Philosophy
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“love of wisdom” (philo - love), (sophos –
wisdom)
The most common definition of philosophy is
that it is an action people carry out when
they look to understand major truths about
themselves, the world in which they live, as
well as their relationships to the world and to
each other.
Business philosophy, on the other hand, is
the set of principles and beliefs that a
company is working toward to achieve
success.
It is being used as a guide for the business
to keep moving toward its ultimate goal.
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Socrates’ philosophies and implications on
business
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Confucius (551 BC–479 BC)
The Golden Rule by Confucius
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"Do not do to others what you do not want done
to yourself.”
Confucius' principles had a basis in common
Chinese tradition and belief. He championed strong
family loyalty, ancestor worship, respect of elders by
their children and of husbands by their wives. He also
recommended family as a basis for ideal
government.
Confucius’ philosophies and implications on
business
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When you find success, you have much more
to lose, and that in order to prevent future
failure, one must effectively evaluate worst
case scenario planning to ensure a
business is adequately prepared for any
“crisis”.
Every crisis poses a potential opportunity to
the Chinese, only if that danger is
managed properly.
The importance of “guanxi”
- “Guanxi” literally means “relationships”,
and interpersonal relationships in Chinese
business are extremely valuable, as Guanxi
has been stated to be their ‘second
currency’.
The Chinese business mentality is very much
one of “You scratch my back, I’ll scratch
yours”. What supports this ideology is the
concept of respect within a business context.
Respect between all with whom you
conduct business that should be something
we imitate from the Chinese business culture.
The Socratic Method is a way of thinking that
allows individuals to define their own
purpose for learning and explore this
purpose through open-minded questioning of
what they hold to be true.
Entrepreneurial learning is necessary for
creating a business venture which is built
around the constant questioning and testing of
these assumptions theories about what we
hold to be true for validity.
Human logic and reason
Socrates believed using our reasoning
abilities to make ethical decisions. The
path to developing reasoning abilities involves
asking questions, seeking out knowledge,
and challenging our assumptions.
Dare to disagree
Socrates insisted on our right to think for
ourselves. Too often, he warned, humans
sleepwalk through life, simply going along
with the crowd. This is dangerous in
questions of morality, particularly in
corporate governance.
Ask…
Does your organization encourage independent
thinkers and people who follow their conscience?
Does it allow people to give critical feedback to
managers?
Does it create opportunities for good people to blow
the whistle on bad behavior?
Plato (427-347 B.C.E.)
Plato: The Philosopher-King
“Good people do not need laws to tell them to act
responsibly, while bad people will find a way
around the laws.”
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Socrates (469-399 B.C.E.)
was a student of Socrates before forming
the Academy and a teacher of Aristotle. He
wrote in the middle of the fourth century
B.C.E. in ancient Greece.
Plato maintains a virtue-based eudemonistic
conception of ethics.
Happiness or well-being (eudaimonia) is
the highest aim of moral thought and
conduct, and the virtues (aretê:
‘excellence’) are the dispositions/skills
needed to attain it.
eudemonistic -A system of ethics that bases
moral value on the likelihood that good
actions will produce happiness.
The Gad-fly at the Marketplace by Socrates
“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
Socrates was a Greek philosopher who searches for
the foundations of his ‘learners’ and ‘associates’ views
by asking questions continuously until a conflict
or a contradiction is exposed, thus proving the
fallacy of the initial assumption.
Plato’s philosophies and implications on
business
Socratic Method
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refers to asking questions to find out how to
act by learning the essence of a thing
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The Theory of Forms
- represents Plato’s attempt to cultivate our
capacity for abstract thought.
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-The Theory of Forms differentiates the
abstract world of thought from the world of
the senses.
He strongly believed that decisions
shouldn’t be based on ‘how you feel’.
Aristotle (384-322 B.C.E.)
Aristotle: All or Nothing
“Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of
life, the whole aim and end of human existence.”
Aristotle was a student of Plato who, after leaving
the Academy at Plato’s death, founded his own
school, the Lyceum.
Virtue and Happiness
The word happiness in ethics is a translation of
the Greek term “eudaimonia” which connotes
success and fulfillment. For Aristotle, this
happiness is our highest goal.
Aristotle’s philosophies and implications on
business
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Moral Education
His ethics is not designed to make people
good, but rather to explain what is good,
why it is good, and how we might set about
building societies and institutions that might
inculcate this goodness.
