Business Ethic

Introduction
At least do no harm: Our interest in writing this article is twofold.

sources on the changing Since the 1991-92 Academic Year, Kent State
University Stark Campus has developed and
role of business ethics promoted a campus teaching theme. The pur-
and corporate social pose of the theme is to demonstrate to students
the interconnectedness of knowledge. Previous
responsibility themes have included “The Nuclear Genie”,
“Violence in America”, and “Gender in Soci-
ety”. The theme for 1996-1998 was “Whose
Maureen Kilcullen and Values?”, an investigation into American values
and ethics. In our library’s attempts to promote
Judith Ohles Kooistra
the theme, we have created numerous bibliogra-
phies on various aspects of ethics. Although we
have studied nearly every topic under ethics,
this article’s focus is business ethics and Corpo-
The authors rate Social Responsibility (CSR; see Appendix).
Maureen Kilcullen is an Assistant Professor/Reference Our decision to research this part of ethics was
Librarian, Kent State University, Stark Campus Library, Ohio, the result of the publication of the tobacco
USA, <mkilcullen@stark.kent.edu> companies’ shocking internal documents. In
Judith Ohles Kooistra is an Associate Professor/Collection addition, the failure of government to regulate
Development Librarian, Kent State University, Stark Campus tobacco made this topic increasingly important.
Library, Ohio, USA, <jkooistra@stark.kent.edu> Media attention on the tobacco industry stimu-
lated our interest in investigating the changing
Keywords role of business ethics and CSR during the last
Accountability, Corporate culture, Ethics, Social responsibility, five years. Having heard much about CSR in the
Stakeholders past, we were under the impression that it had
taken hold as a movement and more and more
Abstract corporations were leaning toward ethical busi-
Although the topics of business ethics and Corporate Social ness practices and social responsibility. We knew
Responsibility (CSR) are not new, this article focuses on the from our review of the literature that emphasis
changing role of both subjects in the current business world. on ethics courses offered in business schools
Having heard much about CSR in the past, the authors were had increased since the mid-1970s (Bishop,
under the impression that it had taken hold as a movement 1992, p. 291).
and more and more corporations were leaning toward ethical If more of our business graduates were
business practices and social responsibility. Media attention receiving backgrounds in ethical business prac-
on the shocking revelations of the tobacco industry stimulat- tices, how could the morally reprehensible
ed their interest in investigating this impression. Their activities of the tobacco industry be continuing?
research indicates that, although some corporations are still
practicing unethical behavior, many more indicated that they
Understanding the problems
have a social responsibility to their stakeholders.
To understand corporate social responsibility,
one must also understand business ethics.
Business ethics can be defined as “a set of prin-
ciples that guides business practices to reflect a
concern for society as a whole while pursuing
profits” (Nisberg, 1988, p. 43). Corporate
Social Responsibility is the degree of moral
obligation that may be ascribed to corporations
Reference Services Review
Volume 27 · Number 2 · 1999 · pp. 158–178 beyond simple obedience to the laws of the state.
© MCB University Press · ISSN 0090-7324 Another concept, central to understanding
158
At least do no harm Reference Services Review
Maureen Kilcullen and Judith Ohles Kooistra Volume 27 · Number 2 · 1999 · 158–178
CSR, is that a corporation is defined as an entity addictive nicotine to tobacco products is socially
created and empowered by a state charter to act unacceptable – an obvious case of social irre-
as an individual. This authorization gives the sponsibility. But what we have found is that
corporation the right to own, buy, and sell many business dilemmas are not as apparent.
property, to enter into contracts, to sue and be Social responsibility is not always evident and
sued, and to have legal accountability for dam- managers often find themselves with less than
ages and debt only to the limit of the stockhold- perfect knowledge. In our readings we have
ers’ investment (Nisberg, 1988, p. 74). found that arguments for corporate social
When one considers this definition of a responsibility have centered on the long-term
corporation – an entity with many of the rights advantages of socially responsible behavior,
of humans – and considers that most financial advantages such as greater customer and
activity is borne by corporations, their potential employee loyalty and a more supportive external
for causing both physical and financial injury to environment. Other moral arguments have
their employees, their customers, their commu- focused on the philosophical justification for
nities, and the national economy, cannot be right behavior, with or without regard to conse-
exaggerated. The idea that a corporation can quences. Stakeholder arguments have focused
operate free of any moral restraints is absurd. on contractual and interest-based reasons for
Corporations, as we define them, have a duty CSR. Some studies conclude that socially irre-
not to impose damage or harm to others. Where sponsible and illegal corporate acts result in
the corporation possesses knowledge about a substantial unrecovered decreases in sharehold-
problem and its solution is directly responsible er wealth. Markets do recognize and account for
for causing harm or suffering to a particular tangible and intangible costs to the firms that
group, corporations must refrain from engaging exhibit socially irresponsible and unlawful
in the harmful activities. behavior.
A recent example of a corporation possessing
knowledge about a specific problem is an inter-
Conclusion
nal memo in which a former assistant research
director for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company We are encouraged that, although wounded, the
wrote, “Happily for the tobacco industry, nico- Corporate Social Responsibility movement
tine is both habituating and unique in its variety continues unabated. For example, ethical
of physiological actions”. At the same time the investment funds have been created, amounting
CEO of that company is on record for insisting in the USA to $650 billion in 1996 (Punter and
that “Cigarette smoking is no more addictive Gangneux, 1998), and over 1,400 companies
than coffee, tea, or Twinkies” (Jordan, 1996, p. belong to Business for Social Responsibility,
11). The addition of ammonia-based com- BSR[1]. BSR, founded in 1992, is an American
pounds, rat poison, and a lung-specific carcino- based global resource for companies looking to
gen as well as more addictive nicotine to tobac- maintain their economic success in ways that
co products seem to us to be a further indict- illustrate their respect for ethical values, people,
ment on the moral reprehensibility of the tobac- communities and the environment. BSR pro-
co industry. Based on these and other internal vides information and help to members about
documents, why would a USA Appeals Court the full range of corporate responsibility issues.
deny the Food and Drug Administration the Other helpful, watchdog sites promoting ethical
ability to regulate tobacco as a drug? (Jones, behavior include the Nader Page located on the
1998). Web at http://www.
nader.org/ and Focus on the Corporation at
http://www.essential.org/monitor/focus/focus.in
The changing role of business ethics and
dex.html. The proliferation of these types of
corporate social responsibility
sites on the Web is heartening. More and more
What do these unethical activities indicate when companies are publicizing their business ethics
trying to evaluate the changing role of business programs on the World Wide Web. These
ethics and the corporate social responsibility include Shell Oil, which, after a number of
movement? Obviously, the addition of more environmental and public relations problems,
159
determined to commit to renewable energy, and the communities in which the corporations
sustainability and human rights worldwide and operate, and are not stockholders in the corporation.
Columbia/HCA Healthcare which is now dedi-
cated to the highest standards of ethics and Bibliography
compliance (Schroeder, 1998, p. 10).
The following titles were selected from the Background information
huge field of publications in business ethics and Buchholz, R.A. (1994), Business Environment
CSR based on the following criteria. We select- and Public Policy; Implications for Management,
ed a wide range of titles suitable for the general 5th ed., Prentice-Hall, Englewood, NJ, $51.75,
public that included case studies, ethical man- 684p., LC 94018070, ISBN 0133110850.
agement, business ethics and successful socially Rogene Buchholz, from the College of Business
responsible businesses to provide an overview of Administration of Loyola University of New
the changing role of business ethics and CSR Orleans, has written the fifth edition of a book
from 1993 to 1998. that discusses business’ responsibilities to politi-
cal and social issues. Divided into five major
sections and further subdivided into 20
Note
chapters, Business Environment and Public Policy
1 Business for Social Responsibility (1992), Business for describes the changing roles of business, partic-
Social Responsibility, [Online] http://www.bsr.org ularly as it relates to social issues. Buchholz
(January 12, 1999). indicates that businesses have been compelled
to pay more and more attention to issues out-
References lined in the book’s preface, such as “pollution
control, workplace safety and health, equal
Bishop, T.R. (1992), “Integrating business ethics into an opportunity, and produce quality and safety.”
undergraduate curriculum”, Journal of Business Ethics, Each chapter includes short cases, notes, and
Vol. 11 No. 4, pp. 291-9.
suggested readings. Major sections include
Jones, C. (1998), “FDA is denied tobacco authority”, Rich- Introduction to Business Environment and
mond Times-Dispatch, April 15, n.p.
Public Policy, Business and Public Policy,
Jordan, L. (1996), “Big tobacco’s deadly deceits: cigarette Public Policy Issues, Ethical and International
makers have worked hard to get smokers hooked”,
Dimensions of Public Policy, and Public Policy
Midwest Today, Vol. 5 No. 1, pp. 6-13.
and Strategic Management. Business Environ-
Nisberg, J.N. (1988), The Random House Handbook of
ment and Public Policy provides a good and
Business Terms, Random House, New York, NY.
thorough introduction to the field of industrial
Punter, L. and Gangneux, D. (1998), “Social accountability:
the most recent element to ensure total quality man-
policy and management as well as the business
agement”, Total Quality Management, Vol. 9 No. 4/5, community’s responsibility to society.
pp. S196-S198.
