This Is Business Ethics: An Introduction

ISBN-13: 9781119055044 / Angielski / Miękka / 2018 / 272 str.

Tobey Scharding

Opis

Take a seat in the boardroom.

Spis treści

Preface xiiPart I Problems in Business Ethics 11 Ethics: Doing the Right Thing 3Introduction to Ethics 3What are ethical questions 3How to answer ethical questions 4Introductory Case Studies 5Sam and the substandard notes 5Casey and the overly-demanding internship 6Tatiana and the fair distribution of chores 7Alex and the too-easy-to-cheat course 8Evaluating the Case Studies 9Non-ethical guidelines for thinking about the cases 9Ethical guidelines for thinking about the cases 11Limitations of ethical evaluation: the problem of controversy 12Reference 132 Business: Maximizing Profit 14Theory of the Firm 14Firm organization 15Why the firm exists at all 16Problems for firm organization 17Business Decision-Making: Shareholders and Cost-Benefit Analysis 17The Dominant Model 19Shareholder Theory 22Cost-benefit analysis 25Business in Society: Consumers, Employees, and Community 27References and Further Reading 313 Classic Business Ethics Dilemmas: When Doing the Right Thing Does Not Maximize Profits 32Doing Right by Consumers: The Ford Pinto Case 33Doing Right by Employees: The Walmart Case 38Doing Right by the Community: The B.P. Case 40Doing Right by Shareholders: The Enron Case 42References and Further Reading 46Case Cited 46Part II Tools to Solve Business Ethics Dilemmas 474 Ethical Theories 49The Three Major Ethical Theories 51Utility-based ethics 52Kant's duty-based ethics 61Aristotle's virtue-based ethics 67Other Bases for Ethics 72Natural law theory 72Contract theory 73Ethics of care 74Feminist ethics 75References and Further Reading 765 Theories of Corporate Personhood 77Businesses as Ethical Persons 78Businesses as Bureaucracies 83Businesses as Collective Persons 87References and Further Reading 916 Theories of Political Economy 92Private Property 95The justification of private property 96Distributive justice 106The Division of Labor 112Smith's productivity-based defense of the division 112Marx's alienation-based criticism of the division 115References and Further Reading 118Part III Contemporary Case Studies 1197 Business Ethics in Employment 121Employment at Will: The Bechtel Case 121Bechtel's corporate identity 122Facts of the case 122What happened 124Historical significance 124Ethical significance: conditions of employment 125Executive Compensation: The A.I.G. Case 130A.I.G.'s corporate identity 131Facts of the case 131What happened 133Historical significance 133Ethical significance: executive compensation 134Preventing Discrimination and Achieving Diversity: The Google Case 136Google's corporate identity 137Facts of the case 138What happened 139Ethical significance: unconscious bias 141Work-Life Balance: The Amazon Case 143Amazon's corporate identity 144Facts of the case 144What happened 145Historical significance 146Ethical significance: work-life balance 146References and Further Reading 147Case Cited 1488 Business Ethics in Advertising 149Manipulative Advertising: The Four Loko Case 149Phusion Projects' corporate identity 150Facts of the case 150What happened 151Historical significance 152Ethical significance: manipulative advertising 152Targeted Advertising: The Facebook Case 155Facebook's corporate identity 156Facts of the case 156What happened 157Historical significance 157Ethical significance: targeted advertising 158The Dependence Effect: The Lipitor Case 158Pfizer's corporate identity 159Facts of the case 159What happened 160Historical significance 160Ethical significance: the dependence effect 161Discriminatory Advertising: The Abercrombie & Fitch Case 161Abercrombie & Fitch's corporate identity 162Facts of the case 163What happened 163Historical significance 164Ethical significance: discriminatory advertising 164References and Further Reading 1659 Business Ethics in the Financial Sector 167Predatory Lending: The Countrywide Financial Case 167Countrywide Financial's corporate identity 168Facts of the case 168What happened 170Historical significance 171Ethical significance: predatory lending 171Investment Risk: The Lehman Brothers Case 172Lehman Brothers' corporate identity 173Facts of the case 175What happened 176Historical significance 176Ethical significance: investment risk 176Short Selling: The Herbalife Case 178Herbalife's corporate identity 179Pershing Square Capital Management's corporate identity 179Facts of the case 180What happened 181Historical significance 182Ethical significance: short selling 182Insider Trading: The Nomura Case 184Nomura's corporate identity 184Facts of the case 185What happened 186Historical significance 186Ethical significance: insider trading 186References and Further Reading 18710 Business Ethics in the Environment 190Water Supply: The Coca-Cola India Case 190Coca-Cola India's corporate identity 191Facts of the case 191What happened 192Historical significance 193Ethical significance: tragedy of the commons 193Indigenous Populations: The TransCanada Case 194TransCanada's corporate identity 194Facts of the case 195What happened 196Historical significance 196Ethical significance: indigenous populations 197Food Supply: The FieldScripts Case 198Monsanto's corporate identity 199Facts of the case 199What happened 201Historical significance 202Ethical significance: data privacy and trust in business 202Emissions: The VW Case 203VW's corporate identity 204Facts of the case 205What happened 206Historical significance 207Ethical significance: emissions 207References and Further Reading 20811 Business Ethics in Globalization 210Obtaining Raw Materials: The GlaxoSmithKline Case 210GlaxoSmithKline's corporate identity 211Facts of the case 211What happened 213Historical significance 214Ethical significance: raw materials 214Child Labor: The Victoria's Secret Case 214Victoria's Secret's corporate identity 215Facts of the case 215What happened 217Historical significance 217Ethical significance: child labor 218Different Cultures: The Yahoo! Case 218Yahoo's corporate identity 219Facts of the case 219What happened 220Historical significance 221Ethical significance: repressive political regimes 221Doing Business with Corrupt Regimes: The IKEA Case 222IKEA's corporate identity 222Facts of the case 223What happened 223Historical significance 224Ethical significance: bribery 224References and Further Reading 225Part IV The Future of Business Ethics 22912 Predicting and Preventing Future Business Ethics Scandals 231Resolving Conflicts in Ethics 232What kind of a person do you want to be 234What kind of world do you want to live in 238Looking for and Understanding New Cases 240Patterns of wrongdoing 240Key values for business 244Technology and the Future of Business Ethics 245Index 247

