-518, March.
    3. Matthew Sinnicks, 2022. "On the Analogy Between Business and Sport: Towards an Aristotelian Response to The Market Failures Approach to Business Ethics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 177(1), pages 49-61, April.
    4. Helen Nicholson & Ron Beadle & Richard Slack, 2020. "Corporate Philanthropy as a Context for Moral Agency, a MacIntyrean Enquiry," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 167(3), pages 589-603, December.
    5. Robert Couch & Caleb Bernacchio, 2020. "The Virtues of Equality and Dissensus: MacIntyre in a Dialogue with Rancière and Mouffe," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 164(4), pages 633-642, July.
    6. Hart, Peter, 2017. "The reality of relationships with young people in caring professions: A qualitative approach to professional boundaries rooted in virtue ethics," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 248-254.
    7. Matthew Sinnicks, 2019. "Moral Education at Work: On the Scope of MacIntyre’s Concept of a Practice," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 159(1), pages 105-118, September.
    8. Sunny Jeong & Matthew Sinnicks & Nicholas Burton & Mai Chi Vu, 2024. "“Be Not Conformed to this World”: MacIntyre’s Critique of Modernity and Amish Business Ethics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 195(4), pages 729-761, December.
    9. Anthony Asher & Tracy Wilcox, 2022. "Virtue and Risk Culture in Finance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 179(1), pages 223-236, August.
    10. Ali E. Akgün & Halit Keskin & Selahaddin Samil Fidan, 2022. "The influence of Alasdair MacIntyre’s “After Virtue” book on business ethics studies: A citation concept analysis," Business Ethics, the Environment & Responsibility, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(2), pages 453-473, April.
    11. Daniela Pianezzi & Hanne Nørreklit & Lino Cinquini, 2020. "Academia After Virtue? An Inquiry into the Moral Character(s) of Academics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 167(3), pages 571-588, December.
    12. Matthew Sinnicks, 2021. "“We Ought to Eat in Order to Work, Not Vice Versa”: MacIntyre, Practices, and the Best Work for Humankind," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 174(2), pages 263-274, November.
    13. Mark R. Ryan, 2021. "Business Ethics as a Form of Practical Reasoning: What Philosophers Can Learn from Patagonia," Humanistic Management Journal, Springer, vol. 6(1), pages 103-116, April.
    14. Jelle van Baardewijk, 2024. "Ethics of mortgage advisers in the Netherlands: Professional attitudes and moral dilemmas," Business Ethics, the Environment & Responsibility, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(1), pages 65-79, January.
    15. David Dawson, 2018. "Measuring Individuals’ Virtues in Business," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 147(4), pages 793-805, February.
    16. Matthew Sinnicks, 2018. "Leadership After Virtue: MacIntyre’s Critique of Management Reconsidered," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 147(4), pages 735-746, February.
    17. Caleb Bernacchio, 2021. "Virtue Beyond Contract: A MacIntyrean Approach to Employee Rights," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 171(2), pages 227-240, June.

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