PHIL-2230: Case Study on Aristotle's Virtue Ethics in Business Ethics

This case study delves into the application of Aristotle's virtue ethics within the context of modern business practices, particularly focusing on the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR). It begins by outlining Aristotle's philosophy, emphasizing the importance of fulfilling one's duties and responsibilities over the sole pursuit of profit maximization, contrasting this with the capitalist market structure's emphasis on competition and profit. The study then uses Unilever as a case study, analyzing how the company's operations, particularly its use of plastic materials, align with or diverge from Aristotelian ethics. It highlights the role of CSR in encouraging businesses to consider the societal impact of their actions, and how this aligns with virtue ethics. The paper concludes by emphasizing the growing significance of business ethics and CSR in the contemporary world, drawing inspiration from Aristotle's ethical framework, and showcasing how companies like Unilever are adapting to incorporate ethical considerations into their business models.

Running head: VIRTUE ETHICS OF ARISTOTLE IN BUSINESS ETHICS
Virtue ethics of Aristotle in business ethics
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1VIRTUE ETHICS OF ARISTOTLE IN BUSINESS ETHICS
Introduction
The economy of the twenty first century is structured along the lines of a
capitalist market structure. In this regard, it can be observed that the business
organizations established in the globe are required to compete with each other in order
to maintain their dominance in the concerned industry. As such, the basic
characteristic feature of a capitalist economy is that of fair competition. The purpose
of any business firm in the contemporary world is to earn a higher margin of profit.
This profit is earned when they are able to increase their sales volume which is
dependent on the units of production. However, in the globalized world of today, the
businesses are not only concerned with the generation of a higher form of revenue but
also with the welfare of the society. This situation refers to the spread of business
ethics.1 The purpose of this essay is to understand the concept of ethics as opined by
Aristotle in his idea of Virtue Ethics. This concept is then related to a contemporary
business of the world today in order to get a comprehensive understanding about how
the different firms operate in the economic field with regard to the maintenance of
their ethics. The paper concludes with the importance of corporate social
responsibility and how it draws inspiration from the virtue ethics theory as advocated
by Aristotle.
Virtue Ethics of Aristotle
The field of ethics concentrate on the issue of human survival. More specifically,
it guides human action and reason in order to survive in a decent way in the society
around them.2 In this respect, many earlier philosophers discussed about the concept
1 Kristjánsson, Kristján. Aristotle, emotions, and education. Routledge, 2016.
2 Hutchinson, Douglas S. The virtues of Aristotle. Routledge, 2015.

2VIRTUE ETHICS OF ARISTOTLE IN BUSINESS ETHICS
of an ethical standard of living. The prominent ones among them were those of
Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. Aristotle in regarded as the “Father of Politics” as he
believed that the fields of politics and ethics are inter-related. In other words, he
argued that in order to survive within the political field of a particular region, it is
important to abide by certain ethical codes of conduct so that peace and harmony can
be maintained within the boundaries of that region.3
Aristotle did not create an ideal society, rather he spoke about a realistic
community of the human civilization. The concept of virtue ethics as was opined by
him, focused more on the issue of one fulfilling one’s duty to the society rather than
trying to bring about happiness and peace in the entire society. In other words, it did
not focus on an idealistic understanding of morality and ethical behavior. Rather, it
gave a more humane and realistic touch to the concept of virtue ethics.
However, on the other hand, the characteristic features which a virtuous person is
required to possess are idealistic in nature. For instance, according to Aristotle, a
virtuous individual is required to kind and generous during all the phases of his or her
life, under all situations.4 Furthermore, such a character is preferable for the purposes
of fulfilling his or her duty to the society and not simply because they want to gain
any kind of favors or maximize their utility. According to Aristotle, such
characteristic features are internal natural tendencies of the person. However, it
depends on the surrounding environment to aid in the development of such character
by nurturing the values.5 As a result, it can be seen that the theory of virtue ethics is
quite different from any consequentialist theory or deontological theory as they place
3 Heinaman, Robert A. Aristotle and moral realism. Routledge, 2018.
4 Prior, William J. Virtue and knowledge: An Introduction to ancient Greek ethics. Routledge, 2016.
5 Kenny, Anthony. The Aristotelian Ethics: A study of the relationship between the Eudemian and Nicomachean
ethics of Aristotle. Oxford University Press, 2016.

