module 4 - classical philosophies and their implications in business practi

1. Introduction
Fig.1: Philosophy in Business
“Doing the right thing daily compounds over time.” - Robert Noyce
Suppose you belong to an influential political family in your town, and you are already
being groomed to become a politician someday. Your father would usually bring you along in his
meetings and out-of-town trips to expose you to the world of politics. He also lets you handle
responsibilities in his office to train you in government work. Because of this, you have been
missing your classes in school and thus, are at risk of failing in most of your subjects.
Mrs. Castillo, your physical teacher, has a daughter who has been confined in the local
hospital because of a major sickness. She talked to you and asked you to help her ask for financial
assistance from your father who is the current congressman in your district. If the total bill will be
covered by the financial assistance, not only will you be relieved from your absences (which
already merit a failing grade), but you will also receive the highest mark. You will know that you
can easily persuade your father into agreeing to the “deal” as he really has budget allocation for
granting financial assistance to those in need. But somehow, you fill that something wrong in the
situation.
What would you do in such a situation? How would you know the right thing to do? Where
would you base your decision upon?
Name :
Module No. : 4
Subject : Business Ethics and Social Responsibility
Module Title : Classical Philosophies and their implications in business practices

2. Objectives
In this lesson you should be able to:
● Compare and contrast classical philosophies as they relate to the business settings;
● Relate the topic in real life experiences
● Distinguish what is good versus what is morally unacceptable among the given Filipino
values”
Exploratory Activity
Activity 1: Pretest
Direction: Write the letter of the correct answer that best completes the sentence.
________1. This philosopher has the same name with the “Head Gamemaker in Catching Fire,
Hunger Games” movie.
A. Rufus B. Aristotle C. Plutarch D. Socrates E. Epicurus
________2. This philosopher has the same name with a Congressman from Cagayan De Oro
City who is a graduate of the De La Salle University (Ab Economics '75) and the
University of the Philippines College of Law.
A. Plutarch B. Aristotle C. Rufus D. Socrates E. Epicurus
________3. This man was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in
Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato
A. Plutarch B. Rufus C. Aristotle D. Socrates E. Epicurus
________4. This man was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as one of the
founders of Western philosophy, and as being the first moral philosopher of the
Western ethical tradition of thought
A. Rufus B. Aristotle C. Socrates D. Plutarch E. Epicurus
________5. This man was from Athens, a Greek philosopher, author of an ethical philosophy of
simple pleasure, friendship, and retirement. He founded schools of philosophy that
survived directly from the 4th century BC until the 4th century AD.
A. Plutarch B. Aristotle C. Epicurus D. Socrates E. Rufus

3. Learn About It
Philosophical Ethics
Business owners can always have something to learn from our classical philosophers in terms of
running their organizations.
Rufus, on keeping track of one’s ethical progress
Musonius Rufus was known as the Socrates of Rome. He was another Stoic, who taught
that philosophy cannot just be theoretical. If you want to be an ethical individual or an ethical
company, you can't just study ethics, you must practice it, every day, to get into good habits. The
ancient Greek word for ethics is the same word for habit. (The Guardian, 2020)
You also need to keep track of your progress, to see how you are performing. You cannot
just rely on your intuitions, because they are often wrong. So, the ancient Greeks learned to keep
accounts of themselves. They would track their daily behavior in journals, keeping account of how
many times they lost their temper, for example, or got too drunk. Then they could see if they were
really improving their behavior, or just going around in circles. (The Guardian, 2020)
In organizational terms, keeping track of ourselves means trying to take an evidence-
based assessment of our performance. We might say we are a green company, but how do we
know if we are making progress? We might say we are a happy organization, but how do we
know? We can keep track of this, for example by asking our employees (anonymously) how
worthwhile they feel their job is. Then see if, in a year, we have managed to enhance their sense
of purpose. (The Guardian, 2020)
Plutarch, on being a good role model
Plutarch, the ancient Greek historian and educator, understood that humans are incredibly
social creatures, who constantly observe the people around them and imitate them. (The
Guardian, 2020) Unfortunately, people often grow up surrounded by bad role models. However,
we can steer people, by providing them with better patterns to imitate. That's what Plutarch tried
to do with his famous work, Parallel Lives, which offered biographical sketches of some of the
great Greek and Roman heroes – Cicero, Caesar, Alexander the Great, Pericles – to give young
people something to emulate. (The Guardian, 2020)
In organizational terms, that means what you say to your employees is less important than
what you do. They will watch how you behave, how you treat others, how you cope with pressure
and whether you follow through on your promises. And they will imitate you. If you talk about
ethics and then cut corners at the first opportunity, they will follow your lead. Set a good example
and they will follow it. Plutarch would also warn that your best young employees will use you as
a bar to aim for and exceed. That's natural. Let them compete with you and encourage them to
go further. (The Guardian, 2020)

