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The Ontological and Moral Status of Organizations

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  • McMahon, Christopher

Abstract

The paper has two parts. The first considers the debate about whether social entities should be regarded as objects distinct from their members and concludes that we should let the answer to this question be determined by the theories that social science finds to have the most explanatory power. The second part argues that even if the theory with the most explanatory power regards social entities such as organizations as persons in their own right, we should not accord them citizenship in the moral realm. Rather we should accept moral individualism, the thesis that only individual humans can have rights and duties. The moral status of corporations and other organizations is often thought to depend on their ontological status. In particular, it is thought to depend on whether they can be said to exist as distinct entities, and especially as persons distinct from the individuals who are their members. In this article I argue that the two questions are actually independent of each other. No matter what the ontological status of organizations, they should not be accorded citizenship in the moral realm in their own right.

Suggested Citation

  • McMahon, Christopher, 1995. "The Ontological and Moral Status of Organizations," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 5(3), pages 541-554, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:buetqu:v:5:y:1995:i:03:p:541-554_01
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    Cited by:

    1. Tina Sendlhofer, 2020. "Decoupling from Moral Responsibility for CSR: Employees' Visionary Procrastination at a SME," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 167(2), pages 361-378, November.
    2. Mihaela Constantinescu & Muel Kaptein, 2015. "Mutually Enhancing Responsibility: A Theoretical Exploration of the Interaction Mechanisms Between Individual and Corporate Moral Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 129(2), pages 325-339, June.
    3. Vikram R. Bhargava, 2020. "Firm Responses to Mass Outrage: Technology, Blame, and Employment," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 163(3), pages 379-400, May.
    4. Miguel Alzola, 2023. "Conceptions of the Firm and Corporate Allegiances," Humanistic Management Journal, Springer, vol. 8(2), pages 201-216, August.
    5. John Hasnas, 2012. "Reflections on Corporate Moral Responsibility and the Problem Solving Technique of Alexander the Great," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 107(2), pages 183-195, May.
    6. Miguel Aizola, 2005. "Responsabilidad Moral Colectiva. El estatus ontológico de las organizaciones y los límites de la comunidad moral," Revista de Economía y Estadística, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas, Instituto de Economía y Finanzas, vol. 43(1), pages 7-54, Junio.

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