Teacher: JETHRO G.

OREJEULA Subject: Business Ethics and Social Responsibility

Week: 4 Module: 4

CLASSICAL PHILOSOPHIES AND

THEIR IMPLICATION IN BUSINESS PRACTICES
Intended Learning Outcomes:
Discuss how these philosophies are reflected into business practices

“Business owners can always have something to learn from our

classical philosophers in terms of running their organizations.”

“THE CLASSICAL PHILOSOPHERS AND THEIR PHILOSOPHIES”

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 them. 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)

Today, we use balanced score card, where we keep track on our performance
from begging one cycle to the end.

MR. JETHRO G. OREJUELA | 0951967174 | jethroorejuela101@gmail.com

KING THOMAS LEARNING ACADEMY | SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

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)

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)

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)
Name: ______________________________________ Strand/Section: ____________
Teacher: JETHRO G. OREJEULA Subject: Business Ethics & Social Responsibility
Week: 4 Type of Assessment: Formative Assessment Deadline: April 8, 2020

DIRECTION: Encircle the letter of the correct answer.

1. This philosopher has the same name with the “Head Game maker 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. Rufus b. Aristotle c. Plutarch d. Socrates e. Epicurus

3. This man was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in
Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato.

a. Rufus b. Aristotle c. Plutarch 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. Plutarch d. Socrates 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. Rufus b. Aristotle c. Plutarch d. Socrates e. Epicurus

MR. JETHRO G. OREJUELA | 0951967174 | jethroorejuela101@gmail.com

KING THOMAS LEARNING ACADEMY | SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

Name: ______________________________________ Strand/Section: ____________
Teacher: JETHRO G. OREJEULA Subject: Business Ethics & Social Responsibility
Week: 4 Type of Assessment: Summative Assessment Deadline: April 16, 2020

Discuss how these philosophies are reflected into business practices

Direction: In your own words, discuss as to how philosophies are reflected into
business practices. Give concrete examples. Develop it into a paragraph with at least
300 words.
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MR. JETHRO G. OREJUELA | 0951967174 | jethroorejuela101@gmail.com

KING THOMAS LEARNING ACADEMY | SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT