Moderation as a Moral Competence: Integrating Perspectives for a Better Understanding of Temperance in the Workplace

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the virtue of temperance as a moral competence in professional performance. The analysis relies on three different streams of literature: virtue ethics, positive psychology and competency-based management. The paper analyzes how temperance is defined in each of these perspectives. The paper proposes an integrative definition of temperance as “moral competence” and summarizes behaviors in business environments in which temperance plays a role.

Appendix 1: The ‘Self-Control Scale’

The scales that have been developed to measure the character strength of self-control are very diverse. They include the ‘Self-Control Subscale of California Psychological Inventory,’ the ‘Self-Control Behavior Inventory,’ the ‘Restraint Scale,’ the ‘Self-Control Schedule,’ the ‘Self-Control Questionnaire,’ the ‘Low Self-Control Scale’ or the ‘Self-Control Scale’ (Peterson and Seligman 2004). Of these, as noted by Peterson and Seligman (2004), some have been narrowed in scope to eating behaviors and self-restraint, while others have faced difficulties in their applicability or their validity. On the other hand, the ‘Self-Control Scale’ developed by Tangney et al. (2004) and shown in this appendix focuses on the more general features of self-control, and it has shown good applicability in the assessment of this particular character strength (Peterson and Seligman 2004).

The ‘Self-control scale’ (Tangney et al. 2004)
Please indicate how much each of the following statements reflects how you typically are
Item	Scoring
	Not at all                very much
1. I am good at resisting temptation	1–––2–––3–––4–––5
2. I have a hard time breaking bad habits	5–––4–––3–––2–––1
3. I am lazy	5–––4–––3–––2–––1
4. I say inappropriate things	5–––4–––3–––2–––1
5. I never allow myself to lose control	1–––2–––3–––4–––5
6. I do certain things that are bad for me if they are fun	5–––4–––3–––2–––1
7. People can count on me to stay on schedule	1–––2–––3–––4–––5
8. Getting up in the morning is hard for me	5–––4–––3–––2–––1
9. I have trouble saying no	5–––4–––3–––2–––1
10. I change my mind fairly often	5–––4–––3–––2–––1
11. I blurt out whatever is on my mind	5–––4–––3–––2–––1
12. People would describe me as impulsive	5–––4–––3–––2–––1
13. I refuse things that are bad for me	1–––2–––3–––4–––5
14. I spend too much money	5–––4–––3–––2–––1
15. I keep everything neat	1–––2–––3–––4–––5
16. I am self-indulgent at times	5–––4–––3–––2–––1
17. I wish I had more self-discipline	5–––4–––3–––2–––1
18. I am reliable	1–––2–––3–––4–––5
19. I get carried away by my feelings	5–––4–––3–––2–––1
20. I do many things at the spur of the moment	5–––4–––3–––2–––1
21. I don’t keep secrets very well	5–––4–––3–––2–––1
22. People would say that I have iron self-discipline	1–––2–––3–––4–––5
23. I have worked or studied all night at the last minute	5–––4–––3–––2–––1
24. I’m not easily discouraged	1–––2–––3–––4–––5
25. I’d be better off if I stopped to think before acting	5–––4–––3–––2–––1
26. I engage in healthy practices	1–––2–––3–––4–––5
27. I eat healthy foods	1–––2–––3–––4–––5
28. Pleasure and fun sometimes keep me from getting work done	5–––4–––3–––2–––1
29. I have trouble concentrating	5–––4–––3–––2–––1
30. I am able to work effectively toward long-term goals	1–––2–––3–––4–––5
31. Sometimes I can’t stop myself from doing something, even if I know it is wrong	5–––4–––3–––2–––1
32. I often act without thinking through all the alternatives	5–––4–––3–––2–––1
33. I lose my temper too easily	5–––4–––3–––2–––1
34. I often interrupt people	5–––4–––3–––2–––1
35. I sometimes drink or use drugs to excess	5–––4–––3–––2–––1
36. I am always on time	1–––2–––3–––4–––5