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Leadership After Virtue: MacIntyre’s Critique of Management Reconsidered

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  • Matthew Sinnicks

    (Northumbria University)

Abstract

MacIntyre argues that management embodies emotivism, and thus is inherently amoral and manipulative. His claim that management is necessarily Weberian is, at best, outdated, and the notion that management aims to be neutral and value free is incorrect. However, new forms of management, and in particular the increased emphasis on leadership which emerged after MacIntyre’s critique was published, tend to support his central charge. Indeed, charismatic and transformational forms of leadership seem to embody emotivism to a greater degree than do more Weberian, bureaucratic forms of management; hence, MacIntyre’s central contention about our emotivistic culture seems to be well founded. Having criticised the details but defended the essence of MacIntyre’s critique of management, this paper sketches a MacIntyrean approach to management and leadership by highlighting the affinities between MacIntyre’s political philosophy and Greenleaf’s concept of servant leadership.

Suggested Citation

  • Matthew Sinnicks, 2018. "Leadership After Virtue: MacIntyre’s Critique of Management Reconsidered," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 147(4), pages 735-746, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:147:y:2018:i:4:d:10.1007_s10551-016-3381-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-016-3381-6
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Afif G. Nassif & Rick D. Hackett & Gordon Wang, 2021. "Ethical, Virtuous, and Charismatic Leadership: An Examination of Differential Relationships with Follower and Leader Outcomes," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 172(3), pages 581-603, September.
    2. Mai Chi Vu & Nicholas Burton, 2022. "The Influence of Spiritual Traditions on the Interplay of Subjective and Normative Interpretations of Meaningful Work," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 180(2), pages 543-566, October.
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    4. Nicholas Burton & Matthew Sinnicks, 2022. "Quaker Business Ethics as MacIntyrean Tradition," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 176(3), pages 507-518, March.
    5. Korzynski, Pawel & Kozminski, Andrzej Krzysztof & Baczynska, Anna & Haenlein, Michael, 2021. "Bounded leadership: An empirical study of leadership competencies, constraints, and effectiveness," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 226-235.
    6. Konstantinos Kakavelakis & Timothy James Edwards, 2022. "The Impact of Structure and Corporate Ideology on Leader–Follower Relations in the Bureaucratic Organization: A Reflection on Moral Mazes," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 181(1), pages 69-82, November.
    7. Matthew Sinnicks, 2021. "“We Ought to Eat in Order to Work, Not Vice Versa”: MacIntyre, Practices, and the Best Work for Humankind," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 174(2), pages 263-274, November.

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