THE RISKS OF TEMPTATION

Abstract

Peter Drucker reflects upon his two novels with indulgence, describing the first as “my seventieth birthday…present” (Drucker, 1987, p. 12). Upon reading these novels, aspiring novelists might well agree. For, whilst Drucker is proud to describe himself as “a professional writer” (Drucker, 1987, p. 9), and has been remarkably successful as a non-fiction writer, it does not seem unfair to speculate that were it not for his illustrious name, he might never have secured a publisher for these novels. There is very little in the way of a plot, the characters are unmemorable and the dialogue is boring. One might thus well ask why bother to review a novel of so little literary merit written nearly twenty years ago? Such a question is easily answered. Drucker wrote his 1984 novel The Temptation to do Good for a specific purpose. And that purpose is intimately connected with ethical issues in organizations.

Citation

Schwartz, M. (2003), "THE RISKS OF TEMPTATION", Pava, M.L. and Primeaux, P. (Ed.) Spiritual Intelligence at Work: Meaning, Metaphor, and Morals (Research in Ethical Issues in Organizations, Vol. 5), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 253-259. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1529-2096(03)05013-2