4. Aristotle, on letting people seek fulfillment
Aristotle was a great biologist as well as a great philosopher. He based his ethics on a
psychological theory of human nature, insisting that we are naturally virtuous, rational, social and
happiness-seeking. Governments and organizations need to build the best systems to let humans
fulfill their natural drives. Aristotle's philosophy was an influence on Edward Deci and Richard
Ryan's Self Determination Theory, which suggests that employees will work harder for you, and
perform better, if you give them tasks, they find meaningful and morally worthwhile. (The
Guardian, 2020)
Humans want to believe in something and to serve it. Appeal to your employees' best
nature and they will answer that call. Our employees will also be more motivated if you give them
the opportunity to feed their natural curiosity through learning opportunities. That could be
vocational training, but it could also simply be learning about the world, ideas, culture. Does your
company have an evening or lunch-time lecture series, such as Google Talks? Could it give
credits for evening adult learning classes, as companies such as Cadbury and Ford once did?
(The Guardian, 2020
Socrates, on daring to disagree
Socrates, one of the first philosophers, insisted on our right to think for ourselves. Too
often, he warned, humans sleepwalk through life, simply going along with the crowd. (The
Guardian, 2020)
This is dangerous in questions of morality, and particularly in corporate governance. When
corruption is uncovered, too often people say, "everyone else was doing it". But our characters
are our responsibility. Socrates was prepared to die rather than go against his conscience. Does
your organization encourage independent thinkers, and people who follow their conscience?
Does it allow people to give critical feedback to managers? Does it create opportunities for good
people to blow the whistle on bad behavior? (The Guardian, 2020)
Epicurus, on the art of happiness
Epicurus was a fourth century Greek philosopher who taught, rather scandalously, that
the aim of life was simply to be as happy as possible here on Earth, before we die and dissolve
back into the atomic universe. He warned that humans are very bad at being happy, and very
good at inventing reasons to be miserable. Philosophy should teach us how to be happy, he
suggested. For example, it could teach us how to bring our attention to the present moment, to
savor it. It could also teach us to limit our desires to what is easy to get, not inflating our needs
with endless artificially stimulated desires. (The Guardian, 2020)
Today, some companies are embracing Epicurus' philosophy, and trying to teach their
employees the art of happiness. Tony Hsieh, the CEO of American shoe company Zappos, is so
committed to the company's courses in happiness that he sold the company to Amazon on the
agreement it would be able to continue with its unique happy culture. (The Guardian, 2020)

5. The Guardian Author Says that companies should be careful about forcing all their
employees to follow one philosophy of the good life. As we have seen, there are many different
approaches to achieving happiness or welfare. Perhaps companies could create an ethical culture
that embraces all these different ways of living. (The Guardian, 2020)
Wrapping up
• Rufus, on keeping track of one’s ethical progress: In organizational terms, keeping
track of ourselves means trying to take an evidence-based assessment of our
performance. IPCRF for public school teachers, OPCRF for offices and its heads in the
Government, or Balanced Score Cards in the private companies.
• Plutarch, on being a good role model: In organizational terms, that means what you say
to your employees is less important than what you do. They will watch how you behave,
how you treat others, how you cope with pressure and whether you follow through on your
promises. And they will imitate you. If you talk about ethics and then cut corners at the first
opportunity, they will follow your lead.
• Aristotle, on letting people seek fulfillment: Governments and organizations need to
build the best systems to let humans fulfill their natural drives. This suggests that
employees will work harder for you, and perform better, if you give them tasks where they
find meaningful and morally worthwhile.
• Socrates, on daring to disagree: It is about our right, as human beings, to think for
ourselves. We oppose when we think something is wrong. We see oppositions rally on the
streets against the government, or employees rally outside of the workplace against the
management.
• Epicurus, on the art of happiness: Some companies are embracing Epicurus'
philosophy, and trying to teach their employees the art of happiness. It is about work-life
balance and the organization is providing both monetary and non-monetary benefits to
employees including family time, and travel.

