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551 BCE
Confucius
Is called " Kung Fu Tzu or Master Kung". He have not only endured more than 2 and a half Millenia but have influenced Chinese culture to such a degree that the main part of the National character. Confucianism - the practice of virtue constitutes the essence of governance. Confucian virtue emphasizes relationships. Anticipated result being harmony. Confucius saw the locus in the family, which provide the basic pattern of relationships for personal & professional life. -
Period: 551 BCE to 479 BCE
Confucianism by Confucius
I believe that this practice of virtue is good in business and can lead to the success in the business industry because values we learned rooted from our parents and family around us. And we Filipinos was also influenced by this, it is more likely as "Family Orientation in our practice & with this conduct business are most successful like Jollibee which is owned & managed by one family. -
469 BCE
Socrates
An Athenian philosopher. He quoted that " He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have". One of the greatest paradoxes that helped his student explore was whether weakness of will - doing wrong when you genuinely knew what is right - truly existed. For him the development of personal ethics is mastering what he called "the art of measurement" correcting the distortions that skew one's analysis of benefit and cost. -
Period: 469 BCE to 399 BCE
The Art of Measurement by Socrates
This is very helpful in every aspect in business. One scenario could be that rules & regulation inside a company is being oriented upon hired. An employee is planning to absent in a certain day. His uncertain whether to get permission to or not. His hesitation is due to that his superior may not allow him. But doing so he'll be suspended, in the other hand getting permission may allow him to file for a leave. He should know how to weigh what will be the best for him knowing the consequences. -
428 BCE
Plato
Most important philosopher in Western civilization. He believes that "it is only by being virtuous that one can hope to be happy". Emphasizes "good actions give strength to ourselves & inspire good actions in others". His concept of good life is to act rightly and live a good life. Plato's main concerned is " to challenge the views most people have about goodness. -
Period: 428 BCE to 348 BCE
"It is only by being Virtuous that one can hope to be Happy" by Plato
What is your concept of good life depends on you. Are you willing to sacrifice to compromise your value on an honest way of providing support to your family by accepting bribes? In business I think its good if you value your values. But in the other hand if you are accepting things like "under the table" then it contradict to the rule of 1st come 1st serve in business services. -
384 BCE
Aristotle
In Arabic philosophy, he was known simply as the "The First Teacher," in the West he was "The Philosopher." The ethics he was concerned is with action, not as being right in itself irrespective of any other consideration, but with actions conducive to man's good. Aristotle's "The Golden Mean Principle" states that to be happy, live a life in moderation. In everything we do we must avoid extremes. -
Period: 384 BCE to 322 BCE
Golden Rule Principle by Aristotle
This Golden Rule Principle of Aristotle is very useful in business. Example too much expense in business will cause profit loss. So it should be in moderation to have balance like debit and credit in business. If one exceeds or less than the other side there is no balance it will always outweighs the other. -
Immanuel Khant
The sage of Königsberg in Prussia (now Kaliningrad in Russia), Kant taught philosophy at the University of Königsberg for several years. The most well-known element of Kant’s ethics is his explanation of the categorical imperative, laid out in his Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Ethics, 1785. This intimidating phrase is just a fancy way of saying that some actions must always be taken and certain standards always upheld, such as truth-telling. -
Period: to
Deontology by Immanuel Khant
From the Greek deon—duty, obligation/command. The radical opposite of Utilitarianism. According to Khant; 1.We must act on the basis of goodwill rather than purely of self interest, motives that benefits ourselves at the expense of others. 2.We must never treat others as a means towards an ends benefitting ourselves w/o consideration of them also as ends in themselves. Ex. in business; Employer is offering something good to employees but with a hidden agenda that will be of more benefit to them. -
Jeremy Bentham
An attorney, became what we would today call a consultant to the British Parliament in the late-18th century. He was given the task of devising a method by which members could evaluate the worth of proposed legislation. He took a Latin term util/utility, usefulness or happiness and calculated the number of utils in proposed bills. Essentially this quantified the scoring of upcoming legislation those pieces with the greatest number of utils were given a higher ranking than those with the least. -
Period: to
Consequentialist Theory by Jeremy Bentham
Things feel more like ethical when you decide something for the good of the greater number. In business especially today this Utilitarianism is always practice by most of the companies. Example during Covid19 pandemic our company decided to continue its production & decided to inhouse the employees & give allowances for those who will be staying in. The management's thinking was for the benefit of everybody though not all have decided to continue to working, but many benefited from it.