Business Ethics starts with a description and analysis of business ethics. The first part begins with an introduction to business ethics. Next, the text frames business ethics within the contexts of corporate responsibility, stakeholders, and citizenship. Business ethics is then evaluated using normative ethical theories. The text then looks at making decisions in business ethics using descriptive ethical theories. At the end of the first part, the text looks at managing business ethics. The second part is about contextualizing business ethics in terms of the people involved. It looks at shareholders, employees, consumers, suppliers, competitors, government, and civil society. Finally the text makes some conclusions and looks to the future.
Book
Andrew Crane, Dirk Matten, Sarah Glozer, and Laura J. Spence
Chapter
Civil Society and Business Ethics
This chapter shows the relationships between businesses and civil society organizations (CSOs), addressing the changing patterns of relationships between these traditionally adversarial institutions. It looks at the role played by various types of CSOs as stakeholders of corporations, both directly and indirectly. The chapter also explores the ethics of pressure group tactics, business–CSO collaboration, and social enterprise. The chapter then jumps to review the impacts of globalization on the nature and extent of the role played by civil society towards corporations. It further examines the different relationships between business and civil society and their impact on corporate responsibility. Ultimately, the chapter discusses the role of civil society in enhancing corporate sustainability.
Chapter
Conclusions and Future Perspectives
This chapter sums up the role, meaning, and importance of business ethics, including emergent themes. It identifies the emerging themes of gender and other inequalities, alternative business models, and digitalization. The chapter also tackles the influence of globalization on business ethics and the value of the notion of sustainability. It then shifts to explain the role and significance of stakeholders as a whole for ethical management, and presents the implications of corporate citizenship thinking for business ethics. Ultimately, the chapter discusses the contribution of normative ethical theories to business ethics. It then considers the potential conflicts between different stakeholder groups, and draws conclusions about the future relevance of business ethics issues.
Chapter
Consumers and Business Ethics
This chapter looks at the ethical issues arising in the context of consumers. It analyzes the question of consumer rights, the ideal of consumer sovereignty, and the role of ethical consumption in shaping corporate responsibility. The chapter then shifts to review the impact of globalization on responsibilities towards consumers. It evaluates the arguments for more responsible marketing practices, then assesses consumer decision-making models in the context of ethical consumption. The chapter concludes by investigating the problems and solutions around moving towards more sustainable models of consumption. It elaborates the role of sustainable consumption in effecting positive social change through corporations.
Chapter
Employees and Business Ethics
This chapter studies ethical issues in relation to employees and workers. Focusing on the specific role of employees and workers as a stakeholder, the chapter addresses the various rights and duties of this stakeholder group, and presents the global context of workers' rights. The chapter also discusses corporate citizenship and sustainability in relation to employees, in the context of issues such as employee participation, work–life balance, and sustainable employment. It further explicates the role of good corporate citizenship in managing human rights. Ultimately, the chapter assesses the ethical issues raised by globalization for managing employees. It then identifies the implications for sustainability of firms' relationships with employees.
Chapter
Evaluating Business Ethics
Normative Ethical Theories
This chapter sets out the key normative ethical theories that can be applied to business ethics problems, in terms of both traditional and contemporary theoretical approaches. It addresses Western modernist ethical theories, i.e. utilitarianism, ethics of duty, rights and justice, and social contract theory. The array of ethical theories discussed in the chapter provides a rich source of assistance in making morally informed decisions. The chapter aims to identify a pragmatic, pluralistic approach to theory application. It also discusses and utilizes alternative ethical theories, i.e. virtue ethics, ethics of care, discourse ethics, and postmodernism. Ultimately, the chapter carries out a pluralist business ethics evaluation.
Chapter
Framing Business Ethics
Corporate Responsibility, Stakeholders, and Citizenship
This chapter focuses on the ways of framing business ethics in the context of the corporation being part of a wider society. It investigates why corporations have social responsibilities, then explains corporate social responsibility in terms of its levels, strategies, and outcomes. The chapter also offers an overview of concepts such as stakeholder theory. This leads on to an analysis of key contemporary concepts such as corporate accountability and corporate citizenship, which give important conceptual space for understanding business ethics beyond its traditional boundaries. The chapter then evaluates the implications of applying these theories and concepts to different international contexts. Ultimately, the chapter argues that, although this is a more recent interpretation of business ethics to have emerged from the literature, it still can be analyzed in a number of different ways and it can be extremely useful for framing some of the problems of business ethics in the global economy.
