Business Ethics and Ethical Business / Edition 1

by Robert Audi

Overview

Business Ethics and Ethical Business is a brief yet remarkably comprehensive introduction to the thought-provoking field of business ethics. The text is organized into three parts that cover the role of business in society, the ethics of internal management, and the challenges of international business. It introduces the standards essential in business ethics, explores a wide range of issues using concrete examples, and provides analytical tools for guiding ethical decisions in the real world.

Features:

* Includes an appendix containing sixteen short case scenarios modeled on ethical problems in business; these studies are keyed to relevant chapters and designed to stimulate class discussion and provide material for essay assignments
* Introduces central ethical theories including Aristotle's virtue ethics, Kant's rule-based ethics, Mill's utilitarianism, and Ross's common-sense pluralism
* Introduces a set of principles comprising a decision framework for conducting business ethically
* Examines the two main competing views of business in a democratic society—the free market view and the corporate social responsibility approach
* Considers both large companies and small, family-owned businesses
* Includes a glossary of many key terms in business ethics

Business Ethics and Ethical Business is ideal for undergraduate or MBA courses, as either a standalone text or a companion to an anthology or selected case studies. Every chapter is self-contained, so the text can be used in whole or in part and in long or short courses.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195369106
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	08/28/2008
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.50(d)

Table of Contents

PrefacePART I. THE ROLE OF BUSINESS IN A FREE DEMOCRACY1. Two Democratic TraditionsFoundations of CapitalismTwo Conceptions of Democracy2. The Rights and Social Responsibilities of BusinessThe Moral Rights of BusinessesA Proposal for Justifying Inequalities in Free DemocraciesDetermining Ethical Obligations: Some Major ApproachesEthical Obligation and Legal Requirements3. The Constituencies of Ethical BusinessLimitations of Ownership RightsThe Interests of StockholdersThe Multiple-Constituency View of the CorporationConstituents as "Stakeholders"4. A Framework for Making Ethical DecisionsCommon-Sense Ethical PrinciplesA Five-Step Model for Making Difficult Ethical Decisions5. Ethical Business, Environmental Responsibility, and SustainabilityThe Value of the EnvironmentThe Ethical Importance of Future GenerationsThe Ideal of Sustainability6. Marketing: Product, Target, and ImageSome Major Dimensions of Marketing EthicsFive Types of Ethical Problems in MarketingInsincerity, Deception, and Manipulation in MarketingAdvertising and the Limits of Persuasive RepresentationThe Ethics of Creating DesireThe Interdependence of Marketing and Manufacturing DecisionsAdvertising and the Human Image7. The Ethics of Financial RepresentationThe Centrality of Accounting in Capitalist DemocraciesThe Public Representation of Financial PositionsJudgment, Clarity, and Conflicts of Interest in AccountingPART II. THE ETHICS OF INTERNAL MANAGEMENT8. Hiring Policies and Compensation StandardsPreferential Hiring and Affirmative ActionRationales for Affirmative ActionPromotion and RemunerationQualifications and MeritExecutive CompensationAn Approach to Fairness in CEO Compensation9. Conditions of Employment and Codes of EthicsSafety, Risk, and Informed ConsentWhistleblowingHealthcare Obligations and ResponsibilitiesPrivacy in EmploymentPrivate Lives and the Movable WorkplaceCompany Codes and Mission Statements10. Religion in the WorkplaceChurch-State Separation as a Starting Point in EmploymentSome Applications to Managerial Policy QuestionsReligion in Large Public CompaniesDemonstrative Affiliation in Employment11. Managerial Leadership and Corporate CultureCorporate Culture, Ethos, and EthicsManagerial Hierarchy and Its LimitationsLeadership Versus PowerEthical Leadership and Leadership in EthicsMeaningful Work and the Creation of ValuePART III. ETHICAL PROBLEMS OF GLOBAL BUSINESS12. International Trade and Cross-Cultural StandardsIntercultural UnderstandingChild LaborGift-Giving in BusinessGift-Giving Versus Bribery13. Nationality, International Business Ethics, and CosmopolitanismOutsourcingCultural Adaptation, Relativity, and Standards of NegotiationEthical Limits in Negotiation StrategiesThe Relation Between Ethics and LawIntellectual Property, Technology Transfer, and Porous BordersEthics and Law in International BusinessInternational Cooperation and Cosmopolitanism14. Conclusion, Brief Case Scenarios, Glossary, Endnotes, Index

Editorial Reviews

"Business Ethics and Ethical Business is philosophically sophisticated and yet written in admirably clear prose. This is a virtuoso performance by one of the most distinguished scholars in the field of business ethics."—Edwin M. Hartman, Leonard N. Stern School of Business, New York University

"As we have come to expect of Audi's work, the reasoning and style contained in Business Ethics and Ethical Business has the 'triple-barrels' of richness, insightfulness, and clarity."—Mitchell R. Haney, University of North Florida

"This elegant and concise introduction to business ethics examines business as a practice that sits at the nexus of democratic values, free market values, and individual and community conceptions of the good life."—Joanne B. Ciulla, University of Richmond

"Audi cuts away the fluff and gives his reader the essentials without unnecessary embellishment."—Peter Madsen, Carnegie Mellon University

From the Publisher