Business Ethics and Ethical Business

by Audi, Robert

• ISBN13: 9780195369106
• ISBN10: 0195369106
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-08-28
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Business Ethics and Ethical Business is a comprehensive yet brief analytical introduction to the field of business ethics. In three parts, it covers the major problems associated with the place of business in society, the ethics of internal management, and the challenges of internationalbusiness in view of common ethical standards (justice and veracity, beneficence and loyalty, and freedom and respect for persons, among others) and classic ethical theories (Aristotle's virtue ethics, Immanuel Kant's rule-based ethics, J. S. Mill's utilitarianism, and W. D. Ross's intuitionism,etc.). Integrated into the discussion are a number of distinctive elements. Robert Audi takes into account both large companies and small, family owned business; clarifies the nature and importance of rights; and explores the relation between law and ethics in several parts of the book. For a clearerunderstanding of democracy, he considers two main competing views of business in society - the free market view and the corporate social responsibility approach. He also offers brief concept definitions throughout, which later appear in a glossary at the back of the book, to further clarify keyideas. Accompanying the chapters is an Appendix featuring sixteen Case Scenarios modeled on ethical problems common in the business world. The result is a thorough presentation of business ethics that helps readers to acquire the basic conceptual and ethical tools needed to address the moralproblems facing businesses today.

Table of Contents

Preface

The Role of Business in a Free Democracy

Two Democratic Traditions

Foundations of Capitalism

Two Conceptions of Democracy

The Rights and Social Responsibilities of Business

The Moral Rights of Businesses

A Proposal for Justifying Inequalities in Free Democracies

Determining Ethical Obligations: Some Major Approaches

Ethical Obligation and Legal Requirements

The Constituencies of Ethical Business

The Scope of Ownership Rights

The Interests of Stockholders

The Multiple-Constituency View of the Corporation

Constituents as "Stakeholders"

A Framework for Making Ethical Decisions

Common-sense Ethical Principles

A Five-step Model for Making Difficult Ethical Decisions

Ethical Business, Environmental Responsibility, and Sustainability

The Value of the Environment

The Ethical Importance of Future Generations

The Ideal of Sustainability

Marketing: Product, Target, and Image

Some Major Dimensions of Marketing Ethics

Five Types of Ethical Problems in Marketing

Insincerity, Deception, and Manipulation in Marketing

Advertising and the Limits of Persuasive Representation

The Ethics of Creating Desire

The Interdependence of Marketing and Manufacturing Decisions

Advertising and the Human Image

The Ethics of Financial Representation

The Centrality of Accounting in Capitalist Democracies

The Public Representation of Financial Positions

Judgment, Clarity, and Conflicts of Interest in Accounting

Part 2

Hiring Policies and Compensation Standards

Preferential Hiring and Affirmative Action

Rationales for Affirmative Action

Promotion and Remuneration

Qualifications and Merit

Executive Compensation

An Approach to Fairness in CEO Compensation

Conditions of Employment and Codes of Ethics

Safety, Risk, and Informed Consent

Whistleblowing Healthcare Obligations and Responsibilities

Privacy in Employment

Private Lives and the Movable Workplace

Company Codes and Mission Statements

Religion in the Workplace

Church-state Separation as a Starting Point in Employment

Some Applications to Managerial Policy Questions

Religion in Large Public Companies

Demonstrative Affiliation in Employment

Managerial Leadership and Corporate Culture

Corporate Culture, Ethos, and Ethics

Managerial Hierarchy and its Limitations

Leadership Versus Power

Ethical Leadership and Leadership in Ethics

Meaningful Work and the Creation of Value

Ethical Problems of Global Business

International Trade and Cross-Cultural Standards

Intercultural Understanding

Child Labor

Gift-giving in Business

Gift-giving Versus Bribery

Nationality, International Business Ethics, and Cosmopolitanism

Outsourcing

Cultural Adaptation, Relativity, and Standards of Negotiation

The Relation between Ethics and Law

Ethics and Law in International Business

Intellectual Property, Technology Transfer, and Porous Borders

Cosmopolitanism and International Cooperation

Conclusion

Sixteen Brief Case Scenarios

Glossary

Notes

Index

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