A Companion to Business Ethics

In a series of articles specifically commissioned for this volume, some of today′s most distinguished business ethicists survey the main areas of interest and concern in the field of business ethics.

Sections of the book cover topics such as the often uneasy relationship between business ethics and capitalism, the link between business ethics and ethical theory, how ethics applies to specific problems in the business world, the connection between business ethics and related academic disciplines, and the practice of business ethics in modern corporations.

The book can be used as a comprehensive text for introductory or advanced courses in business ethics, as a reference for teachers and writers in the field, or as a guide for other academic or business persons who wish to become familiar with the central issues in the field. To enhance its usefulness, the volume includes bibliographies of the relevant literature and a list of internet sources for material on business ethics, and an extensive index.

List of Contributors ix

Preface xiii

PART I BUSINESS ETHICS AND NORMATIVE THEORIES 1

1 A Kantian approach to business ethics 3
Norman E. Bowie

2 Utilitarianism and business ethics 17
Milton Snoeyenbos and James Humber

3 Business ethics and virtue 30
Robert C. Solomon

4 Social contract approaches to business ethics: bridging the is ought gap 38
Thomas W. Dunfee and Thomas Donaldson

5 Business ethics and the pragmatic attitude 56
Douglas R. Anderson

6 An outline of ethical relativism and ethical absolutism 65
Robert E. Frederick

7 Feminist theory and business ethics 81
Robbin Derry

8 Business ethics in a free society 88
Tibor R. Machan

9 Nature and business ethics 100
William C. Frederick

10 Toward new directions in business ethics: some pragmatic pathways 112
Sandra B. Rosenthal and Rogene A. Buchholz

11 Business ethics: pragmatism and postmodernism 128
R. Edward Freeman and Robert A. Phillips

PART II BUSINESS ETHICS AND THE BUSINESS DISCIPLINES 139

12 Ethics in management 141
Archie B. Carroll

13 Finance ethics 153
John R. Boatright

14 Ethics in the public accounting profession 164
Mohammad J. Abdolmohammadi and Mark R. Nixon

15 Marketing ethics 178
George G. Brenkert

16 Law, ethics, and managerial judgment 194
Lynn S. Paine

17 Business ethics and economics 207
Diane L. Swanson

18 Business ethics and the social sciences 218
Linda Klebe Treviño

PART III ISSUES IN BUSINESS ETHICS 231

19 International business ethics 233
Richard T. De George

20 Corporate moral agency 243
John R. Danley

21 Employee rights 257
Ronald Duska

22 Business ethics and work: questions for the twenty–first century 269
Joanne B. Ciulla

23 Business s environmental responsibility 280
Joseph R. Desjardins

24 Business ethics and religion 290
Ronald M. Green

25 Social responsibility and business ethics 303
Rogene A. Buchholz and Sandra B. Rosenthal

PART IV BUSINESS ETHICS: ORIGINS AND CONTEMPORARY PRACTICE 323

26 Business ethics and the origins of contemporary capitalism: economics and ethics in the work of Adam Smith and Herbert Spencer 325
Patricia H. Werhane

27 A brief history of American business ethics 342
Thomas F. McMahon

28 Business ethics in Europe: a tale of two efforts 353
Henk Van Luijk

29 Ethics and the regulatory environment 366
Jeffrey M. Kaplan and Rebecca S. Walker

30 A passport for the corporate code: from Borg Warner to the Caux Principles 374
Lisa H. Newton

31 Investigations and due process 386
Joan Elise Dubinsky

32 Ethics and corporate leadership 399
Keith Darcy

Bibliography 409

Appendix A: BUSINESS ETHICS: ELECTRONIC RESOURCES 423

Appendix B: DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS ETHICS ORGANIZATIONS 425

Index 447

Robert E. Frederick is chair of the philosophy department at Bentley College, a research scholar at the Center for Business Ethics, and the editor of the journal Business and Society Review, also published by Blackwell. He is the author of The Philosophy of Right and Left and co–editor (with Michael Hoffman) of Business Ethics: Readings and Cases in Corporate Morality. Frederick and Hoffman are also editors of the new series Foundations of Business Ethics.

"Frederick has orchestrated a marvelous business ethics symphony in this Companion. The articles are original, targeted at essential issues, and written by recognized scholars of the movement. It promises to become one of the field′s classic collections." W. Michael Hoffman, Center for Business Ethics, Bentley College <!––end––>

"The pace of change and the unexpected challenges that managers now confront every day make it all the more important that they have a clear sense of business ethics to guide their decision making. This book provides that handrail and shows how good business and good ethics go hand in hand." John Quelch, London Business School

"This is a valuable resource with thoughtful essays by the best minds in business ethics today. The organization of the book by ethical theories, business diciplines, and contemporary ethical issues makes it particularly useful as a reference book for academics and practitioners alike." Brad Brown, University of Virginia