3VIRTUE ETHICS OF ARISTOTLE IN BUSINESS ETHICS
more focus and emphasis on the identification of certain universalist and idealistic
principles.
Thus, to conclude, it can be observed that the virtue ethics that has been outlined
by Aristotle places a lot of significance on the realistic tendencies of an individual
rather than asking them to abide by certain idealistic ethical code of conduct.6
However, the characteristic features of such individuals need to be developed by the
external environment. This occurs through the experiences that a person undergoes
during the course of life.
Contemporary practice of business ethics: A case study of Unilever
The virtue ethics of Aristotle focused more on the responsibilities and duty of an
individual rather than on the maximization of the utility.7 This is in sharp contrast to
the idea as espoused by the capitalist frame work of market stricture. Under the
system of capitalism, the firms have only one primary objective, that is of earning a
higher level of profit margin. This is guaranteed when the firms are able to effectively
compete with the other companies in the concerned industry by increasing their sales
volume and brand image. In other words, the more units of goods and services are
sold, the higher is the profit margin of the concerned firm.
This unique feature of a firm operating under the capitalist market structure has
made them more and more self obsessed in nature. In other words, they are simply
concerned about increasing their margin of profit by over utilizing the natural
resources of the Earth. This business practice is considered to be highly unethical as
per the concept of virtue ethics as laid out by Aristotle as it advocates the
6 Han, Hyemin. "Virtue ethics, positive psychology, and a new model of science and engineering ethics
education." Science and Engineering Ethics 21, no. 2 (2015): 441-460.
7 Kaptein, Muel. "When organizations are too good: Applying Aristotle's doctrine of the mean to the corporate
ethical virtues model." Business Ethics: A European Review 26, no. 3 (2017): 300-311.

4VIRTUE ETHICS OF ARISTOTLE IN BUSINESS ETHICS
maximization of utility rather than the fulfillment of one’s duty and responsibility.8
This critique of such a business practice is relevant for the modern times as the
different business organizations have taken a recourse to ensure that the public
welfare is being maintained in the society.9 This has taken the form of corporate social
responsibility in the twenty first century.
In this paper, the case study of Unilever has been chosen. Unilever is one of the
greatest business venture in the world in the field of cosmetics and body care
products. There are many consumers of the products which are manufactured by this
company in various parts of the world. The target consumer of this firm is not limited
only to one specific sector of the population. Rather people of all ages and groups use
the products of Unilever. Thus, it can be observed that this company has a
preponderant presence in the lives of the human community.
However, a significant problem which is seen to be present within this company
of Unilever is the use of plastic materials in its products.10 Unilever is a firm operating
under the capitalist field of market economy. As a result of this, the firm has the
primary objective of earning a higher form of profit margin which is only possible
when the sales volume of the organization increases. This means that the products
containing plastic materials are being sold at an increasing rate in the economic
market in order to generate a consequent higher form of profit margin.11
In order to rectify such wrong doings, the corporate social responsibility has been
developed. The main purpose of corporate social responsibility is to ensure that the
8 Constantinescu, M. I. H. A. E. L. A., and M. U. E. L. Kaptein. "Virtue Ethics and CSR: the two sides of
Sustainable Organizational Performance." Wermayer, W., Looser, S. & Del Baldo, M. Intrinsic CSR in
Competitive Companies: The Categorical Imperative of Doing Well (1-17). London: Palgrave(2018).
9 Duffy, John. "The good writer: Virtue ethics and the teaching of writing." College English 79, no. 3 (2017): 229-
250.
10 "The Future Of Business? Purpose, Not Just Profit" 2019)
11 Carr, David, James Arthur, and Kristján Kristjánsson, eds. Varieties of virtue ethics. Springer, 2016.

5VIRTUE ETHICS OF ARISTOTLE IN BUSINESS ETHICS
activities of the different business corporations do not harm the welfare of the society.
In this sense, it can be observed that corporate social responsibility is against the over
utilization of the natural resources of the Earth and that such business ventures pay
back to the society what has been taken from them by the firms. In the context of
Unilever, there is an ethical connotation to reduce the use of plastic materials which
are used in the manufacturing of the products. This would prevent the harmful effects
that the plastic materials has on the society in the form of creating certain
dermatological problems on the consumers who use such products.
This can be seen to be flowing from the ethics of virtue as has been propounded
by Aristotle. According to the political philosopher, individuals should not be
concerned with the attainment of larger utilities and more profits from their
activities.12 Instead, they should only be concerned with the fulfillment of their duties
and obligations. The idea of corporate social responsibility finds an alignment with
this aspect of virtue ethics as has been advocated by Aristotle.13 The company of
Unilever used to produce goods containing harmful plastic materials so that their
profit of margin would increase by having a consequent fall in the cost of production.
Thus, they compromised on their ethical integrity for maximizing their utility.
However, with the onset of corporate social responsibility, they are now ethically
bounded and also legally to ensure that the goods produced by them are of good
quality that do not cause harm to the consumers. In this sense, they have reduced the
use of plastic materials in their process of production to a considerable extent, almost
negligible, so that the society would not be harmed. They, can thus, be said to be
following the principles of virtue ethics as laid out by Aristotle, the management of
12 Bell, Geoffrey G., Bruno Dyck, and Mitchell J. Neubert. "Ethical Leadership, Virtue Theory, And Generic
Strategies." Radical Thoughts on Ethical Leadership 113 (2017).
13 Annas, Julia. "Applying virtue to ethics." Journal of Applied Philosophy 32, no. 1 (2015): 1-14.

