Hierarchies and Dignity: A Confucian Communitarian Approach

We discuss workers’ dignity in hierarchical organizations. First, we explain why a conflict exists between high-ranking individuals’ authority and low-ranking individuals’ dignity. Then, we ask whether there is any justification that reconciles hierarchical authority with the dignity of workers. We...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Kennedy, Jessica A. (Author) ; Kim, Tae Wan (Author) ; Strudler, Alan (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Cambridge Univ. Press 2016
In: Business ethics quarterly
Year: 2016, Volume: 26, Issue: 4, Pages: 479-502
Further subjects:B Communitarianism
B Dignity
B Hierarchy
B Authority
B Confucianism
Online Access: Presumably Free Access
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Summary:We discuss workers’ dignity in hierarchical organizations. First, we explain why a conflict exists between high-ranking individuals’ authority and low-ranking individuals’ dignity. Then, we ask whether there is any justification that reconciles hierarchical authority with the dignity of workers. We advance a communitarian justification for hierarchical authority, drawing upon Confucianism, which provides that workers can justifiably accept hierarchical authority when it enables a certain type of social functioning critical for the good life of workers and other involved parties. The Confucian communitarian perspective shows that promoting workers’ good life or well-being is an important condition for protecting their dignity.
ISSN:2153-3326
Contains:Enthalten in: Business ethics quarterly
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1017/beq.2016.17