Schroeder, S. (1998), “Business ethics on the Web”, Risk Chadwick, R. (Ed.) (1998), Encyclopedia of
Management, Vol. 45 No. 9, p. 10. Applied Ethics, Academic Press, San Diego, CA,
4 vols, $156.00, LC 97-074395, ISBN
012227069X.
Appendix: Glossary
Applied ethics is the concern with furthering
Bottom line: the final profit or loss statement on a
balance sheet. our understanding and resolution of practical
Business ethics: the ethical code that guides issues of right and wrong. This set of four vol-
business practices to reflect a consideration for umes comprehensively addresses the discipline
society as a whole while seeking profits. of applied ethics. It includes 281 full-length
Corporate Social Responsibility: the degree of articles on the whole scope of applied ethics.
moral obligation that may be ascribed to corporations Entries include practical issues ranging from
beyond complying with the laws of the state.
medical ethics to the ethics of social relation-
Fiduciary: a person who has the legal authority to
act for another. ships as well as the leading theories and con-
Stakeholders: people who are impacted by corpo- cepts of ethics. Each article furnishes a detailed
rate decisions, such as customers, suppliers, employees summary of the selected subject to reach a wide
160
spectrum of readers, from research profession- new global dimension, business was experienc-
als to the general public. The articles are ing important challenges, including how much
arranged in a single alphabetical list by title and to load on business beside survival and profit
the author’s name and affiliation are found at making, like CSR’s lengthening agenda.” Is the
the beginning of the article. Each entry is orga- Good Corporation Dead? is an interesting book
nized by the following: title and author, outline, about an important aspect of business ethics.
glossary, defining statement, main body of the
article, cross-references, and bibliography. The Newton, Lisa H. and Ford, Maureen M.
outline is intended as an overview and lists the (1996), Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Contro-
major headings of the article. The glossary versial Issues in Business Ethics and Society, 4th
consists of terms that may be unknown to the ed., Wm. C. Brown, Dubuque, IA, $13.00,
reader and are significant to the understanding 400p., ISBN 0697312917.
of the article. The terms are defined in the
context of the particular article in which they Part of the Taking Sides series, Taking Sides:
are used. Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in Business
Each entry has a defining statement that Ethics and Society provides a good basis for
explains the topic under discussion and summa- looking at business issues from differing view-
rizes the content of the article. Almost all of the points. Major areas of business ethics are
entries contain cross-references to related arti- included, and each area addresses the pros and
cles that can be consulted for other information cons of the issue addressed. The main sections
on a related topic. For example, the entry on include Capitalism and Corporations in Theory
“Corporate Responsibility” includes the follow- and Practice; Ethics in Financial Areas; Human
ing cross-references: Corporations, Ethics in; Resources: The Corporation and the Employee;
and Legal Ethics, Overview. The entries include Moving the Product: Marketing and Consumer
a bibliography that lists secondary sources to Dilemmas; Environmental Policy and Corpo-
provide references for further studies. rate Responsibility; and Operating in the Inter-
national Arena. Many chapters include end-
Houck, J.W. and Williams, O. F. (Eds) (1996), notes and a bibliography. Each section address-
Is the Good Corporation Dead?; Social Responsibil- es various aspects of its topic. For example, the
ity in a Global Economy, Rowman and Littlefield, Human Resources chapter includes issues such
Lanham, MD, $67.50, 318p., LC 95052589, as the following: Does Blowing the Whistle
ISBN 0847682080. Violate Company Loyalty?; Should Concern for
John Houck and Oliver Williams have edited a Drug Abuse Overrule Concerns for Employee
book that grew out of an article by Newsweek Privacy?; and Should Women Have the Same
journalist Robert J. Samuelson. The article Right to Work as Men? Such issues are present-
declared that the Good Corporation is dead. ed with both pro and con arguments and enable
The editors ask the question, “Does Samuelson readers to look at various sides of an issue to
have it right that the Good Corporation, com- intelligently determine their beliefs.
bining profitability with Corporate Social The book is, as the editors state, “aimed at an
Responsibility (CSR), is dead on arrival in our audience of students who expect to be in busi-
new global economy?” This question is ness, who know that there are knotty ethical
answered in this book by contributors who are problems out there, and who want a chance to
ethicists, business faculty or administrators, and confront them ahead of time”. They go on to
corporate executives. The sections of the book say that “the method of confronting them is an
are: The Death of the Good Corporation; invitation to join in a debate, a contest of con-
Redefining Corporate Responsibility: The trary facts and conflicting values in many of the
Responsibility; Religious Perspectives on Cor- major issues of the day.” The editors are both
porate Social Responsibility; and The Socially professors at Fairfield University, and the con-
Responsible Corporation: Converting Theory tributors range from university faculty in busi-
into Practice. In these sections, the contributors ness or philosophy to environmental and social
put forth the consensus “that because of the advocates.
161
Roth, J.K. (Ed.) (1994), Ethics, Salem Press, focusing on the business relationship with its
Pasadena, CA, 3 vols., $290.00, 1,052p., LC nonmarket environment. This lengthy book
94003995, ISBN 0893563951. includes 23 chapters which are organized into
five major sections. The major sections discuss
Included in this source are 819 articles alpha-
betically arranged by word, and ranging in the issues of business and its environments, as
length from 350 to 3,000 words. The volumes follows: Part I: Strategy and the Nonmarket
cover a wide variety of ethics-related topics Environment; Part II: Nonmarket Strategies
including traditional, philosophical, and reli- and Government Institutions; Part III: Govern-
gious ethical subjects. They also include many ment and Markets; Part IV: International Busi-
articles that deal with applied ethics. According ness and Nonmarket Issues; and Part V: Ethics
to the author, this is the only ethics reference and Responsibility.
book available that covers such areas of ethical Author David Baron defines the nonmarket
inquiry as animal rights; political and judicial environment as “the legal, political, and social
ethics; the ethics of science and computing; context in which firms are embedded.” Each
military ethics; the ethics of sex and gender; and chapter includes case studies and each major
the ethics of the arts and censorship. The ency- section includes integrative cases. These cases
clopedia also includes important events, people, help to illustrate the interrelationship of the
books, organizations, and concepts and aspects market and nonmarket environments. Baron
of human behavior. The editor attempts to emphasizes that successful business managers
include important topics from the religions and need to manage in both environments. The
cultures of India, East Asia and other non- second edition of Business and Its Environment,
Western countries in an attempt to avoid focus- as Baron states, “adopts an integrated perspec-
ing just on the Judeo-Christian tradition. tive at two levels.” Baron further defines the
Each article is headed by listings that provide edition’s goals as follows: “First, it brings
the following information: author; dates and together the disciplines of economics, political
place of birth and death for important person- science, law, and ethics to provide a deeper
ages; dates of important events; the type of understanding of the environment of business
ethics relating to the topic; and an entry that and the issues that arise therein . . . . Second, a
explains the importance of that topic in the field new theme developed in the first two chapters
of ethics. The articles also include cross-refer-
and carried through much of the book is that of
ences to related articles. The entries that are
integrated strategy – bringing together strategy
1,000 to 3,000 words include bibliographies
formulation in the market and nonmarket envi-
and those of the 3,000 word articles are anno-
ronments.” Baron provides an interesting book
tated.
that introduces various concepts and aspects of
The encyclopedia provides a time line of the
business ethics.
history of ethics, a list of ethics organizations, a
subject index, a personage index and a bibliog-
Boylan, M. (1995), Ethical Issues in Business,
raphy. Approximately 75 contributors are listed,
each associated with a college or university. Harcourt Brace College, Fort Worth, TX,
$38.75, 591p., LC 94076727, ISBN
Business ethics 0155014420.