6. Let’s Practice
Part A. Visual Thinking Approach
Business Scenario Business
Ethics Issue
Philosophical
Foundation
Involved
Explanation (2-5
sentences only)
1 A homeless who
found shelter and
comfort within
the Mc Do Store
perimeter or
premises. Some
customers complained on the smell. Some
give him food to eat. Discuss what
business ethics issues present on this
situation. What can be done?
2 Drinking session
every Friday
night after work is
normal in
Company A.
Those who join
the drinking session get to have a favor
from the management. Those who don’t
join are already subjected to heightened
scrutiny on normal things that they do in
the workplace every day. Discuss what
business ethics issues present on this
situation. What can be done?
3 To get permits and
licenses renewed on
time, Company Y
availed the services of
fixers to do transactions
in some government
offices for the speedy renewal of permits
and licenses. Extra money is paid then.
Discuss what business ethics issues
present on this situation. What can be
done?
4 An old
employee who
works for
almost 10 years
in the company
starts committing violations in several
attendance rules due to the unpaid
workloads for 3 months. She is about to
get fire by the HR manager of the
company. Discuss what business ethics
issues present on this situation. What can
be done?

7. Part B. Discussion Question
What is the most valuable lesson that can be learned by business people from these Greek
philosophers? Justify your answer in 5-7 sentences only.
Part C. Venn diagram
Procedure: Guide
1. Draw two overlapping circles. Label
each circle
2. In each circle, fill in the characteristics of
each item.
3. Identify which characteristics appear in
two circles. These characteristics go in the
intersection (where the two circles
overlap).
4. What are the similarities and differences
that the Venn diagram illustrates?
5. After comparing the ideas, come up with
your own idea on which philosophy is the
soundest for the company and explain
why?
a. Characteristics of the company in terms of keeping track
ethical progress of each applicant of the company.
b. Characteristics of the company in terms of keeping track
ethical progress of each individual member of the company.
c. Methods of the company on how to promote each
employee to a role model for everyone.
d. How does the company deal with employees who seem
to be unsatisfied with the salaries and wages offered by the
company?
e. How does the company deal with the employees who
always oppose to suggestions and changes in the
management or operations?
f. How does the company manage to have a happy culture
for all employees?
Company A: McDonalds Company B: Jollibee
B
A

8. References
Photo Credits
Fig. 1. Philosophy in Business
https://img-
cdn.tnwcdn.com/image?fit=1280%2C720&url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn0.tnwcdn.com%2Fwp-
content%2Fblogs.dir%2F1%2Ffiles%2F2019%2F04%2FUntitled-
design34.png&signature=a4b22438f4ca95541c0a2c448dd6db35
Fig. 2. Shelter at Mcdo
https://static01.nyt.com/images/2015/12/30/world/30HOMELESS-web4/30HOMELESS-web4-
jumbo.jpg
Fig. 2. Party
https://miro.medium.com/max/800/0*_be5JSrWvVkIwjGj.jpg
Fig. 3. Fixer
https://i0.wp.com/www.robertgsarmiento.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/fixer-
pr.jpg?fit=336%2C336
Fig. 4. Shelter at Mcdo
https://blueglovejobs.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/0133110.jpg
Bibliography
Zarate. Business Ethics and Social Responsibility. C&E Publishing, Inc. 2018a
Baquillas. Business Ethics and Social Responsibility. Diwa Learning System, Inc. 2017
Cortez. Business Ethics and Social Responsibility. Vibal Group, Inc. 2016