Can Individual Virtue Survive Corporate Pressure Essay - 1

Can Individual Virtue Survive Corporate Pressure - Essay Example When corporate executives cite ‘market forces’ as ‘compelling external circumstances’ that hinder sovereignty in their decision making, they are merely exposing their lack of leadership skills. Moreover, as Solomon points, workers in corporations â€Å"tend to behave in conformity with the people and expectations that surround them, even when what they are told to do violates their ‘personal morality’.† (Newton, et. al., 2011, p.63) In many ways, what are considered as meritorious within the confines of a corporation is usually seen as vices outside this realm. For example, qualities such as the tendency to blindly obey authority, act in unison with the crown and refusing to take personal responsibility for broader consequences have no value outside the corporate framework. Solomon then goes on to cite eminent philosophers from the past, including Immanuel Kant, John Stuart Mill and David Hume in emphasizing the importance of individual c haracter and virtue. He even refers to ancient philosophers such as Aristotle and Confucius to underscore his point. Although these philosophers lived before the industrial era, their ideas hold good across contexts, for they do address the merits of holding firm in the face of ‘external’ compulsions and authorities. In the modern context, the dominant institution for authority and conformity is the business corporation. But the preoccupation of these philosophers is not only whether individual virtue ‘can’ survive.