Baron, D.P. (1996), Business and Its Ethical Issues in Business marries the often dis-
Environment, 2d ed., Prentice-Hall, Upper parate fields of business and philosophy with
Saddle River, NJ, $58.00, 720p., LC 95- writings from such contributors as Aristotle, St
024932, ISBN 0133033147. Thomas Aquinas, John Stuart Mill, Milton
Business and Its Environment deals with several Friedman, Ralph Nader, John Kenneth Gal-
issues in the field of business, including business braith, and Scott Turow. This unusual mix of
ethics and the social responsibility of business, contributors highlights, as the editor states in
as well as commercial law and industrial policy. the introduction, the “odd partners [of philoso-
Basically, this work investigates businesses in phy and business] because philosophy empha-
both their market and nonmarket environments, sizes theoretical speculation about principles
162
and business tends to focus on the most efficient any situation. In chapter 8, the author analyzes
way to bring about some action.” the Challenger Space Shuttle disaster. Reading
The book is divided into five major sections, that chapter helps one realize that the types of
which are further subdivided into chapters. The accountability errors involved in the Challenger
main parts are Ethical Theory, Employer- tragedy are no different from errors made in
Employee Relations, Consumer Issues, Govern- other organizations – other than its tragic acci-
ment Issues, and International Issues. The book dent.
presents several case studies to illustrate the
various issues in business ethics. In addition, Castro, B. (Ed.) (1996), Business and Society; A
according to editor Michael Boylan, “Ethical Reader in the History, Sociology, and Ethics of
Issues in Business places a greater emphasis on Business, Oxford University Press, New York,
perspectives from outside the Western tradition $28.95, 274p., LC 95006663, ISBN
and perspectives from women.” This work 0195095669.
provides a fairly comprehensive introduction to
Business and Society includes three major sec-
the field of business ethics.
tions – History, Sociology, and Ethics – further
subdivided into chapters authored by such
Brooks, T. (1995), Accountability: It All Depends
diverse contributors as John Maynard Keynes,
on What You Mean, Akkad Press, Clifton, NJ,
Cornel West, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels,
$13.50, 176p., LC 95-940066, ISBN 9645322-
Gloria Steinem, George Orwell, and others,
5-5.
who offer differing perspectives on business and
Using the Challenger Space Shuttle tragedy as the issues inherent in it. Editor Barry Castro,
an example, the author discusses the serious Professor of Management and Economics at
aftermath of ignoring or misunderstanding Grand Valley State University, indicates in his
accountability. According to the author, the introduction that he and the contributors
types of accountability errors involved in the “study the historical evaluation of business,
tragedy are no different from errors made in government, and society in order to understand
other organizations. The book emphasizes the present character of each more deeply.” This
accountability in the workplace but the exam- Reader in the History, Sociology, and Ethics of
ples are not all work related. Brooks defines Business includes a section specific to ethics,
accountability by reviewing the following ques- which includes the following subdivisions: A
tions: Dilemma to Begin with; Conscience; Law;
• Can we really hold people accountable? Environment; An Overview; and Bringing It
• Why do people use the word accountability Back Home. In these sections, ethical consider-
differently? ations of business are covered by the various
• Is accountability different from responsibility? contributors. These writings cover topics such
• Is there a quick way of checking if account- as tobacco companies and their advertising and
ability exists? business relationship to the environment. Cas-
• How can accountability be repaired? tro’s book provides a welcome addition to the
• What right do we have to hold people field of business ethics.
accountable?
De George, R.T. (1995), Business Ethics, 4th
The foundation of this book lies in identifying
ed., Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ,
accountability problems. To identify the prob-
$33.00, 591p., LC 94004738, ISBN
lems, the first seven chapters analyze the follow-
0023280204.
ing five questions, which form the backbone of
this book: What is accountability? How does it This book attempts to comprehensively cover
work? How can we repair it when it is not work- the field of business ethics. Business ethics
ing? What right do we have to hold people topics have increasingly become important in
accountable? When should people be held the changing attitudes of people toward busi-
accountable? According to the author, reading ness and its social responsibility. Business Ethics
these seven chapters enables one to have the initially deals with methods of moral reasoning
means to evaluate the state of accountability in that are necessary in analyzing moral issues in
163
business and then presents inquiries into the on corporations, governments fail to protect us
ethics of USA economic systems. The book because of corporate power over them.
then analyzes ethical business issues ranging The author believes that corporations are in
from workers’ rights to trade secrets. It con- business for the bottom line. Because they have
cludes with a discussion of a variety of moral been given the rights and status of humans,
issues in international business as well as obliga- corporations are protected as “super citizens”
tions of nations and generations to each other. by law. Dobbin thinks that these corporations
De George seeks to teach the technical side of have redesigned the world’s entire economic
ethics so one can approach moral issues intelli- system. In this book, the author advocates that
gently and participate in the ongoing debate human citizens recognize and object to the daily
about the morality of certain social and business barrage of corporate media propaganda that is
practices. He endeavors to discuss what is devaluing our ethics and making us apathetic.
morally required of a person in a company Dobbin wants all people to cancel their cable
whether he or she is an employee, a manager, or television and newspaper subscriptions because
a member of the board of directors and what corporations are influencing these sources
structures guide a person’s fulfillment of his or resulting in the “dumbing of the people”. He
her moral obligations. argues that humans should join groups that are
Business Ethics tries to be comprehensive in fighting corporate domination or form groups of
focus and each chapter introduces a case that our own.
raises an issue relevant to the contents of that
Harwood, S. (1995), Business as Ethical and
chapter. The book’s objective is that American
Business as Usual; Text, Readings, and Cases,
business be made more moral. Chapters
Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Boston, MA,
include: justice and economic systems, Ameri-
$38.75, 582p.,.LC 95039105, ISBN
can capitalism: moral or immoral, the social
0867209712.
audit; risk and environmental protection, whis-
tle-blowing, marketing, truth in advertising, Part of The Jones and Bartlett Series in Philoso-
trade secrets, corporate disclosure and insider phy, Business as Ethical and Business as Usual is a
trading, accounting, finance, corporate restruc- lengthy book that covers the topics of business
turing and ethical investing, computers, ethics ethics, corporate culture, and the social respon-
and business, workers’ rights, employment, sibility of business. Edited by Sterling Harwood
wages and unions, discrimination, reverse of San Jose State University, this title is geared
discrimination and affirmative action. towards undergraduate students. The book is
divided into seven major sections and further
Dobbin, M. (1998), The Myth of the Good Cor- subdivided into chapters. Each chapter includes
porate Citizen: Democracy under the Rule of Big endnotes and study questions. The major sec-
Business, Stoddart, Toronto, $23.95, 330p., LC tions are Introduction to Business Ethics: From
9816211, ISBN 0773730877. Oxymoron to Logic; Five Ethical Theories to
Apply to Usual Business Practices; From Secu-
The author believes that the corporate world lar Saints to Experience Machines; Cultural
initiated the North American Free Trade Agree- Challenges to Business as Usual: From Racism
ment (NAFTA), not the government. NAFTA to the Rat Race; Feminist Challenges to Busi-
and other programs were implemented at the ness as Usual; From Naked Consumers to the
same time as human services programs were CIA; Political and Economic Challenges to
eliminated. Dobbin states that large corpora- Business as Usual: From Class to Crass; and
tions influence what we buy, where we work, if Environmental Challenges to Business as Usual:
we work at all, the information and entertain- From the Greenbacks to the Greens and from
ment we receive, and our physical environ- the Greenhouse Effect to the Green Revolution.
ments. He sees corporate control over our lives The book also includes the following appen-
as increasing, becoming even more ruthless and dices: Guidelines for Writing Papers in Business
believes that our normal value system is being Ethics; Conventional Wisdom Is Self-Contra-
swept aside. As dependent as we are becoming dictory: Why Is Common Sense so Nonsensical?;
164
and Selected Bibliography of over 300 Works on “What is business ethics? How can we mediate
Affirmative Action. These appendices add value between private interests and moral demands?
to an already worthwhile text on business ethics. What are the moral core responsibilities in
Business as Ethical and Business as Usual provides quality management? [and] What is enlightened
a comprehensive study of the field of business egoism and why is it one of the best ethical
ethics. theories for business?” Peter Pratley, a lecturer
in business ethics, answers these questions in
Post, J.E. et al. (1998), Business and Society: the following chapters of this book: The Nature
Corporate Strategy, Public Policy, Ethics, 9th ed., and Purpose of Ethical Reflection; Business
McGraw-Hill, New York, $60.50, 708p., LC Ethics: Mediating between Moral Demands and
98-017649, ISBN 0072924470. Interest; Moral Responsibility in General;
Moral Responsibility in the Business Sphere;
According to the authors the relationship
What Is in It for All Parties Concerned?; Is This
between business and society is developing in
Policy Decent, Right, and Just?; and Does This
new and sometimes unsettling ways. They
Policy Foster Desirable Skills? These seven
examine the roles of business and society, the
chapters are further subdivided. All chapters
nature of corporate responsibility, business
include references and many include synopses.
ethics and the role of government and business
As Pratley states in the preface, “The scope of
in the global economic community. The book is
this book is to present useful ethical theories to
divided into seven major parts and includes ten
business practitioners, and to improve the skills
full-length case studies.
of reflective managers both in analyzing con-
Part one examines the corporation in society
crete moral issues and in deliberating and decid-
and the models and theories of corporate social
ing upon strategems for solving moral dilem-
responsibility. Part two discusses ethical con-
mas.” The Essence of Business Ethics provides a
cepts, theories and practical actions that guide
useful introduction to the topic.
business behavior and the worldwide ethical
responsibility of corporations and the people
Wekesser, C. (1995), Ethics, Greenhaven Press,
who make the decisions. In part three, the
San Diego, CA, 269p., $26.20, LC 94028195,
authors review the influence of multinational
ISBN 1565102312.
corporations and the impact on the global
society by discussing the changes that are Part of the Current Controversies series, this
reshaping the world, the failure of communism book explores the issues of ethics and the lack of
and the rise of ethics and religious forces that ethics in today’s American society and is based
are influencing the global economy. The chang- on the belief that Americans are less ethical
ing role of government in the global economy today than in previous decades. In arguing this
and its role as a strategist for national economic issue, the contributors discuss the role ethics
growth and social welfare are discussed in part plays in people’s lives by examining the follow-
four. Part five addresses ecological and natural ing opposing viewpoints of what motivates
resource issues that have influenced corporate people to behave ethically:
behavior. Special needs, families in the work- • the lack or prevalence of professional ethics
place, employment, workplace issues and con- in America;
sumer protection are the focus of part six. The • whether or not American business is ethical;
importance of the role of business in the com- • whether or not ethical business practices
munity including charitable contributions and benefit society;
employee volunteerism and educational reform • what means would promote ethical behavior.
are examined in part seven.
