Why business cannot be a practice

Beadle, Ron (2008) Why business cannot be a practice. Analyse and Kritik, 30 (1). pp. 229-241. ISSN 0171-5860

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Abstract

In a series of papers Geoff Moore has applied Alasdair MacIntyre’s much cited work to generate a virtue-based business ethics. Central to this pro ject is Moore’s argument that business falls under MacIntyre’s concept of ‘practice’. This move attempts to overcome MacIntyre’s reputation for being ‘anti-business’ while maintaining his framework for evaluating social action and replaces MacIntyre’s hostility to management with a conception of managers as institutional practitioners (craftsmen). I argue however that this move has not been justified. Given the importance MacIntyre places on the protection of practices, the result is that much of Moore’s contribution is misplaced. Business cannot name a practice but business institutions certainly do house practices. The task then is to try to understand the circumstances under which practices might flourish and those under which they might founder in a business context. This is not aided by Moore’s redescription of all businesses as practices.

Item Type: Article
Subjects: N100 Business studies
N200 Management studies
Department: Faculties > Business and Law > Newcastle Business School
Related URLs:
Depositing User: EPrint Services
Date Deposited: 22 Jan 2010 14:20
Last Modified: 17 Dec 2023 15:50
URI: https://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/2809

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