Organizational Virtuousness and Performance 1

A key component of positive organizational scholarship is the concept of virtuousness, as displayed in and through organizations. Rooted in the Latin word virtus, meaning strength or excellence, Plato and Aristotle described virtuousness as the desires and actions that produce personal and social good. More recently, virtuousness has been described as the best of the human condition, the most ennobling behaviors and outcomes, the excellence and essence of humankind, and the highest aspirations of human beings (Comte-Sponville, 2001; Weiner, 1993; Chapman, & Galston, 1992; Dent, 1984; MacIntyre, 1984). When encountered, virtuousness is highly prized and admired, and virtuous individuals are almost universally revered, emulated, and even sainted. Virtuousness in organizations relates to the behavior of individuals in organizational settings, and a growing literature on this topic is emerging in the field of positive psychology (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000; Snyder & Lopez, 2002). The manifestation and consequences of hope, gratitude, wisdom, forgiveness, compassion, resilience, and other similar virtues are beginning to receive substantial attention in the scientific literature (Snyder, 1994