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Workplace Civility: A Confucian Approach

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 January 2015

Tae Wan Kim and
Alan Strudler
Tae Wan Kim
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania
Alan Strudler
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania
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Abstract:

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We argue that Confucianism makes a fundamental contribution to understanding why civility is necessary for a morally decent workplace. We begin by reviewing some limits that traditional moral theories face in analyzing issues of civility. We then seek to establish a Confucian alternative. We develop the Confucian idea that even in business, humans may be sacred when they observe rituals culturally determined to express particular ceremonial significance. We conclude that managers and workers should understand that there is a broad range of morally important rituals in organizational life and that managers should preserve and develop the intelligibility and integrity of many of these rituals.

Keywords

civilityConfucianismsacredritualmanagement ethics

Information

Type
Articles
Information
Business Ethics Quarterly , Volume 22 , Issue 3 , July 2012, pp. 557 - 577
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Business Ethics 2012

References

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