Encourage and Nourish
He believed that the role of a leader was to
create an environment where other
individuals are encouraged to realize their
own potential.
others will tell us, then agreements
and even conversations with people
are not possible.
Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832)
“The said truth is the greatest happiness
of the greatest number, that is the measure
of right and wrong.”
 was an English philosopher and
political radical. He is primarily
known today for his moral
philosophy, especially his
utilitarianism, which evaluates
action based upon their
consequences.
John Stuart Mill (1806-1873)
“A person may cause evil to others not
only by his actions but by his inaction, and
in either case; he is justly accountable to
them for the injury.”
 profoundly influenced the shape of
19th century British thought and
political discourse.
Utilitarianism
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OTHER CLASSICAL PHILOSOPHIES AND THEIR
IMPLICATION IN BUSINESS
Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)
Immanuel Kant: Duty-based Ethics
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“Act only according to that maxim by which you
can at the same time will that it should become a
universal law.”
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is one of the most influential philosophers
in the history of Western philosophy.
He was a German philosopher who
advances the theory of deontology or
deontological ethics, the theory of duty and
obligation.
Kant’s philosophies and implications on business
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Deontology proposes that ethical behavior
is simply doing God’s will. Since most of us
believe that is good, then goodwill and loving
other human beings as God loves us is the
universal principle on which all moral behavior
must be based.
The Categorical Imperative
– Along with the concept of goodwill
goes a concept of duty to keep one’s
promises known as Kant’s categorical
imperative, an absolute and
universally binding moral law. Kant
believed in always telling the truth
because if we cannot believe what
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revolves around the concept of “the
end justifies the means”. It believes
that outcomes, as a result of an
action have a greater value
compared to the latter.
Utilitarianism is a philosophy or belief
suggesting that an action is morally
right when the majority of people
benefit from it. It is a moral theory
that advocates actions that promote
overall happiness or pleasure and
rejects actions that cause
unhappiness or harm.
This theory holds that the right
decision is the one that produces
the most pleasure or benefit for the
greatest number of people
In utilitarianism, the business principle
holds the morally right course of
action in any situation is the one
that produces the greatest balance
of benefits over harms for everyone
affected.
Thus, most utilitarians hold the
position that business choices must
be evaluated by calculating the net
benefits of each available
alternative action.
Belief Systems and their influence in Business
Belief Systems
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the unseen force underlying our actions
an ideology or set of principles that helps us
to interpret our everyday reality
could be in the form of religion, political
affiliation, philosophy, or spirituality,
among many other things
Your belief system is what causes you to
think and feel the way you do. Our choices,
indeed; are greatly affected by our beliefs.
Business means dealing with people of
different religions and ignoring or
misinterpreting religious ethical approaches
can cause serious problems.
How World Religions View Business Ethics
CHRISTIANITY
 The Christian religion follows the Hebrew
Bible by taking a positive view of physical
and human creation and by seeing God as
deeply concerned with the ethical behavior of
human creatures towards one another.
 The Old and the New Testaments serve as
the foundation of this religion.
Influence on Business practices
 For Islam, the source of rules is the Qur'an.
 Islamic teachings place great emphasis on
respect for ethical and moral codes in
human behavior. Islamic principles prevent
abusing people through putting
restrictions on misleading advertisements.
 Under Islamic law, if a seller sells an item by
making false statements, the buyer shall
have the right to cancel the transactions.
 Additionally, according to Hayes (1998), the
following principles are expected among
Muslim businessmen:
a. Contracts must be fair to both or all parties.
b. Speculation, such as gambling, is not
allowed.
c. Interest is prohibited.
d. When a business is in trouble compassion
is required. When anyone is in bankruptcy or
is suffering financial reversals, one should not
put pressure on them because when someone
is down, it is not the right thing to do.
Influence on Business practices
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In Christianity, human dignity and concern
for people are crucial.
This religion also emphasizes a sense of
justice in business such as strict adherence
to contracts, compliance with regulations,
and working for the benefit of the common
good.
Christians ought to focus on how business
impacts individuals, the workers in
particular.
A trading Christian does not try to win
another's products or services for less than
it is worth.
If a person buys from a poor seller, that
buyer must exercise charity and justice.
If friends and relatives are not interested in
what a Christian vendor sells, the latter
should not break off connection with them
when they decided to choose differently
Christians should be transparent and
honest with their dealings, products, and
services.
They should not push people to buy goods
or services because it does not reflect the
heart of the Father, but that of mammon’s.