6VIRTUE ETHICS OF ARISTOTLE IN BUSINESS ETHICS
Unilever had the required natural tendencies present in them, but they needed the
external nurture of such tendencies so that they could be brought in to effect.14 This
was needed for the betterment of the society. Thus, it can be observed that corporate
social responsibility is one of the main requirements of the modern twenty first
century.
Conclusion
To conclude, it can be observed that business ethics has become an important ad
significant part in the world of today. There is a need on the part of all the different
business corporations to ensure the welfare of the society. The simple generation of
profit margin is no longer the only prerogative of the capitalist market structure. This
can be seen to be drawing its inspirations from the virtue ethics that was developed by
Aristotle, a political philosopher belonging tot he ancient times of the human
civilization. He advocated that people should only be concerned with the achievement
of their own duties and responsibilities rather than finding out means and measures to
maximize their gains and utilities. This philosophy of Aristotle can be seen to be in
existence in the company of Unilever of today. Earlier, the company was concerned
only with the higher generation of revenues as a result of which it did not pay much
attention to the harmful substances that were being used in its products. However,
with the onset of the idea of corporate social responsibility and business ethics, it can
now be observed that the company has reduced its usage of cheap plastic materials
and now rather focuses on using safe and environmental friendly materials. Thus,
from this it can be gathered that the firm is fulfilling its responsibility to the society.
14 Jordan, Karen, and Kristján Kristjánsson. "Sustainability, virtue ethics, and the virtue of harmony with
nature." Environmental Education Research 23, no. 9 (2017): 1205-1229.

7VIRTUE ETHICS OF ARISTOTLE IN BUSINESS ETHICS
References:
"The Future Of Business? Purpose, Not Just Profit". 2019. World Economic Forum.
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/01/why-businesses-must-be-driven-by-
purpose-as-well-as-profits/.
Annas, Julia. "Applying virtue to ethics." Journal of Applied Philosophy 32, no. 1
(2015): 1-14.
Bell, Geoffrey G., Bruno Dyck, and Mitchell J. Neubert. "Ethical Leadership, Virtue
Theory, And Generic Strategies." Radical Thoughts on Ethical Leadership 113
(2017).
Carr, David, James Arthur, and Kristján Kristjánsson, eds. Varieties of virtue ethics.
Springer, 2016.
Constantinescu, M. I. H. A. E. L. A., and M. U. E. L. Kaptein. "Virtue Ethics and
CSR: the two sides of Sustainable Organizational Performance." Wermayer, W.,
Looser, S. & Del Baldo, M. Intrinsic CSR in Competitive Companies: The Categorical
Imperative of Doing Well (1-17). London: Palgrave(2018).
Duffy, John. "The good writer: Virtue ethics and the teaching of writing." College
English 79, no. 3 (2017): 229-250.
Han, Hyemin. "Virtue ethics, positive psychology, and a new model of science and
engineering ethics education." Science and Engineering Ethics 21, no. 2 (2015): 441-
460.
Heinaman, Robert A. Aristotle and moral realism. Routledge, 2018.
Hutchinson, Douglas S. The virtues of Aristotle. Routledge, 2015.
Jordan, Karen, and Kristján Kristjánsson. "Sustainability, virtue ethics, and the virtue
of harmony with nature." Environmental Education Research 23, no. 9 (2017): 1205-

8VIRTUE ETHICS OF ARISTOTLE IN BUSINESS ETHICS
1229.
Kaptein, Muel. "When organizations are too good: Applying Aristotle's doctrine of
the mean to the corporate ethical virtues model." Business Ethics: A European
Review 26, no. 3 (2017): 300-311.
Kenny, Anthony. The Aristotelian Ethics: A study of the relationship between the
Eudemian and Nicomachean ethics of Aristotle. Oxford University Press, 2016.
Kristjánsson, Kristján. Aristotle, emotions, and education. Routledge, 2016.
Prior, William J. Virtue and knowledge: An Introduction to ancient Greek ethics.
Routledge, 2016.