Ethics and corporate culture: A critical relationship

This paper reflects on the possible relationship between organizational cultures and ethics. It begins by pointing out that viewing companies as cultures legitimates the creation of values and shared meanings as part of business practice. But it also points out that there is a risk involved: management by values can be a new form of manipulation and control. The author suggests that this danger can be averted and proposes that creation of corporate cultures be examined in the light of Aristotelian thought. However, he stress that this return to Aristotelian tradition cannot ignore corporate social responsibility or the need to imbue corporate cultures with a post-conventional perspective.