A634.7.4.RB - Egoism: Psychological and Moral

My view on psychological egoism is aligned quite with our text in that it is the theory that everyone’s actions are completely self-interested (LaFollette, 2007). I do believe in this definition of psychological egoism as it rings true, doing what we want makes us happy, so it only makes sense to set out to satisfy ourselves.  I certainly see egoism in the workplace it often comes across when decisions are made that clearly is satisfy the needs of an individual versus the entire team. For example, I had a teammate that was convinced that a particular body of work should reside under her own project, not because this was a just, effective or ethical decision, but instead because she would then feel as if she was progressing in her career due to this proposed chain of command in project management. Think there is a place for egoism in the workplace because I don’t think we can honestly go without it, but I think that the team and the organization should come first and really be top of mind.

 I don’t believe liters should get benefits others receive, unless those benefits actually positively impact the team as well. For example, I can justify providing additional contribution to a tuition assistance program for leaders so that they can learn to be better leaders and in return be better leaders for their employees or team members. Leaders can be better rewarded to promote ethical behavior by aligning their compensation package with the priorities of the business, so that every decision that’s made is aligned with both their own self-interest as well as the interest of the organization.

References

LaFollette, H. (2007). The Practice of Ethics. Malden, MA: Blackwell.