Organizational Ethics and Moral Integrity in Secular Societies: The Ethics of Bureaucracies (Philosophical Studies in Contemporary Culture, 29)

This book explores an undeveloped area in postmodern thought: organizational ethics. Ethical debates and analyses usually focus on a particular act or action, an actor, and/or how a secular society should address any of those particular persons or events. In the Post Modern age, ethical decisions and policies are characterized by moral and cultural pluralism. However, there is a second factor that complicates ethical and policy decisions even further. This book argues that in the postmodern age ethical decisions often need to be understood as part of the decision making of organizations and bureaucracies. Organizational decisions often have direct bearing on the choices made by individuals. Two areas that exemplify postmodern issue are the areas of health care and education. For example the decision making of Admissions Officers in American higher education, are influenced by decisions that have been made by the university about the size of the class and the diversity of the class. Health Care organizations make policy decisions that affect every aspect of a patient's care from admission to treatment and the types of care that are or are not offered. Both education and health care are the object of the significant investment of resources, both areas are value laden in postmodern, pluralistic societies, and yet we do not have a comprehensive method to understand them or evaluate them. This book is of interest to bioethicists, physicians, nurses, health care policy students, educational policy experts, students and government regulators. Foreword Preface Acknowledgments Contents About the Author Abbreviations Chapter 1: Introduction: Expanding the Horizon of Post-modern Ethics: Ethical Questions in Education and Health Care Part I: The Ethical Terrain for Organizations in the Post-modern World Chapter 2: Organizations and Moral Failure 2.1 Examples of Organizations and Moral Failure 2.2 Organizations and Morality in Contemporary Secular Society 2.2.1 Civil Society 2.3 From the Personal to Organizations and the Bureaucratic 2.3.1 A Theory of Bureaucratic Organizations 2.3.1.1 Mission 2.3.1.2 Moral Responsibility 2.3.1.3 Trust 2.3.1.4 Dealing with Vulnerable Populations 2.3.1.5 Structures for Ethics: Accountability 2.4 Health Care and Education as Moral Concepts for Organizations 2.5 Organizations and Vulnerable Populations 2.6 Organizations and Social Sins 2.7 Conclusions Chapter 3: Ethics in Postmodern Secular Societies: The Context for Ethics and Organizations 3.1 Morality and Ethics: A Distinction for Clarity in Analysis and Argument 3.2 Understanding a “Secular” Society: The Context for Moral Pluralism 3.3 Ethical Appeals in a Multicultural Secular Society 3.3.1 Secularization and Moral Pluralism 3.3.2 Philosophical Appeals 3.3.2.1 Consequentialism and Utilitarianism 3.3.2.2 Deontological Approaches 3.3.2.3 Contract Theory 3.3.2.4 Virtue Theory 3.3.2.5 Casuistry 3.3.2.6 Summary Observations 3.4 Ethical Challenges for Organizations in Education and Health Care in Postmodern Society 3.5 Structural Biases in Organizations and Society 3.6 Summary and Conclusions Chapter 4: Organizations in Postmodern Society 4.1 From the Personal to Organizations and the Bureaucratic 4.1.1 A Theoretical Understanding of Bureaucratic Organizations 4.1.2 Moral Responsibility 4.1.3 Trust 4.1.4 Consent and Integrity 4.2 Role Clarification: Moral Responsibility in Organizations 4.3 Moral Responsibility and Role Clarification in Organizations 4.4 Consent and Integrity for Organizations 4.5 The Ethical Importance of Information 4.6 Organizational “Sin” 4.7 Conclusions Chapter 5: Recasting Moral Language for Organizations in Secular Societies 5.1 Organizations and Moral Pluralism in Secular Societies 5.2 Recasting the Language of Consent and Responsibility 5.3 Recasting the Concepts of Consent and Integrity for Organizations 5.4 Responsibility and Role Clarification 5.5 The Ethical Importance of Information 5.6 Conclusions Part II: Internal Structures and Strategies for Organizational Integrity Chapter 6: Organizational Integrity: Founded in Organizational Identity 6.1 The Moral Nature of HCOs and Educational Organizations 6.2 Integrity: Identity, Vision, and Mission 6.3 Integrity and Compromise 6.4 Organizational Conscience 6.5 Tools for Organizational Identity 6.6 