Throughout The Parable of the Sadhu, Bowen McCoy refers to the breakdown between the individual and corporate ethic. Explain what he meant by that and how, if we view the hikers on the trek up the mountain in Nepal as an organization, the ethical person-organization fit applied to the decisions made on the climb? View Solution:
Throughout The Parable of the Sadhu Bowen McCoy refers to
The Correct Answer and Explanation is :
In “The Parable of the Sadhu,” Bowen McCoy reflects on the ethical dilemma he faced while trekking through the Himalayas in Nepal. He contrasts the individual and corporate (or group) ethic to discuss how personal moral values can sometimes conflict with the ethics of a group or organization. McCoy uses the example of a group of trekkers who encountered a sadhu (holy man) on their journey—who was severely ill—and the decision the group had to make regarding whether to help him.
McCoy’s concept of the “breakdown between the individual and corporate ethic” refers to the tension between individual moral responsibility and the collective decision-making of a group. On the trek, McCoy observed that while individuals recognized the moral imperative to help the sadhu, the group as a whole decided not to. This breakdown highlights how, in a group setting, individual moral responsibility can be compromised by the group’s priorities and actions, which often focus on achieving collective goals, like completing the climb, rather than addressing moral concerns.
If we view the hikers as an organization, the ethical person-organization fit refers to how an individual’s values align with the ethical standards of the organization they are part of. In the case of the trekkers, there was a lack of alignment between their personal ethical values (helping the sadhu) and the group’s collective behavior (prioritizing the trek over the individual’s suffering). The hikers’ decision not to help the sadhu may have been driven by the pressures of the group’s goals—completing the climb—but the ethical person-organization fit was compromised when the collective decision diverged from the personal moral duty of the individuals involved. This gap illustrates how organizational culture and the group’s immediate goals can sometimes override the ethical responsibilities of individuals, leading to decisions that might be ethically questionable on a personal level.