For example, Edmund Ortiz examines the
statement “Business people are ethical” and
Pratley, P. (1995), The Essence of Business Ethics,
states that American business people have long
Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, $19.95,
been portrayed in the media as greedy and
233p., LC 95006669, ISBN 0133565440.
corrupt. But contrary to this widespread per-
The back cover of The Essence of Business Ethics ception, Ortiz argues that business people are
poses the questions that the book addresses: the backbone of the American economy. Tibor
165
R. Machan writes that business is an honorable ethics in business by asking the following ques-
profession that strengthens society. Mary Scott tions:
and Howard Rothman argue that more Ameri- • Can large business organizations be just?
can companies are using their profits to promote • Should the chief obligation of business be to
environmentalism, to motivate employees to look out for the bottom line?
volunteer for social causes and to foster ethical • How far should business go to protect and
business practices. Others argue that the slug- preserve the environment?
gish economy of the early 1990s led many orga-
Each case furnishes an opportunity to discuss
nizations to lower their ethical standards. Exam-
these questions by reading and contemplating
ples of businesses lowering their ethical stan-
the significant arguments that have been made
dards include the pay rate of corporate execu-
on these subjects.
tives being as much as 50 to 100 times the pay of
the average worker and American corporations Birsch, D. and Fielder, J.H. (Eds) (1994), The
manufacturing unsafe products and treating Ford Pinto Case: A Study in Applied Ethics, Busi-
their employees unfairly. ness, and Technology, State University of New
Others discussions argue that companies that York Press, Albany, NY, $59.50, 312p., LC
follow a code of ethics bring in employees with 94000838, ISBN 079142233X.
high moral principles, produce higher-quality
products and prosper financially. Ethical com- As indicated by the title, this book examines the
panies can find creative ways to use fewer natur- Ford Pinto case, Ford’s cost-benefit analysis,
al resources, increase recycling, and decrease whistle blowing, product liability and govern-
pollution. Investors can help social causes and ment regulations. The authors present the basic
urge companies to think about unethical prac- relevant documents of the case for the reader to
tices by investing in ethical companies and reach an informed judgment on the primary
avoiding those with questionable business prac- ethical question in the Pinto case, which they
tices. state as follows: Did the Ford Motor Company
act ethically in designing the Pinto fuel system
Case studies and in deciding not to upgrade the integrity of
Beauchamp, T.L. and Bowie, N.E. (Eds) that system until 1978? This case is a complicat-
(1997), Ethical Theory and Business, 5th ed. ed interchange of time and financial pressures,
Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, $34.00, disagreements between marketing strategies and
661p., LC 96008098, ISBN 0133985202. engineering design, organizational policies, and
efforts to balance financial performance and
Readers are provided with a foundation in consumer protection. The authors provide the
ethical theory early in this book, giving them the articles and documents of the case in order to
ability to read and critically evaluate the cases in address the following questions:
later chapters. The authors include information • Did Ford decide not to fix a defective prod-
on the ethical theory of business practice and uct in order to maximize profit?
the analysis of cases. This fifth edition has been • Did Ford use a cost-benefit analysis to make
revised and new articles have been added to the decision not to upgrade the integrity of
keep up with changing events in the business the Pinto fuel system?
world. The chapters include ethical theory and • Is a cost-benefit analysis that places a mone-
business practice; corporate social responsibili- tary value on human life unethical?
ty; the regulation of business; acceptable risk; • Should engineers at Ford have blown the
rights and obligations of employers and employ- whistle on a dangerous product that manage-
ees; hiring, firing, and discriminating; gather- ment had declined to improve?
ing, concealing, and gilding information; ethical • Is product liability an appropriate legal
issues in international business; and social and remedy to protect consumers from injury by
economic justice. Other important topics cov- defective products, and, if so, what form
ered are whistle blowing, affirmative action and should product liability take?
the obligation of business to protect the • Did government fail to adequately protect
environment. The cases examine the role of consumers in regard to the Pinto, and, if so,
166
what does that tell us about the effectiveness case study dealing with the topic. Chapters also
of the regulatory process? include writings by experts in the field. Many
chapters include endnotes and a bibliography.
The authors have also included a valuable chap-
The main theme of the book is that business
ter, “Ethical Analysis of Case Studies”, to pro-
ethics, which has become a mature field in the
vide the reader with an overview of ethical
past two decades, is about how businesses can
concepts and information on how to apply these
develop for human good. As the editors say in
concepts to cases.
the introduction, “In-so-far as [business ethics]
is concerned with relating business practices to
Boatright, J.R. (1995), Cases in Ethics and the
some concept of human good, almost any busi-
Conduct of Business, Prentice-Hall, Englewood
ness issue that relates to human values may
Cliffs, NJ, $25.95, 330p. LC 94000379. ISBN
become part of its subject matter.” The editors
013120601X.
go on to list 19 topics that fall within the
This companion volume to Ethics and the Con- purview of business ethics, such as false adver-
duct of Business, reviewed later in this article, tising, monopolies, child labor, pollution, and
provides an excellent collection of case studies insider trading. The editors have compiled an
with many examples provided for discussion. impressive and lengthy book dealing with busi-
The volume does not include full case studies ness ethics.
that lend themselves to the case study method;
rather the cases portray the range of ethical French, W.A. and Granrose, J. (1995), Practical
issues in a standard business course. The author Business Ethics, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs,
states that the emphasis is on cases that pose NJ, $26.25, 235p., LC 93050588, ISBN
difficult decision making situations for members 0023388633.
of business organizations at all levels – from
Practical Business Ethics begins with a discussion
personal dilemmas to issues of corporate policy.
about business ethics and why businesses
The majority of the cases are fairly lengthy and
should care about those ethics. The authors try
these reveal the complexity of decision making
to teach readers to resolve ethical conflicts by
in the current business atmosphere. This case-
providing them with enough background
book attempts to show realistic business situa-
knowledge to allow them to examine their own
tions from which one can develop the ability to
ethical positions in business decisions. Ethical
make ethical decisions. The cases include both
problems and cases are presented and the read-
fictional and real incidents concerning the ethics
er’s task is to establish procedures for resolving
of marketing and product safety such as the
issues over ethical conflicts described in each
pricing of AZT, the silicone breast implant
case. Each of the ten chapters is followed by
controversy, and testing employees for sub-
three cases, which describe ethical conflicts that
stance abuse.
have actually happened. Twenty-seven of the
most serious ethical problems, as established by
Donaldson, T. and Werhane, P. H. (Eds)
the Conference Board, a private research group
(1996), Ethical Issues in Business; A Philosophical
that focuses on corporate and business issues,
Approach, 5th ed., Prentice-Hall, Paramus,
are listed in the ensuing chapters. These issues
Upper Saddle River, NJ, $32.00, 516 p., LC
as well as other moral problems can be found
95042123, ISBN 0135044405.
throughout the book. Although the issues center
The fifth edition of Ethical Issues in Business on ethical problems in business, the focus in the
includes articles by contributors most of whom book is on how to successfully resolve them.
are faculty in business or philosophy. The book The authors have established a procedure,
is divided into three general sections, and fur- composed of three parts, to help solve these
ther subdivided into chapters. The main sec- problems. The first part is that any workable
tions are Part One: General Issues in Ethics; moral stance has to be rooted in ethical theory.
Part Two: Property, Profit, and Justice; and Part The authors state that theory bestows legitima-
Three: Corporations, Persons, and Morality. cy to ethical arguments and supplies a logical
Each chapter within the larger section includes a framework for examining positions and coming
167
up with solutions. French and Granrose of “The Manager’s Turn at the Cash Register”.
describe two approaches to ethical theory. They In this case, the night manager would relieve the
give an overview of the traditional views and only night cashier for an extra break once a
then analyze ethical reasoning according to night for 20 to 30 minutes. Often, the manager’s
stages of ethical development. These two girlfriend would shop and pay for her groceries
approaches are discussed in detail in the first six during the cashier’s break. The regional manag-
chapters. er came in during the night manager’s shift,
The second component centers on the complained that the store had shortages, and
process of conflict resolution. Since it is difficult mentioned the word “sweethearting”, the term
to win ethical conflicts, people need to come up used when only part of the merchandise
with a resolution that works for all the parties brought to the checkout line is rung up. Then
involved in the conflict. The last four chapters the night cashier overheard a conversation
supply the reader with enough information for between the night manager and his girlfriend
mediating ethical conflicts. and knew that he was sweethearting. The night
The third component consists of guidelines cashier was two courses short of a degree in
for arriving at practical solutions between ethi- speech pathology, and had an 18-month old son
cal theory and conflict resolution. The authors and a husband in his second year of law school.
offer four guidelines as tests to see if the position She needed the job but knew she was likely to
one arrives at is workable. These guidelines are get blamed for sweethearting because she was
included in the first six chapters and applied in the only night cashier. The discussion questions
the last four. that follow go to the heart of the matter:
French and Granrose are more interested in • If you were the night cashier, would you talk
readers understanding and using these proce- to the regional manager?
dures in their daily lives than in their memoriz- • Is the night manager’s conduct the night
ing different ethical theories. cashier’s responsibility?
