Ends and Means LO7972

DHurst1046@aol.com
Wed, 19 Jun 1996 23:44:56 -0400

Replying to LO7923 --

Hi Fred,

In a message dated 96-06-17 21:52:18 EDT, you write:

<< John's examples display a problem commonly found in ends-means
discussions, namely, that ends and means are treated as though they
exist apart from one another. They do not. Ends and means are
relative constructs, they have meaning only in relation to something
else. A gun is not a means. It can be a means to several ends, but
unless those ends are spelled out in relation to the gun, a gun is a gun
and not a means. >>

I think that you are quite right in pointing out that ends and means are
about relationships in logical chains of cause-and-effect. But I think that
our arguments about whether "ends justify means" is really a confusion of two
different logics or a failure to recognize that there are at least two . For,
as Milton Friedman has put it "If the ends do not justify the means, then
what does?"

The two logics are (1) the instrumental goal-based rationality of
conventional management, where everything is done (at least in theory) with a
clear instrumental purpose and (2) the values-based rationality of
leadership, where behaviour is not a means to an end, but something which is
felt to be intrinsically valuable - free and open speech, telling the truth,
equal access to opportunity etc. It is behaviour which is modelled by leaders
and emulated by followers. Typically it builds community and encourages
cooperation around shared purposes. Instrumental ends can "justify" their
means only in a technical sense - that the proposed "cause" will yield the
desired "effect". Only values-based ends can justify means in a values-based
sense. When we say "The end cannot justify the means" we are really saying
(for example) that instrumental ends (cut costs, increase sales etc.) should
not be ruthlessly pursued at the expense of our values e.g. by destroying
community, cooperation and shared purposes.

Regards,
David Hurst (dhurst1046@aol.com)
Speaker, Consultant and Writer on Management
Author of "Crisis & Renewal: Meeting the Challenge of Organizational Change"
(HBS Press, 1995) See outline at <A HREF="http://www.mghr.com/books/0875845827
.html">McGraw-Hill Ryerson - Crisis & Renewal</A> 

-- 


DHurst1046@aol.com
 


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