ABSTRACT
The concept
of morality and its roots may not be entirely new. Every day you hear people mention
the word morality. Perhaps we all have our own opinions on what morality is. Several
pieces of literature abound on morality (moral norms and the elasticity of moral
actions) thus making it a little complex. Many are those who perceive morality to
be the domain of religion and think that people who are avowed to one sect of religious
belief or the other are those who should be concerned with morality. Far from these
convictions, morality affects every human person and transcends all fabrics of human
endeavors. We deal with people in our everyday life be it at work, church, in communities,
and the like. Our relationships with others are sometimes adjudged as good, bad,
and worse. By the same token, we also consider the behavior or lifestyle of others
equally as bad, good, and worse. Why should it be so? The answer lies in what morality
is. The exploration of the concept of morality led to the discovery that morality
takes if not all a substantial quantum of its components from philosophy and psychology
benefiting from their theories and concepts that act as guiding principles for moral
behavior. In this paper, the authors aimed to explore the concept of morality and
review how business managers and leaders can benefit from the application of morality
to improve the success of their organizations. Generally, this theoretical exploration
intends to illustrate the linkage between philosophy, psychology, and morality and
to help us understand how they can shape our moralistic conduct and some consequential
rewards we can get as individuals, communities, business organizations, or nations
by putting them into practice. Specifically, this theoretical exploration relies
on existing literature and attempts to expose readers to some insights that connect
philosophy and psychology to morality by exploring the nexus between philosophy,
psychology, and morality. It also examines how philosophy and psychology shape morality.
It further explores moral psychology and its elements. Additionally, it considers
moral norms, standards, or values by focusing on some key elements: fairness,
altruism, trust, and cooperation and discusses how “reciprocity” a social
mechanism can help promote compliance with these moral norms, standards, or values.
Finally, the review on how business managers and leaders can benefit from the application
of morality to improve the success of their organizations which has also been discussed.