• Is the night manager stealing?
Jennings, M. (1995), Case Studies in Business • Is the night cashier helping in the commis-
Ethics, 2nd ed., West Publishing Company, St sion of a crime?
Paul, MN, $27.25, 350p., LC 95-000523, • What if the night manager told the night
ISBN 031406382X. cashier he would back her up 100 percent by
insisting there was no way she could be doing
All of the cases presented here illustrate ethical any sweethearting because he watched her all
dilemmas faced by businesses and business the time?
people. The cases demand that one critically
examines one’s moral standards and also con- Each case requires one to examine different
sider the impact unethical decisions can have on perspectives and analyze the impact of a deci-
individuals and companies. The cases are sepa- sion on the parties involved in the issue. As one
rated into categories developed from groupings works through the cases, a new awareness of
by the Conference Board (a private research values and their impact on business decisions
group that focuses on corporate and business begins to form.
issues) of ethical dilemmas in business. Topics
Newton, L. H. and Schmidt, D. P. (1996),
covered include individual values and the busi-
Wake-up Calls; Classic Cases in Business Ethics,
ness organization; individual rights and the
Wadsworth Publishing Company, Belmont,
business organization; business operations;
CA, $22.50, 208p., LC 95025107, ISBN
business and its competition; business and its
0534253385.
product; and business and its stakeholders.
Case Studies in Business Ethics presents each Lisa Newton and David Schmidt, professors at
case, then follows the case with a series of dis- Fairfield University, have written an engaging
cussion questions. The authors state that the and readable book that deals with real-life ethics
quest for the bottom line can sometimes twist cases to illustrate the complexities of business
the viewpoint of even the most principled of ethics. Some of the cases profiled include the
people. An example of this is found in the case Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, baby formula
168
in third world countries, sexual harassment, the has added coverage of women and family issues,
tobacco industry, and the savings and loan virtue ethics and increased discussion on corpo-
crisis. Each chapter begins with Questions to rate intelligence gathering and insider trading.
Keep in Mind and ends with Questions for Among other incidents the author discusses the
Reflection, Notes, and Suggestions for Further Johnson & Johnson’s Tylenol crises, Dow Corn-
Reading. The cases and their ethical considera- ing’s breast implants, the regulation of Benzine,
tions are presented in layperson’s terms. Begin- and the tragedy at Bhopal where poisonous gas
ning with an Overview of Ethics, Wake-up Calls from a Union Carbide plant leaked, killing
continues with two major sections, Traditional 2,000 people.
Problems: A Review and Emerging Areas: An
Overview. The sections are subdivided into Connock, S. and Johns, T. (1995), Ethical
chapters. The text is geared toward business Leadership, Institute of Personnel and Develop-
students, and provides not only discussions of ment, London, 231p., ISBN 0852925611.
various aspects of business ethics, but also real-
Ethical Leadership is a useful contribution to the
life scenarios that illustrate the aspects of busi-
advancement of best practice in corporate
ness ethics. The authors’ goal “is to stimulate
behavior. The authors, both having experience
your curiosity about ethics in business, to make
as senior human resource managers, analyze
you more alert to ethical issues you might
three concepts: What does ethical management
encounter at work, and to deepen your general
mean? Why should ethical leadership be prac-
understanding of what is at stake in these kinds
ticed? How can ethical leadership become a
of issues.” Newton and Schmidt have provided
reality? Connock and Johns believe that ethical
an interesting, thought-provoking approach to
leadership is a potential source of competitive
business ethics. The nine case studies included
advantage. Their attitude reflects the increasing
help to make business ethics real for the readers.
concern about ethical behavior among all stake-
holders with investments in organizational
Ethical management
effectiveness. They define stakeholders as share-
Boatright, J, R. (1997), Ethics and the Conduct of
holders, employees, customers, suppliers, and
Business, 2nd ed., Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle
the public. The authors believe that ethical
River, NJ, 402p., $29.55, LC 96020368, ISBN
leadership creates confidence among
0135517982.
customers, improves relationships with the
Ethics and the Conduct of Business deals with community and benefits the bottom line.
ethical issues managers face in their workplaces. The book is the result of the authors’ experi-
The author includes a discussion of ethical ence in the field of human resource manage-
theory to provide the reader with an under- ment. It does not include case studies but pro-
standing of the arguments for issues in business vides an overview of standards for ethical lead-
ethics. The book attempts to incorporate infor- ership by including many examples from organi-
mation from the actual practice of corporations zations that have discovered that ethical leader-
and includes an ample amount of legal material ship is a worthwhile endeavor. The book exam-
so as to present both the legal framework in ines ethical leadership in business by studying
which problems occur and the role of manage- how companies balance the priorities of differ-
ment in business. Ethics and the Conduct of ent stakeholders and explains how organizations
Business, now in its second edition, was revised can identify and develop methods for handling
based on advice from those who read and used everyday ethical issues. Ethical Leadership
the first edition as well as published reviews. It defines the link between vision and values and
has been updated to include new concerns of explains how to effectively implement ethical
business ethics. Although the casebook, Cases in principles in the workplace. The authors exam-
Ethics and the Conduct of Business, reviewed ine the role of the Human Resource Depart-
earlier in this article, is a companion volume to ment in business conduct and emphasize sup-
this book, the author has added 48 short cases porting ethics through training. Finally, they
to this title in order to promote discussion of the define critical success factors for ethical leader-
ethical issues raised in the chapters. Boatright ship.
169
Deetz, S. A. (1995), Transforming Communica- managers and scholars, Values, Nature, and
tion, Transforming Business; Building Responsive Culture in the American Corporation discusses
and Responsible Workplaces, Hampton Press, anti-business sentiment in American society
Cresskill, NJ, $45.00, 205p., LC 94044000, and gives historical perspectives on values in
ISBN 1572730366. business.
This well-researched work covers topics such as
Handy, C. (1998), The Hungry Spirit: Beyond
communication in management, business deci-
Capitalism: A Quest for Purpose in the Modern
sion making, employee participation, organiza-
World, Broadway Books, New York, $25.00,
tional change, and the social responsibility of
267p., LC 97034273, ISBN 0767901878.
business. Stanley Deetz, a Rutgers University
Professor of Communications, has written a British management guru Charles Handy ques-
book that describes how businesses can trans- tions the view that life is essentially about
form themselves and their communication. money. He believes that most of us are searching
Transforming Communication, Transforming for a personal satisfaction that has not been
Business comprises 12 chapters, including Com- fulfilled by work, family, or a social life. Accord-
munication in the Age of Negotiation; Autono- ing to the author, the pursuit of profit in the
my, Control, and Consent in the “Greedy Cor- 1980s resulted in the development of a greedy,
poration;” and Stakeholder Representation and materialistic, and less open-minded society. In
Building the Better Mousetrap: The Saturn the pursuit of profit, moral and ethical values
Case. As the author states, “The bottom line is: declined. Corporations, in developing this
Meaningful democratic participation creates mindset, are still downsizing and driving down
better citizens and better social choices, and wages while making high profits. The Hungry
provides important economic benefits.” Trans- Spirit emphasizes what other management titles
forming Communication, Transforming Business is reflect, that businesses should focus, not on
a part of the Organizational Experience in increasing their competitive edge, but instead
Modern Society series. on people issues such as loyalty and trust. The
author points to examples of senior executives’
Frederick, W.C. (1995), Values, Nature, and high salaries as illustrative of these issues. He
Culture in the American Corporation, Oxford argues that companies should amend this type
University Press, New York, $55.00, 313p., LC of behavior and become organizations with real
94038396, ISBN 0195094115. commitment to their employees and communi-
ties and believes that any business that concen-
Part of the Ruffin Series in Business Ethics,
trates on its internal systems more than on the
Values, Nature, and Culture in the American
customer is a bad business. Focusing on people
Corporation presents a well-researched and
issues can only be done by reducing the power
documented treatise on business ethics and
of shareholders, who are only short-term specu-
corporate responsibility to society. Topics cov-
lators.
ered include Values in Business, The Original
Values of Business, The Power-Aggrandizing
Henton, D.C., Melville, J. and Walsh, K.
