Authors: Cécile Rozuel
Publish Date: 2011/04/03
Volume: 102, Issue: 4, Pages: 685-697
Abstract
Although most of us understand and accept that we play different roles in different settings the moral implications of an unquestioned rolebased world are serious The prevalence of roles at the expense of ‘real’ people in organizations jeopardizes our ability to exercise full moral agency and ascribe moral responsibility because ‘we were only fulfilling our role obligations’ This reasoning does not sustain ethical scrutiny however because individuals are always present behind the role though they may lack awareness of their ability to choose and act as fully fledged individuals The article argues that moral responsibility requires us to move away from a rolebased life game which leads us to compartmentalize and forget who we are and what we value at a significant cost On the contrary an understanding of the process of compartmentalization and a greater awareness of the complex yet holistic nature of the self contribute to furthering moral integrity and responsibility
Keywords: