Business without conscience

Book chapter

Boddy, Clive, Sheehy, Benedict and Murphy, Brendon. (2022). Business without conscience. In Business With a Conscience: A Research Companion pp. 42-53 Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003139461-5
AuthorsBoddy, Clive, Sheehy, Benedict and Murphy, Brendon
Abstract

This chapter argues that, for a person to be “without conscience,” they would be to exist in a purely “economically rational” state, devoid of empathy, emotion and purely focused on self-interest. Such a person would be “homo economicus,” the perfectly logical decision-maker used by neo-classical economists in their modeling of human economic behavior. This is someone whose only aim in life is to maximize profit, gain, and self-satisfaction. An organization with similar aims would operate on the same terms and would similarly be without a conscience. This chapter argues that business without conscience would lead to organizational destruction and/or environmental catastrophe and is consequently unsustainable. The screening of people without conscience—referred to in psychology as psychopaths—away from organizational leadership positions is therefore recommended and could be achieved via the appointment of caring, empathetic individuals to leadership.

KeywordsCommunication Studies; Economics; Finance; Business and Industry; Politics and International Relations
Page range42-53
Year01 Jan 2022
Book titleBusiness With a Conscience: A Research Companion
PublisherRoutledge
Place of publicationUnited States
ISBN978-1-003-13946-1
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003139461-5
Web address (URL)https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003139461-5/business-without-conscience-clive-boddy-benedict-sheehy-brendon-murphy
Open accessPublished as non-open access
Research or scholarlyResearch
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All rights reserved
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Controlled
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online08 Dec 2021
Publication process dates
Deposited25 Jan 2024
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© Routledge, 2022.

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