Values of Business, The Structure of Corporate
(1997), Grassroots Leaders for a New Economy;
Values, The Values of Managers, Ecologizing
How Civic Entrepreneurs Are Building Prosperous
Values and the Business Dilemma, The Values
Communities, Jossey-Bass, Inc., San Francisco,
within Technology, The Business Ethics Ques-
CA, $28.95, 244p., LC 96051203, ISBN
tion, A New Normative Synthesis, and Business
0787908274.
and the Moral Process. Author William Freder-
ick describes the scope of the book in the pref- Divided into two major sections, Grassroots
ace: “Unlike most discussions of business Leaders for a New Economy presents stories of
ethics, this book is neither anti-business nor people in the business community who are
pro-business … . It grants business an indis- working to better society. As the preface states,
pensable function in society while identifying “The purpose of Grassroots Leaders for a New
fundamental features of business that produce Economy is to describe and explain the nature of
antisocial effects.” Geared toward both leadership necessary for regions to compete in
170
the twenty-first century, based on observation of individuals make reasoned decisions when faced
effective civic entrepreneurs.” Geared toward with ethical conflicts. None of these means of
business executives, elected official and public analysis are satisfactory by themselves. But, all
managers, community and nonprofit leaders, together they form a means of moral reasoning
economic and community development practi- that can help a manager to arrive at a decision
tioners, and citizens, the book “uses the words that he or she can feel to be ‘“right” and
and stories of civic entrepreneurs to convey their “proper” and “just”. The book makes no effort
motivation, purpose, lessons learned, and to dictate what is ‘“right” and “proper” and
advice.” The major sections are Community “just”; instead that is left to the individual’s own
Leadership for the Information Age and How moral standards of behavior and ethical system
Civic Entrepreneurs Build Community. of belief.
Hosmer, L.T. (1996), The Ethics of

Monks, R.A.G. and Minnow, N. (1996), Watch-
Management, 3d ed., Irwin, Chicago, $30.00,
ing the Watchers: Corporate Governance for the
167p., LC 95034922, ISBN 0256127972.
21st Century, Blackwell Business, Cambridge,
The Ethics of Management attempts to explain MA, $26.95, 340p., LC 96016619, ISBN
how managers decide what is “right” and 1557868662.
“proper” and “just”, especially when the issues
This very informative book is a revised edition
include downsizing or product reliability and
of Corporate Governance, published in 1995. It
safety. It is not about unethical behavior such as
presents a comprehensive and insightful analysis
theft or collusion, but rather it is a discussion of
of corporate governance that should be read to
what our relationships are, or should be with
our communities, shareholders, employees and understand the complexities behind why corpo-
customers. The book considers the basic moral rations exist and what they do. Watching the
dilemma of business – the conflict between Watchers explains the rights, obligations and
social responsibility and the bottom line. These impact of all those directly involved in corporate
moral dilemmas create difficult decision making governance. As the authors point out, the prin-
concerning the balance between social damages cipal participants are the shareholders, the
and financial returns and are often complicated management, and the board of directors. They
by career implications, unforeseeable results also discuss the stakeholders, who include the
and uncertain probabilities. Hosmer examines employees, customers, creditors, suppliers, and
three alternative techniques that managers use the surrounding community in which the corpo-
in decision making when facing an ethical con- ration operates. The roles that these
flict: constituents play in determining corporate
• economic analysis – relying on impersonal strategy and performance are examined in great
market forces; detail.
• legal analysis – relying on impersonal social The authors explore the rights, obligations
rules; and and impact of those directly involved in corpo-
• ethical analysis – relying on personal moral rate governance. They investigate the roles that
and ethical principles. those participants play in determining corporate
The author believes that if all three types of strategy, performance and direction. Monks and
analysis are used, they can help the manager Minnow examine what a corporation is for, who
faced with an ethical conflict, form a decision should provide its direction, and the theory of
that is “right” and “proper” and “just”. the corporate structure. The cases that are
The intent of this book is to provide an presented throughout the book highlight deci-
understanding of the reasoning process that sions made by corporate management that were
uses moral standards of behavior and ethical challenged in court. The authors do not provide
systems of belief, not to dictate what is “right” clear answers for the cases instead they analyze
and “proper” and “just”. Its purpose is to help the decisions that were challenged.
171
Trevino, L.K. and Nelson, K.A. (1995), Man- munity Concerns about Environmental Issues;
aging Business Ethics: Straight Talk about How to The Community Assessment Process; Commu-
Do It Right, J. Wiley & Sons, New York, $32.00, nity Relations and the Communication Process;
332p., LC 94042380, ISBN 0471598488. Community Relations Activities; Community
Relations Program Planning; Implementing an
The authors state that Managing Business Ethics
Environmental Community Relations Program;
is different from other business ethics books
Regulatory Requirements for Environmental
because of the authors’ backgrounds in business
Community Relations; and Special Cases in
ethics and the pragmatism included in the book.
Community Relations. The areas of community
Trevino is an Associate Professor of Organiza-
relations, particularly how stakeholders will
tional Behavior at Pennsylvania State University
respond to environmental concerns, are covered
and Nelson is an ethics consultant. The book’s
in these chapters. The authors begin this work
pragmatism is the result of complaints and
suggestions both authors have heard from stu- with a list of major environmental laws, and
dents, employees and corporate executives. follow with a step-by-step process of building
The book is based on the supposition that community relations. This process starts with
organizational ethics is all about human behav- the community assessment process. As the
ior in organizations. The authors believe that authors themselves state: “This book is not a
behavior is influenced by external and internal scholarly treatise on community relations.
forces such as the managers and the organiza- Instead, it conveys practical information based
tion itself. Managing Business Ethics is, there- on the experiences of the authors and others in
fore, arranged into sections about individuals, both the public and private sectors who special-
managers, and organizations, the ethical ize in working with community residents to
predicaments they face and how they might address concerns about environmental issues.”
resolve them. Also featured are philosophical The community relations process, particularly
and psychological factors of decision making, as it addresses health and environmental con-
corporate culture, how management can affect cerns, should be of utmost importance to com-
employee behavior, what corporations are doing panies. This book helps them with that process.
to advance ethical behavior, and international
business ethics. Himmelstein, J.L. (1997), Looking Good and
Trevino and Nelson present a collection of Doing Good; Corporate Philanthropy and Corpo-
classic corporate ethics cases but the vast major- rate Power, Indiana University Press, Blooming-
ity of the cases in the book reflect the kinds of ton, $29.95, 185p., LC 96034217, ISBN
problems that most people will encounter 0253332370.
during the course of their careers. Although the Topics covered in Looking Good and Doing Good
55 cases are hypothetical, they are based on real include The Making of Corporate Philanthropy,
incidents. The Workaday Worldview of Corporate Philan-
thropists, The Struggle between Looking Good
and Doing Good, The Dilemmas of Corporate
How to become socially responsible Philanthropy, and Corporate Philanthropy and
Forrest, C.J. (1997), The Practical Guide to
Corporate Politics. Estimating that corporations
Environmental Community Relations, John Wiley
donate about $7 billion per year to various
& Sons, New York, $65.95, 342p., LC
charities, Looking Good and Doing Good exam-
96041858, ISBN 0471163880.
ines why corporations give to charities. Reasons
Geared toward those who work with the com- why businesses give money are outlined in the
munity in the area of environmental issues, The introductory material as the following: “among
Practical Guide to Environmental Community them, a better public image, higher sales,
Relations seeks to outline ways to build and greater consumer loyalty, higher employee
communicate environmental concerns. morale, a greater ability to attract top job candi-
Authored by members of the Equinox Environ- dates, and improved community relations.” One
mental Consultants Ltd, the book consists of of the main questions that the author addresses
the following eight chapters: Addressing Com- is, “To what extent do corporations and philan-
172
thropy go together ‘naturally,’ to what extent are Reder, A. (1995), 75 Best Business Practices for
they a contradiction in terms?” The amount a Socially Responsible Companies, Putnam, New
corporation donates and to whom often tells a York, $12.95, 301p., ISBN 0874777836.
great deal about that corporation and its priori- Including probably every aspect of business
ties and interests. Describing corporate philan- ethics, 75 Best Business Practices for Socially
thropy as “first of all an economic act,” Jerome Responsible Companies is divided into four major
Himmelstein goes on to describe the various sections: Employees, Customers, Community
issues involved in such practices. Looking Good and Society-at-Large, and Planet. The book
and Doing Good is part of the Philanthropic describes how companies can better themselves
Studies Series of the Indiana University Press. socially and provides examples of companies
that have done so. The author states that the
Hoffman, A.J. (1997), From Heresy to Dogma; message of the book is “that businesses don’t
An Institutional History of Corporate Environmen- have to make their profits at society’s expense.
talism, Jossey-Bass, Incorporated, San Francis- In addition, many things . . . will go better for a
co, CA, $26.00, 253p., LC 97003694, ISBN company as a result of practices such as those
0787908207. described within.” The major sections include a
number of subsections. For example, the sec-
Corporate environmentalism and its evolutions tion about Employees includes subsections such
are at the core of this book. Author Andrew as Empowerment, Job Security, Diversity,
Hoffman, a professor of organization behavior Promotion from Within, Health Care, Benefits,
at the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Manage- and Support for Working Parents. Companies
ment at Northwestern University, provides an that are part of the Social Venture Network,
historical account of the progress of corporate which highlights companies known for their
environmentalism. As the introduction states, social responsiveness, are noted. Each company
the book seeks to answer the following two profile begins with the policy or practice for
questions: “1. How did industry move from a which the company is being included. In addi-
posture of vehement resistance to environmen- tion, a “bottom line” describes the benefits of
talism to one of proactive environmental man- the policy or procedure. For example, in the
Diversity section, Red Lobster Restaurants are
agement? [and] 2. Why has this transformation
included with the following description:
occurred?’’ Hoffman answers these questions in
“Policy/Practice: Hiring the developmentally
three major sections, Heresy Becomes Dogma,
disabled. Bottom Line: A perfect fit between
An Institutional History of Corporate Environ-
work and worker.” This is a nice addition to the
mentalism, and The Sum of Institutional
business ethics field, with practical and real-life
Change. Combining the subjects of the social solutions to how companies can become more
responsibility of business with conservation, socially responsible.
industrial management, and environmental
policy, From Heresy to Dogma provides a look Tichy, N.M., McGill, A.R. and St. Clair, L.
into what has shaped corporate responses to (Eds) (1997), Corporate Global Citizenship:
environmental concerns. The change in corpo- Doing Business in the Public Eye, The New Lex-
rations and their interest in the environment ington Press, San Francisco, CA, $33.00,
have taken place largely over the past 30 years. 352p., LC 97-021181, ISBN 0787910953.
