RT Article
T1 Lord Acton and Employment Doctrines: Absolute Power and the Spread of At-Will Employment
JF Journal of business ethics
VO 74
IS 2
SP 119
OP 130
A1 Bowman, James S.
A1 West, Jonathan P.
LA English
PB Springer Science + Business Media B. V
YR 2007
UL https://www.ixtheo.de/Record/1785628062
AB This study analyzes the at-will employment doctrine using a tool that encompasses the complementarity of results-based utilitarian ethics, rule-based duty ethics, and virtue-based character ethics. The paper begins with a discussion of the importance of the problem followed by its evolution and current status. After describing the method of analysis, the central section evaluates the employment at-will doctrine, and is informed by Lord Acton’s dictum, “power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” The conclusion explores the implications of the findings.
K1 Power
K1 Ethical Theory
K1 employment doctrines
K1 civil service reform
K1 At-will employment
DO 10.1007/s10551-006-9224-0