O autorze

TOBEY SCHARDING is Visiting Assistant Professor at Rutgers Business School and Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania. She specializes in business ethics and finance ethics, with a focus on issues concerning risk and uncertainty. Her articles have appeared in leading academic journals such as Business Ethics Quarterly, Public Affairs Quarterly, and Georgetown Journal of Law and Public Policy.

Blurb

TAKE A SEAT IN THE BOARDROOM. WHAT WILL YOU DECIDE?

Corporations make difficult decisions about the right thing to do every day often in unclear and complicated circumstances but as an organization made up of people with different perspectives and values, how can a business behave ethically? This is Business Ethics offers real–world practical advice for navigating ethical dilemmas in business, developed and explained through illustrative high–profile case studies like the Ford Pinto case, Enron, Walmart and British Petroleum. With detailed explanations of the core principles in ethical theory including virtue ethics, utilitarianism and deontology as well as theories of political economy and business organization, This is Business Ethics offers a dynamic and engaging introduction to the study of corporate morality.

Designed to help both students and professionals bridge the gap between theory and application, this user–friendly guide tackles the common challenges of applying the principles of classical ethics to the business world. Divided into four distinct parts, the volume explores how ethical theory informs the way that proper business policies and practices are decided, and presents unresolved contemporary case studies for consideration, inviting readers to participate in the decision–making and offer their own recommendations.

The latest installment in the popular This is Philosophy series, This is Business Ethics is specifically written for newcomers to business ethics and presumes no prior knowledge of the subject, making it an ideal text for undergraduates and a useful resource for business and management professionals.