Ties That Bind

by Donaldson, Thomas

• ISBN13: 9780875847276
• ISBN10: 0875847277
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-05-01
• Publisher: Harvard Business School Pr

Summary

By whose standards should business be judged? As the world of commerce expands to include a diverse mix of countries, cultures, and institutions, the answer to this question grows increasingly complicated. "Ties That Bind", written by two leading thinkers in the field of business ethics, offers a new approach to resolving today's most pressing questions about business behavior among diverse groups of people. Corporate leaders face ethical dilemmas everywhere, but nowhere is their challenge greater than on the global stage. While some cultures emphasize individual property rights, others might favor cooperative behavior and societal sharing. Drawing from classic political philosophy and leading-edge social contract theory, the authors provide a much-needed framework for making sensitive ethical judgments about economic and business behavior. Building on the fundamentals of respect and tolerance, "Ties That Bind" is an inspiring guide to the new social contracts for business, one that reflects the rich mix of cultural and religious attitudes in our global society.

Author Biography

Thomas Donaldson is the Mark O. Winkelman Professor of Legal Studies and director of the Wharton Ethics Program at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Thomas W. Dunfee is the Joseph Kolodny Professor of Social Responsibility in Business; professor of legal studies and marketing; and director of the Zicklin Center for Business Ethics Research at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

Table of Contents

Preface	VII
Why Contracts?	1	(24)
The Social Contract for Business	25	(24)
Hypernorms: Universal Limits on Community Consent	49	(34)
Ethical Norms and Moral Free Space	83	(34)
Hypernorms Revealed: The Hypernorm of Necessary Social Efficiency	117	(22)
Moral Free Space Revealed	139	(36)
ISCT and Ethical Decision Making: Priorities, Proxies, and Patterns	175	(38)
When Ethics Travel: The Promise and Peril of Global Business Ethics	213	(22)
Social Contracts and Stakeholder Obligations	235	(28)
Notes	263	(8)
References	271	(16)
Index	287	(18)
About the Authors	305