Hoffman discusses these changes, and eluci-
Corporate Global Citizenship is divided into three
dates reasons for the changes. He provides a major sections that are further subdivided into
number of graphs, figures, and tables to illus- chapters. The three major sections are The
trate the points of the book. About corporate Theory of Corporate Global Citizenship; Cor-
environmentalism, From Heresy to Dogma focus- porate Global Citizenship in Action; and The
es particularly on the changes in the chemical Future of Corporate Global Citizenship. After
and petroleum industries in the United States. introducing the concept of corporate global
From Heresy to Dogma is part of the New Lexing- citizenship in the first section, the editors
ton Press Management Series. continue by providing specific examples of
173
companies that embody this citizenship. Com- Thrive in the Inner City; Diversity in American
panies profiled include American Express, Life; Unleashing the Best in Employees; The
Merck and Co., General Electric, Ameritech, Rewards of Corporate Citizenship; and
Sara Lee, Procter & Gamble, and Compaq. Remarkable Business Lives. The foreword is by
Areas of corporate citizenship that are described Norman Lear, founder of The Business Enter-
include corporate philanthropy, community prise Trust and People for the American Way.
involvement, volunteerism, diversity, and the As David Bollier, of the Business Enterprise
environment. In the preface, the editors pose Trust, states in the Introduction, “Instead of
the following questions to corporate executives: seeing social problems as utterly extraneous to
“What is your definition of global citizenship – business or as burdens to be grudgingly borne,
for your company? What is your personal role – the business people of Aiming Higher see social
indeed, obligation – as an executive and influen- engagement as an affirmative business opportu-
tial human being in global citizenship in the nity.” This book shows what socially responsible
world, given your power?” The editors are business people are capable of doing to better
professors of management at US universities. the world.
Many of the contributors are also academics in
Case, S. (1996), The Socially Responsible Guide to
the field of management and business.
Smart Investing, Prima Publishing, Rocklin, CA,
Successful social responsibility 196p., LC 95-023779, ISBN 0761503285.
Bollier, D. (Ed.), 1996), Aiming Higher; 25 The Socially Responsible Guide to Smart Investing
Stories of How Companies Prosper by Combining is a practical book for the layperson interested in
Sound Management and Social Vision, AMA- investing in socially responsible companies. In
COM, New York, $24.95, 374p., LC 15 chapters – such as Socially Responsible
96021828, ISBN 0814403190. Investing, Environmental Investing, Recycling,
Cleaning Up Pollution in Advance, The Ecolo-
Aiming Higher profiles 25 companies that have
gy of Investing, and Building for the Future –
made significant contributions in combining
author Samuel Case argues that socially respon-
business and social values. Chapters include
sible businesses offer not only innovative prod-
reviews of companies’ policies such as the fol-
ucts but also better products. Case indicates
lowing: Starbucks’ practice of including its
that despite the many improvements and
employees in a generous benefits plan, even
advances in socially responsible products and
part-time employees; DAKA International’s
services, a great deal still needs to be done. It is
practice of instituting several policies and pro- impressive, though, that an entire book is devot-
grams to help their employees who have AIDS ed to the field of socially responsible investing
and those who work with them; and Inland (SRI). The work calls upon readers to envision
Steel’s practice of making a concerted effort to the future that they want and through their
hire minorities at all levels. These are just a few investments, work to make those futures
of the stories that make up Aiming Higher, an happen. Case describes SRI in the book in the
uplifting book about companies we hear too following way: “This movement, which includes
little about, those that are striving to improve environmental investing, holds that your invest-
their corporate work lives and their surrounding ment philosophy should be based on the same
communities. beliefs as the rest of your life… . While different
The book is divided into six major sections people may have various social criteria for their
and further subdivided into case histories of investments, the SRI philosophy asks that these
companies that demonstrate the social responsi- criteria be considered just as important as a
bility of business. The major sections of the return from an investment.” An Appendix of
book are the following: Blending Product Inno- Socially Responsible Mutual Funds rounds out
vation with Social Concern; Businesses That this important and practical book.
174
Cohen, B. and Greenfield, J. with Maren, M. that the only way corporations can make posi-
(1997), Ben & Jerry’s Double Dip: Lead with tive contributions to our society is if the corpo-
Your Values and Make Money, Too, Simon & rate system is restored to its original purpose.
Schuster, New York, $13.00, 304p., LC Estes investigated the history of the corporation
97009018, ISBN 0684834995. and found that corporations were first chartered
in the public interest, to meet a public need, to
Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield have written,
provide a public service. He goes on to examine
with Meredith Maren, a readable book not only
how corporations turned from serving the
about the history of their famous ice-cream
public purpose to serving private interests. The
company, Ben & Jerry’s, but also a kind of
book then answers the following questions:
primer of running a socially responsible busi-
• What was the instrument that led to the
ness. A follow-up to their book Ben & Jerry’s:
perversion of corporate purpose?
The Inside Scoop, written in 1994, Ben & Jerry’s • What harm has it produced?
Double Dip focuses specifically on the merits of • What does maximizing profits cost corporate
running a values-led business. In eight chapters stakeholders in externalized social costs?
they go from defining values-led business to
describing the various aspects of a values-led The author believes that businesses can be
business. They end with a chapter in which they successful, provide fair returns to stockholders
predict the future of values-led businesses. and stakeholders, and still be humane. Readers
Chapters cover such aspects of values-led busi- need to understand what it is about business
ness as product development, finance, retail, that makes good people do bad things. Estes
marketing, human resources, and business and analyzes this problem and then provides a
politics. Interspersing chapters with their dia- remedy – an effective, workable program that
log, Cohen and Greenfield describe how to can make corporations safer and more beneficial
build a values-led business and still be prof- for all of us, and more gratifying, more ethical
itable. As they state in the introduction, “what for the managers. The author’s remedy comes
we’re aiming toward is getting the company as a from years of working in and with business as
whole to embrace the idea of being a values-led well as studying and teaching about it.
business… . If everyone from top management The book is concerned with the giant multi-
on through the ranks starts choosing, in things national corporations that influence the world
we do on our jobs, those courses of action which with their limitless sources, markets, and facili-
integrate progressive social concerns into our ties. The author defines the problems that
day-to-day business activities – well, then we’ll CEOs of these multinationals have encountered
have a business that is really about social with the bottom line and explains their escape
change.” This is a refreshing perspective from from any personal financial damage by revealing
business owners, one from which many corpo- what happens behind the scenes. For example,
rations could benefit, as could society as a the “Golden Parachute” is a set of unique bene-
whole. fits established for executives to ensure a soft
landing in case they are forced out during a
Estes, R. (1996), Tyranny of the Bottom Line: takeover. The “Golden Parachute” has been
Why Corporations Make Good People Do Bad called a reward for failure. Estes also exposes
the excuses executives use when they are asked
Things, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, San Fran-
to produce safer products, provide workers with
cisco, CA, $27.95, 296p., LC 95025473, ISBN
healthier and safer workplaces, reduce pollu-
1881052753.
tion, or protect a community by keeping a plant
According to Estes, Tyranny of the Bottom Line is running. Executives often respond by saying
an attack on the abusive behavior that is driven that their responsibility is to their stockholders
by the tyranny of the bottom line, not an attack and this request would reduce stockholder
on corporations or their managers. Estes wrote dividends and would be a breach of the execu-
this book because he has seen too many cus- tive’s fiduciary responsibility. Corporations
tomers and employees hurt by corporations should be accountable to the employees who
whether by being downsized or made ill by invest the best years of their lives so the corpora-
unethical corporate practices. The author thinks tion can earn profits.
175
Part one includes an explanation of the prob- The commentary section at the end of the book
lems underlying current corporate activities. provides insights from CEOs of successful and
Part two examines the consequences of unac- meaningful companies.
countability and part three provides Estes’
solutions. Hood, J.M. (1996), The Heroic Enterprise: Busi-
ness and the Common Good, Free Press, New
Herman, R.E. and Gioia, J.L. (1998), Lean and York, $24.50, 256p., LC 95026703, ISBN
Meaningful: A New Culture for Corporate 068482762X.
