In the world of
business, only one thing matters, results. If you can produce profit enhancing
results then you’re golden. However, if you can’t; you’re likely to get fired
faster than Usain Bolt’s 100. Results is to business as rationality is to
philosophy. In the same way that all of the philosophers that we have studied
see rationality as a necessary step towards reaching the goal of human existence(whether
that goal is happiness, pleasure, etc.), quantifiable, positive results is the
means by which companies achieve their goal i.e. profit. Profit is the intrinsic
good of business. All the other functions of business, whether marketing,
accounting, finance, or human resources, are all preformed directly or
indirectly to create profit.
Immanuel Kant was a brilliant enlightenment philosopher, but
he would have made a terrible present day CEO. Kant postulates that what is
important is “the good will” in other words the good behind people’s actions is
the actions in themselves. He argues that the goodness of actions are not
measured by their consequences. If a board of directors heard this, they would
not only fire Kant on spot they would make sure whoever hired him in the first
place was terminated. In class, Dr. Johnson gave us the following example to
help us understand “the good will” philosophy. One morning you wake up and
decide that you want to benefit your community by feeding the poor. So you go
to a doughnut shop and order a few dozen doughnuts and take them to the
shelter, but after feeding all of the homeless, you find out that the guy who
sold you the doughnuts was a psychopath who poisoned them. Now you have accidentally
participated in manslaughter. Kant would forgive you because it isn’t about the
consequence of the action but the goodness of will. Your business manager would fire you on the
spot for not going though proper protocol, preparing a SWOT analysis, assessing
the possible risks of using the doughnut provider, having the various homeless
people sign liability release waivers, etc…. Business is a cruel cruel world.
Sam,
ReplyDeleteI think you've brought up a very interesting contrast to Kant's philosophy with your discussion on the business model. I'm not sure if Kant was saying that we should never worry about the consequences. Though since he states that consequences don't define if a will is good or not, I agree with you that it would not pass as a business world. Kant and a CEO would surely have a difference of opinion of this matter. In business you have to worry about the results and make decisions based on the predictions of what those results will be alone. It doesn't matter how good the will is if it affects the company in a negative way. Kant would still be correct in that it wouldn't mean the will was bad. But would that really matter if it was a decision that cost the company millions of dollars? In the real world, as nice as it may seem, people can't always act on a good will without thinking it through first.
I love this post. I'm obsessed with it. I found it to be witty and clever. I loved how the principles of Kant were applied to Business. It puts his views in context of today's atmosphere. Whether or not you could actually live by it. As a business major it was just so applicable to me and it was easy to digest and understand. This was great.
ReplyDeleteI love this post. I'm obsessed with it. I found it to be witty and clever. I loved how the principles of Kant were applied to Business. It puts his views in context of today's atmosphere. Whether or not you could actually live by it. As a business major it was just so applicable to me and it was easy to digest and understand. This was great.
ReplyDeleteSam,
ReplyDeleteYou brought some great incite that relates to his philosophy and your life and career. I think this is a great post that outlines your understanding of the material and concepts. I feel like sometimes the business world and philosophy and ethics can never line up. Sometimes business men and women have to sacrifice ethics in order to gain results.
I think you raise a very good point, Sam. While Kant may be a terrible businessman, it might say more about how our businesses are run than about Kant's philosophy. Maybe sometimes businessmen are just too ruthless. On the other hand, it's also necessary for them to be that way, since a poor decision on their part can lead to a complete failure of the company, which would lead to obvious profit loss and unemployment of coworkers.
ReplyDeleteI think you raise a very good point, Sam. While Kant may be a terrible businessman, it might say more about how our businesses are run than about Kant's philosophy. Maybe sometimes businessmen are just too ruthless. On the other hand, it's also necessary for them to be that way, since a poor decision on their part can lead to a complete failure of the company, which would lead to obvious profit loss and unemployment of coworkers.
ReplyDeleteYour points are valid, particularly for any large profit-driven entity. However, it is possible to run a business based the good will. In fact, these days we are seeing more and more small businesses start up with the concept of helping others. Many of them are non-profits founded upon the idea of being self-sustaining rather than generating huge margins. Of course, it would be possible for the actions of any of these companies to result in disastrous consequences. For example, there may have been humanitarian organizations that distributed some of the tainted formula involved in the infant formula scandal in China in 2008. But again, the companies responsible were profit-driven to the point of carelessness and greed. Non-profits are generally not as likely to take large risks for monetary or personal gains, as they often do not have the funding to put on the line.
ReplyDelete