Answer this following discussion post. 150-200 words.
Kant is best known for defending a version of the "respect for persons' principle which implies that nay business practice that puts money on a par with people is immoral. Norman Bowie focuses on five key aspects of Kant's moral philosophy on business ethics. "I focus on five key aspects of Kant's moral philosophy. I begin by showing some of the implications of Kant's three formulations of the fundamental principles of ethics. I then show why Kant's emphasis on the purity of our intentions is acting morally has created problems for a Kantain theory of business ethics" (pg 3). Kant argued that the highest good was the good will. To act from a good will is to act from duty. Bowie explains how sometimes we do something so than we may get something else. We go to work to earn money or study to earn good grades, if you want good grades you need to study. Kant's ethics is an ethics of duty rather than an ethics of consequences.
The first of three formulation of the categorical imperative Bowie outlines is the The Self-Defeating Nature of Immoral Actions. "Act only on that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law" (pg 4). Bowie admits this phrasing is awkward but Kant believed that every action has a maxim, he is providing a test to see if any proposed action, including actions in business, is moral. Would a world where everyone acted on that principle be possible?
The second formulation of categorical imperative Bowie outlines is Treating Stakeholders as Persons. Since human beings have free will and thus are able to act from laws required by reason, Kant believed they have dignity or a value beyond price. He is saying how one human cannot just use another human to satisfy his own needs. "Always treat the humanity in a person as an end and never as a means merely" (pg 7). In the following pages Bowie explains numerous business scenarios on the ethical way to the right relationships with your manager, employees, coworkers and clients.
The final formulation of the categorical imperative is The Business Firm as a Moral Community. This roughly says "you should act as if you were a member of an ideal kingdom of ends in which you were both subject and sovereign at the same time" (pg 10). Bowie believes a Kantain approach of a business with ratify the following principles:
1. The business firm should consider the interests of all the affected stakeholders in any decision it makes.
2. The firm should have those affected by the firm's rules and policies participate in the determination of those rules and policies before they are implemented.
3. It should not be the case that, for all decisions, the interests of one stakeholder automatically take priority.
4. When a situation arises where it appears that the interest of one set of stakeholders must be subordinated to the interests of another set of stakeholders, that decision should not be made solely on the grounds that there is a greater number of stakeholders in one group than in another.
5. No business rule or practice can be adopted which is inconsistent with the first two formulations of the categorical imperative.
6. Every profit-making firm has a limited, but genuine, duty of beneficence
7. Every business firm must establish procedures designed to ensure that relations among stakeholders are governed by rules of justice.