America, Oakhill Press, Greensboro, NC,
The author contends that corporate social
$27.95, 388p., LC 98013258, ISBN
responsibility can be determined by examining
1886939071.
in detail how actual companies in their day-to-
The book begins with a discussion about the day operations bestow broad and measurable
differences between “thin” and “fat” organiza- benefits to the society in which they operate. He
tions and how to elude becoming the latter. endeavors to provide readers with concrete
Ensuing chapters cover ways people can find examples of corporate social responsibility by
meaning in their work lives. Specifically, these examining how businesses serve society through
chapters address balancing work and personal the pursuit of excellence, profit, competitive-
life, family needs, personal care, social responsi- ness, innovation and worker performance.
bility, environmental awareness, spirituality and Hood believes that there are more heroes than
more. The main points are summarized at the villains in business and provides examples of
end of each chapter. this belief through interviews with business
Lean and Meaningful is not only about corpo- executives and case studies of how businesses
rations shedding the “fat”, those that use more address and solve problems. These examples,
resources than are necessary and that employ according to the author, aid in defining corpo-
obsolete procedures, it emphasizes the need for rate social responsibility and lead to clear con-
corporations to become meaningful. The clusions about the moral and ethical sides of
authors have provided readers with insights and business and the key principles of the corporate
role models to assist them in the transition to social responsibility movement. Through this
becoming more meaningful. Herman and Gioia book, readers examine in detail how corpora-
stress that socially responsible companies are tions benefit society in their daily operations by
more successful than those that do not practice describing the actual conduct and social effects
responsible business ethics. According to the of business in America today. Hood addresses
authors, customers and investors use a compa- employment layoffs and social responsibility,
ny’s social responsibility reputation in their education, revitalizing American cities, promot-
buying and investment decisions. Not only ing health, safety, the environment, social equal-
should businesses become more responsible ity and family values.
with regard to their external environment, they
should also provide more responsible work- Makower, J. and Business for Social Responsi-
places for their employees because the basis for bility (1994), Beyond the Bottom Line: Putting
Social Responsibility to Work for Your Business and
ongoing profitability and investor confidence
the World, Simon & Schuster, New York,
lies in being able to maintain a productive work-
$14.00, 335p., LC 94030058, ISBN
force. Meaningful companies will emphasize the
0671883259.
issues involving a harassment free, diverse and
safe work environment and hire and retain good The purpose of Beyond the Bottom Line is to
workers. Meaningful leaders must produce promote socially responsible business. Makower
working environments that support professional and Business for Social Responsibility, show
and personal growth. how and why companies adopt corporate
Lean and Meaningful not only introduces the responsibility. Business for Social Responsibility
reader to an assortment of work-related issues, is a membership organization for companies of
it includes contact names and addresses of all sizes and sectors, whose mission is to provide
companies that are trying to make a difference. members with innovative products and services
176
that help companies be commercially successful Lowry offers suggestions for evaluating compa-
in ways that demonstrate respect for ethical nies and their practices regarding the environ-
values, people, communities and the environment, and using this knowledge to invest
ment. The authors define corporate responsibil- responsibly. The book is divided into four major
ity as the right thing to do and the key to compa- sections, with a total of ten chapters. The main
nies’ competitiveness and survival. They exam- sections are: Toward an Earth-Centered Econo-
ine the world of corporate social responsibility my; Home Improvements: Adjusting Our Cur-
by investigating the philosophies, policies, rent Economy; Breaking the Corporate Grip;
programs and practices that bring social respon- and Creating the Economy We Want. Many
sibility into the workplace in some of the world’s chapters offer profiles of businesses and organi-
most successful companies and look at what is zations that demonstrate social responsibility.
working, what is not and how all of this can Contributions from other writers in the field are
affect the bottom line. They also examine strate- also included. Meeker-Lowry explains her goal
gies and offer best practices that can be used to in writing Invested in the Common Good by stat-
implement these policies at other companies. ing, “If there is one ‘message’ I want to share
The book covers the stakeholder theory of with you by writing this book, it is this: We are
corporate responsibility that includes the envi- not separate from Earth – we are a part of Earth.
ronment, community and employees. Policies We belong here”. The book also includes a
concerning work and family life, childcare, elder bibliography of resources and a comprehensive
care, and job stability are discussed extensively. list of organizations and publications, some with
The authors outline related philosophies and brief annotations. This is a necessary book for
practices at various companies and include the socially conscious investor.
viewpoints of corporate management. Beyond
the Bottom Line gives specific examples of what Pava, M.L. and Krausz, J. (1995), Corporate
corporations can do and are doing in communi- Responsibility and Financial Performance: The
ty involvement. The approaches to social Paradox of Social Cost, Quorum Books, West-
responsibility vary from company to company. port, CT, $55.00, 176p., LC 94045284, ISBN
And the companies all consider the impact of 0899309216.
corporate social responsibility on their bottom According to the authors, the core belief of
line. corporate social responsibility is that the corpo-
Makower and Business for Social Responsi- ration incurs responsibilities to society beyond
bility examine studies that try to prove a positive profit maximization. Since vast corporations
relationship and attempt to show that corporate hold the power to control the quality of life of
social responsibility and profitability are not shareholders, employees, customers, and local
mutually exclusive. How and why companies communities in which they operate and a single
embrace corporate responsibility (the right corporate decision can irrevocably change the
thing to do and the key to companies’ competi- lives of those people, that power necessarily
tiveness and survival) are what this book is all entails responsibility. Managers have social
about. responsibilities beyond meeting the minimal
requirements of the law when pursuing their
Meeker-Lowry, S. (1995), Invested in the goal of increasing shareholder value. The pur-
Common Good, New Society Publishers, pose of the book is to explore two themes:
Philadelphia, $16.95, 258p., LC 95011866, (1) How do social responsibility programs
ISBN 0865712913. affect the corporation?
(2) What form does this responsibility take?
The author of Invested in the Common Good,
Susan Meeker-Lowry, has an impressive back- The authors believe it is already proven that
ground in environmentalism and promoting corporations have a social responsibility primar-
socially responsible companies. She puts this ily due to the results of a research project funded
background to good use in this book. Her main in part by a grant from the Lupin Foundation.
thesis is that the relationship between humans The Lupin Foundation is an independent foun-
and the earth needs to be reciprocal. Meeker- dation founded in 1981 and located in New
177
Orleans. Its purpose is to supply funding for interacts with its employees, and its impact on
education, civic affairs, community funds, the surrounding community. To the author,
religious associations, medical research, and social responsibility suggests scrupulous atten-
cultural programs. It primarily funds projects in tion to every possible social impact of a compa-
Louisiana. The research project explored the ny’s activities. Reder examines the following
relationship between corporate social responsi- trends in detail:
bility and traditional financial performance. (1) Women/minorities now constitute the most
The authors provide an extensive review of the entries into the labor force.
relevant literature on corporate social responsi- (2) Human activity has already exceeded the
bility and financial performance and examine planet’s carrying capacity.
the long-term financial performance of 53 firms (3) The extinction of American old-growth
that were identified as meeting socially responsi- timber and Third World rainforest hard-
ble criteria. The authors compared this group of woods is now within sight.
firms to a control sample matched by both type (4) Increasingly significant numbers of con-
of industry and size during two separate time sumers are applying social criteria to pur-
periods. chasing decisions.
Pava and Krausz also investigated and mea-
sured the annual report disclosures of social This book is about the connection between
responsibility activities for the sample of firms social responsibility and profit. To address this
that they had previously targeted. In doing so connection, Reder examines companies and
the authors examined not only the relationship executives and the advantages of a company
between social responsibility and financial becoming socially responsible. The author
performance but also the relationship between believes that if a company stays in tune with the
social responsibility and information disclosure. needs of its workforce, customers and commu-
Corporate Responsibility and Financial Perfor- nity it will become more attuned to its own
mance examines the issue of legitimacy of corpo- internal operations and the external market-
rate social responsibility. Its foundation is based place. According to Reder, this sensitivity
on the belief that the corporation incurs respon- enables a company to respond faster; he defines
sibility beyond profit maximization. The responsibility as “response-ability, the ability to
authors believe that power necessarily entails respond”.
responsibility. Pava and Kraus summarize their In Pursuit is full of anecdotes and analyses by
findings and point out their observations in the socially responsible business leaders who believe
form of propositions. that their corporations should not be strictly
moneymaking ventures. In searching for long-
Reder, A. (1995), In Pursuit of Principle and term success, corporations are encouraged to
Profit: Business Success through Social Responsibil- consider all of the human and environmental
ity, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, New York, $13.95, consequences of every business decision. The
274p., LCCN 95002370, ISBN 0874778123. book describes both the considerations of
Successful companies, according to Reder, socially responsible management and the
practice corporate social responsibility, which in changes that model the new workplace. Reder
turn increases a company’s long-term success. also advises corporations that soon profits will
The author defines social responsibility as be even more closely associated with principles
referring to both the ways a business conducts so, in order to survive, corporations must
its internal operations, including the way it commit to social responsibility.
178

Business Ethic

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Introduction

At least do no harm: Our interest in writing this article is twofold.

Hosmer, L.T. (1996), The Ethics of

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