JUDAISM
 Jews believe there is one God, who not only
created the world but whom every Jew
should have an intimate and interpersonal
relationship with.
Influence on Business practices
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Judaism, which for its written law relies on
the Torah, has greatly influenced marketing
and business ideology.
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Market honesty. – It is illegal for traders to
falsify the weight and measurement of the
goods or products.
Fair pricing. – There should be a good value
for money. You shall not cheat each other
when you sell something to your neighbor or
buy something from him or her.
Talmud (a comprehensive written version of
the oral laws of the Jews) cares much about
price control.
Business relations. – Employers are
obligated to pay workers on schedule. One
of the guiding principles for business ethics
highlighted in the Jewish tradition is the
legitimacy of business activity and profit,
conducted within a framework of religious and
ethical norms.
In Judaism, work, including manual in
nature, is held in great esteem like a sort of
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ISLAM
 Muslims believe in the Oneness of God—
that all things are created by God and that
He is all-powerful and all-knowing.
 They further believe that God has no
offspring, sex, class, or body, and He is
not affected by human life's
characteristics.
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human partnership with the divine.
BUDDHISM
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is founded on the teachings of Siddhartha
Gautama, who is called “Buddha” or “the
enlightened one”.
The basis of Buddhist practice was
meditation and the observance of moral
precepts.
The five fundamental moral precepts
practiced by members of the monastic orders
and the laity are: refraining from taking
property, behaving unchastely, speaking
wrongly, stealing, and drinking intoxicants.
Influence on Business practices
 Buddhists are guided by the following
principles:
a. The goals should be defined. The clearer
the goal is, the easier it is to be defined.:
b. The principle of cause and effect should
be followed.
c. Empathy and compassion for the
customers have to be developed.
d. Be flexible, innovative, and mindful of
impermanence.
e. Your team, yourself and the consumer
have to be respected. - The Buddhist ethics
is based on the non-violence principle. They
know everyone deserves to be happy and
does not want to struggle.
 Buddhists pursue the "right livelihood"
and are usually against businesses that do
not really care for the environment or harm
animals.
HINDUISM
 Hindus believe in one true, formless,
boundless, all-inclusive and eternal God
called Brahman.
 Hinduism is not an organized religion, and
its value system has no single, systematic
approach to teaching nor do Hindus have a
simple set of rules.
Influence on Business practices
 Hindus have a positive attitude towards
business and wealth creation, yet wealth is
not the ultimate goal. What is more
important are ethics (dharma), and
salvation (moksha).
 For business, prices and profits should be
fair. Tax system should give reasonable
rates, should be economical in its
implementation, and should not have
adverse impact on economic growth.
There must be high taxes on luxury goods.
 Workers should receive fair and just
wages, depending on their ability and
productivity.
CONFUCIANISM
 based entirely on kindness, mutual respect
and an appreciation for character virtues. It
is founded on the belief that society can
flourish only when people learn to interact
positively with each other.
Influence on Business practices
 According to Confucius, “A gentleman takes
as much trouble to discover what is right as
lesser men take to discover what will pay.”
 Confucius emphasizes that profit in
business is acceptable as long as it is
acquired with righteousness.
TAOISM
 regarded as the oldest of China's three
religion-philosophies(Confucianism and
Buddhism are the other two). Taoism has
both a philosophical and a religious
tradition in China.
Influence on Business practices
 Taoism coexists with Confucianism in
China. It seeks to promote the inner peace
of individuals and harmony with their
surroundings.
 “Tao” could be translated as “path” or the
“the way.” It’s like a force that flows through
life and pervades all things.
 In business, Taoism encourages companies
to nourish people, and the aim should not
be personal success or gain, but the
common good.
SHINTOISM
 has been a major part of Japanese life
and culture throughout the country's
history, but for the greater part of that
history
 Shinto has shared its spiritual, cultural,
and political roles with Buddhism and
Confucianism.
 It is a collection of native beliefs and
mythology, with its roots in worshipping
nature and natural objects ranging from
trees, lakes, mountains, flowers, and
rocks.
Influence on Business practices
 Shinto, which is inextricably tied to the origin
and development of Japan was derived
from the Chinese words Shin Tao (the
ways of gods).
 Started in 500 B.C., the religions focus on the
worship of the kami, a host of supernatural
and mysterious beings (natural deities) that
can be known through forms, such as
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objects of nature, or abstract creative
forces just as justice or remarkable people.
In business, Shinto emphasizes benefits for
the group which is like a family.