ABSTRACT
There are those who, impressed by the criticisms of both deontological and consequentialist modes of thought, have offered virtue-based (aretaic) theory as a third way. In understanding and promoting ethical behavior, the first two seem to overlook the person (“There's no ‘there’ there”). Virtues are generally conceived as commendable, socially-desirable traits of character (which precludes the “selfish virtues” like industriousness), so the moral focus shifts from “what is the right thing to do?” to “what is the right kind of person to be?” Unfortunately, there is great variation in sophisticated conceptualizations of “virtue,” how many there might be, and what they are. Most agree, however, that virtue involves more than just behaving virtuously—if what that is can be determined in the situation; it also includes the underlying moral motivation and moral character that drives the intention to consistently be virtuous. The chapter reviews some of the work applying virtue theory to business (e.g., the moral character of leaders), I-O psychology (e.g., the dark triad of personality attributes in the workplace) and organizational behavior (e.g., regarding institutional character and organizational virtuousness).
