Ethics and business : an introduction / Kevin Gibson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gibson, Kevin, 1955- author.

Series:

Cambridge applied ethics.

Cambridge applied ethics

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Business ethics.

Social responsibility of business.

Corporate profits--Moral and ethical aspects.

Corporate profits.

Business enterprises--Environmental aspects.

Business enterprises.

Globalization--Moral and ethical aspects.

Globalization.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xviii, 255 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Other Title:

Ethics & Business

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2007.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In this lively 2007 undergraduate textbook, Kevin Gibson explores the relationship between ethics and the world of business, and how we can serve the interests of both. He builds a philosophical groundwork that can be applied to a wide range of issues in ethics and business, and shows readers how to assess dilemmas critically and work to resolve them on a principled basis. Using case studies drawn from around the world, he examines topics including stakeholder responsibilities, sustainability, corporate social responsibility, and women and business. Because business can no longer be isolated from its effects on communities and the environment, these concerns are brought to the forefront. The book also captures the dynamic nature of business ethics in the era of globalization where jobs can be outsourced, products are made of components from scores of countries and sweatshops often provide the cheap goods the public demands.

Contents:

Cover; Ethics and Business; Title; Copyright; Dedication; Contents; Acknowledgments; Preface; 1 An overview of business ethics; The Bhopal disaster; The philosophical contribution; Two meanings of business ethics; Instrumental or prudential approaches; Rule-based approaches; Principle-based approaches; Ethical relativism; Egoism; Machiavelli and Hobbes; Game theory; Nike; Morality and strategy; Responses to egoism; Summary; General issues for discussion; Case - pornography; Some questions from the case; 2 Insights from ethical theory; Gleaning at the grocery; The value of theory; Justice

UtilitarianismSome issues in utilitarianism; Supererogation; Partiality; Utility is not always fair; Duty-based theories; Some issues in Kantian capitalism; Kantian principles; Kantian capitalism and stakeholders; Virtue theory; The virtuous corporation; Summary; General issues for discussion; Case - terminator seeds; Some questions from the case; 3 The capitalist system and its ethical implications; The Body Shop; Features of capitalism; The invisible hand; Market morality; Market failures; Consolidation; Externalities; Commons; Regulation of the market; Globalization and its implications

SummaryGeneral issues for discussion; Case - fool's gold; Some questions from the case; 4 Feminism; Morgan Stanley; Women at work; Feminism in business ethics; Women's nature; The female voice; Ethics of care; Issues of equality in the workplace; Private lives and public work; Disproportionate burdens; Summary; General issues for discussion; Case - time off or time out?; Some questions from the case; 5 Responsibility; The Herald of Free Enterprise ferry disaster; Meanings of responsibility; Role responsibility; Legal liability and moral responsibility; Cause; Corporations as moral agents

Inalienable responsibilityReluctant agency and omission; The doctrine of double effect; Codes and compliance; Moral censure; Three dimensions of business responsibility; Summary; General issues for discussion; Case - the aging air fleet; Some questions from the case; 6 Rights; Le Clemençeau; Rights in the workplace; Positive and negative rights; Rights and privileges; Recent initiatives; The Niger delta; Sweatshops; Rights and accountability; Communitarian challenges; Insights from Asian philosophy; Non-human rights; Summary; General questions for discussion; Case - human guinea pigs

Some questions from the case7 Autonomy; CortiSlim; Autonomy defined; Intentionality; Understanding; Voluntariness; Limits on autonomy; Let the buyer beware; Advertising and autonomy; Autonomy in the workplace; Autonomy and drug testing; Autonomy and psychological testing; Autonomy and discrimination; Whistleblowing; Summary; General issues for discussion; Case - Jodie Brooks; Some questions from the case; 8 Beneficence; Wal-Mart; Degrees of beneficence; Corporate beneficence; Motivations for beneficence; Corporate philanthropy; Corporate social intervention overseas

Corporate promotion of diversity

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-107-08641-8

1-316-08640-2

1-107-08971-9

1-107-09601-4

1-107-10162-X

0-511-80614-0