Just a Job?: Communication, Ethics, and Professional Life
George Cheney, Dan Lair, Dean Ritz, and Brenden Kendall
Abstract
This book offers a fresh perspective on ethics at work, questioning the notions that doing ethics at work has to be work, and that work is somehow a sphere where a different set of rules applies. When we separate ethics from life, we put it beyond our daily reach, treating it as something that is meaningful only at certain moments. This problem permeates our everyday talk about ethics at work, in popular culture, in our textbooks, and even in our ethics codes. This book uses insights from the fields of communications and rhetoric to show how in the very framing of ethics—even before we get to ... More
This book offers a fresh perspective on ethics at work, questioning the notions that doing ethics at work has to be work, and that work is somehow a sphere where a different set of rules applies. When we separate ethics from life, we put it beyond our daily reach, treating it as something that is meaningful only at certain moments. This problem permeates our everyday talk about ethics at work, in popular culture, in our textbooks, and even in our ethics codes. This book uses insights from the fields of communications and rhetoric to show how in the very framing of ethics—even before we get to specific decisions—we limit the potential roles of ethics in our work lives and in the pursuit of happiness. Sayings such as “It's just a job” and “Let the market decide” are two examples of demonstrating that our perspective on professional ethics is shaped and reinforced by everyday language. The standard “bad apples” approach to dealing with corporate and governmental wrongdoing is not surprising; few people are willing to consider how to cultivate “the good orchard.” The book argues that ethics is about more than behaviour regulation, spectacular scandals, and comprehensive codes. The authors offer a new take on virtue ethics, referencing Aristotle's practical ideal of eudaimonia, or flourishing, allowing us to tell new stories about the ordinary and to see the extraordinary aspects of professional integrity and success.
Keywords:
Aristotle,
Business ethics,
Framing,
Happiness,
Organizational communication,
Professional ethics,
Rhetoric,
Virtue ethics
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2009 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780195182774 |
| Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: February 2010 |
DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195182774.001.0001 |