Conclusions Chapter 7: Building Organizations of Integrity: Tools for Living Organizational Identity 7.1 Grounded in Mission and Identity 7.2 Internal Structure for Organizational Identity 7.2.1 Trustees and Directors: Mission, Policy, and Evaluation 7.2.2 Executive Responsibility and Bureaucracy 7.2.3 Mission Officer 7.2.4 Building a Culture: Personnel Orientation, On-going Education, and Evaluation 7.2.5 Planning: Budgets and Resources 7.2.6 A Culture of Evaluation 7.2.7 Compliance and Audits 7.2.8 Conscience, Conflict of Interest and Whistleblower Protection 7.2.8.1 Conflicts of Interest 7.2.8.2 Whistleblower Protection 7.2.9 Evaluation 7.2.10 Mission Driven Innovation 7.3 Organizations at Work in Society: Accountability, Accreditation, and Certification 7.3.1 Regional Accreditation 7.3.2 Health Care 7.4 Organizations at Work in Society: Cooperation with Other Organizations 7.4.1 Historical Origins of the Distinction 7.4.2 The Different Kinds of Cooperation 7.4.2.1 Formal and Material Cooperation 7.4.2.2 Assessing the Permissibility of Different Kinds of Cooperation 7.4.2.3 Scandal Observation 7.4.3 Application to Contemporary Corporate Partnerships 7.4.3.1 Contractual Arrangements of Organizations 7.4.3.2 Summary: Five Basic Principles for Understanding Cooperation 7.5 Conclusions Part III: Working with Others: Organizations in a Post-modern Secular Society Chapter 8: Truth in Advertising: Organizational Identity, Accountability, and Accreditation 8.1 Civil Society 8.2 Organizational Identity 8.3 Organizational Identity: Accountability, Accreditation, Certification, Regional Accreditation 8.3.1 Specialized Accountability and Certification 8.3.2 Health Care 8.4 Conclusion Chapter 9: Living With Limits: Justice, Organizations, and Post-modern Societies 9.1 Organizational Mission and Limits for an Organization 9.2 Social Sin and the Language of Justice 9.3 Organizational Keys to Stewardship: Mission and Social Justice 9.4 Justice Within an Organization 9.5 Social Justice and the Language of Justice in a Postmodern Society 9.5.1 Social Justice and Society 9.5.2 The Common Good 9.5.3 Public Ethics and Social Justice 9.5.4 The Common Good: Imago Dei 9.5.5 Implications for Organizations and Justice in Postmodern Societies 9.6 Conclusions Chapter 10: Compromise, Cooperation, and Toleration: Maintaining Organizational Identity in a Pluralistic Society in an Age of Innovation 10.1 Organizational Identity and Integrity 10.2 Organizational Speech: Policies and the Allocation of Resources 10.3 Cooperation with Other Organizations 10.4 Integrity and Compromise 10.5 Innovation and Mission 10.6 Conclusions Chapter 11: Living with Limits: Organizations, Justice, and Injustice in Postmodern Societies 11.1 Finitude: Living with Limits 11.2 Justice and the Language of Procedures 11.3 Social Justice 11.4 Organizations, Social Prejudice, and Organizational Sin 11.5 Organizations and Social Sin 11.6 Conclusions Part IV: Changing Societies and Changing Organizations Chapter 12: Organizations and the Changing Needs of Society 12.1 The Dialectic Between Organizations and Societies: What Do Societies Expect from Organizations in Health Care and Education? 12.2 Social Sins and Social Organizations 12.3 The Evolution of Organizations: The Innovation Imperative 12.4 Changing Societies and Changing Needs: Alternative Credentials and the Conclusion of a Mission 12.5 Conclusions Chapter 13: Trust in Organizations and Trust in Society 13.1 The Changing Needs of Society and the Evolution of an Organization’s Mission 13.2 Evolution and Innovation of Social Organizations in Changing Societies 13.3 Organizational Identity and the Changing Needs of a Society 13.4 Mission and Identity: The Keys to Organizational Integrity 13.5 Conclusions Chapter 14: Conclusion: True North: Organizational Mission and the Changing Needs of Society 14.1 Mission and Identity: The True North for Organizational Integrity 14.2 Mission and Identity: The Rudder for Innovation and the Evolution of Organizations in Changing Societies 14.3 True North: Organizational Identity and Mission and the Changing Needs of a Society Correction to: Organizational Ethics and Moral Integrity in Secular Societies Correction to: K. W. Wildes, S.J., Organizational Ethics and Moral Integrity in Secular Societies, Philosophical Studies in Contemporary Culture 29, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-39097-5 Introduction to Resources for This Book Index