Chapter
Government, Regulation, and Business Ethics
This chapter talks about government and regulation. The government as a stakeholder, as the chapter defines it, is a very multifaceted group. The chapter unfolds the government at various levels, functions, and areas. It investigates problems such as corruption and corporate lobbying, and explores the shifting relationships between regulation, government, and business, emphasizing the increasingly important role played by corporations in the governance of the global economy. By describing the ethical issues and problems faced in business–government relations, the chapter evaluates the shifts in these issues and problems in the context of globalization. Ultimately, the chapter looks at the changing role of business and CSOs in the regulatory process as well as the role of governmental regulation in achieving potentially sustainable solutions.
Chapter
Introducing Business Ethics
This chapter presents a basic introduction to the concept of business ethics and its importance both at an academic level and in terms of practical management in different types of organizations. It starts by describing the relationship between business ethics and the law, then distinguishes between ethics, morality, and ethical theory. The chapter then introduces two of the main themes of the book: globalization and sustainability. It argues that business ethics has been recontextualized by the forces of globalization, necessitating a distinctly global view of ethical problems and practices in business. Ultimately, the chapter explains how the ‘triple bottom line’ of sustainability is a key goal for business ethics. It also elaborates on different international perspectives on business ethics, including European, Asian, and North American perspectives.
Chapter
Making Decisions in Business Ethics
Descriptive Ethical Theories
This chapter presents an alternative way of addressing questions of ethical decision-making by looking at how decisions are actually made in business ethics, and by assessing the various descriptive theories in the literature. It specifies the characteristics of a decision with ethical content, and defines a basic ethical decision-making model. The chapter also outlines the key elements of individual and situational influences on ethical decision-making, then evaluates the role of individual differences in shaping ethical decision-making. Ultimately, the chapter reviews the role of situational influences on ethical decision-making, including both issue based and context based factors. It then determines the points of leverage for improving ethical decision-making in business.
Chapter
Managing Business Ethics
Tools and Techniques of Business Ethics Management
This chapter displays a critical examination of proposals for managing business ethics through specific tools, techniques, practices, and processes. It explores the nature, evolution, and scope of business ethics management. The chapter also investigates why firms manage their social expectations alongside employee ethical behaviour. It then considers the role of codes of ethics in managing the ethical behaviour of employees, and the current theory and practice regarding the management of stakeholder relationships. Ultimately, the chapter analyzes the role of social accounting, auditing, and reporting tools in assessing ethical performance. It looks over the tools through which firms develop adequate environmental management systems as well as the different ways of organizing for the management of business ethics.
Chapter
Shareholders and Business Ethics
This chapter sets out the rights and responsibilities of shareholders, emphasizing the ethical issues that arise in the area of corporate governance including insider trading, executive remuneration, and ethics of private equity. It focuses on the different corporate governance models across the globe, and the specific role played by shareholders in socially responsible investment. The chapter also evaluates the ethical implications of globalization for company–shareholder relations. It explores the roles of shareholder democracy, shareholder activism, and responsible investment in promoting ethical business behaviour. Ultimately, the chapter concludes with a discussion of alternative forms of corporate ownership as a basis for enhanced sustainability.
Chapter
Suppliers, Competitors, and Business Ethics
This chapter highlights the ethical issues arising in relation to firms' suppliers and competitors. It looks at the problems such as conflict of interest, bribery, and unfair competition, and moves on to discuss the global supply-chain and ethical sourcing. The chapter also narrates the ethical challenges of global business networks, including from the perspective of small firms. It then demonstrates the role of corporations in influencing the social and environmental choices of suppliers and competitors through their business relationships. The chapter concludes by exploring the challenges of sustainable supply-chain management and industrial ecosystems. It also points out the implications for sustainability of relationships with suppliers and competitors.
