Dialogical Foundations Of Business Ethics

Seeking an ethical formula that would prove useful for evaluating actions and events occurring in the sphere of business and economics, the author focuses on dialogue. The need for dialogue is justified by the fact that interlocutors share a conviction that the relationship between them is valuable. Although the manner for assessing business experiences in the proposed formula is narrowed down to the interactive criterion of fairness, this criterion is sufficient for enabling partners to agree, or for them to reach a consensus. It reveals to them the ethically and praxeologically destructive effects of refusing to exchange information about their own accomplishments and plans and, sometimes, the consequences of refusing to accept responsibility for the process of others taking on the role of business partners.

Ethics for Managers introduces students to the philosophical underpinnings of business ethics and translates this theory into practical terms, demonstrating the moral implications of the decisions managers make. This edition features new material on global ethics, the financial downturn, and ethical sustainability. New, student-friendly features include: Learning objectives at the beginning of each chapter, which provide a roadmap to what is covered and how to use it. Cases that demonstrate real-world scenarios, allowing readers to grapple with real moral ambiguity. Discussion questions at the end of each chapter, which challenge students to see different moral perspectives and to practice good decision-making. A new chapter on international business ethics. Students of business ethics courses will find this compact, well-organized text a useful tool to understand ethics in the digital age.

The forces generated by an explosion in human knowledge and exponential increases in technology have brought about tectonic shifts in personal as well as corporate worldviews. And while globalisation has ushered in many benefits for companies and consumers alike, this book posits that it is the fierce competition of global market-places which drives the largely unopposed belief that firms exist solely to enhance shareholder value. The author in arguing for a wider definition of 'shareholder' is of the opinion that this is a potentially lethal fallout, because single-minded pursuit of profit for profits' sake, in yielding to the tyranny of the bottomline, has undermined traditional and long-enduring value systems, and placed ethics on the sacrificial altar of vested interests, as scams such as Enron, WorldCom and Computer Associates have amply demonstrated.To bolster his arguments, the author compels the reader to think, assess and analyse for himself as he whisks him through a whirlwind tour of western ethical and value systems beginning from the halcyon days of Plato and Aristotle, right down to modern times, running the gamut of Newton, Hobbes, Descartes, JS Mill followed by the Utilitarians, Kant, Hegel and even the Jack Welch model. He then guides the reader the labyrinth of eastern thought, including Vedic and Taoist disciplines, before citing three pragmatic Indian models with firm philosophical underpinnings, one of which he zeroes in as having the greatest potential for good governance. Written in a very lucid style, this book is sure to remain fresh in the reader's memory as long as questions of right and wrong confront him in his daily life. No book on the subject can hope to do more.

Im Mittelpunkt steht die Entwicklung und Gewichtung des Gegenseitigkeitsprinzips bei Versicherungsvereinen auf Gegenseitigkeit (VVaG) in Österreich. Beginnend mit den ersten Gründungen von VVaG führen die Forschungen bis in die Gegenwart und stellen die jeweiligen Entwicklungsphasen der Gegenseitigkeit dar. Die dabei erkennbare schrittweise Verdünnung des Gegenseitigkeitsprinzips in den VVaG bzw. die phasenweise Modifizierung des Gegenseitigkeitsgedankens werden sowohl für Österreich als auch mittels internationaler Beispiele in Form von Länderstudien präsentiert.

The Handbook of Business Ethics: Philosophical Foundations is a standard interdisciplinary reference handbook in the field of business ethics. Articles by notable philosophers and economists examine fundamental concepts, theories and questions of business ethics: Are morality and self-interest compatible? What is meant by a just price? What did the Scholastic philosophers think about business?

This book presents a selection of articles with focus on the theoretical foundations of business ethics, and in particular on the philosophy of management and on human rights and business. This implies identifying and discussing conflicts as well as agreement with regard to the philosophical and other foundations of business and management. Despite the general interest in corporate social responsibility and business ethics, the contemporary discussion rarely touches upon the normative core and philosophical foundations of business. There is a need to discuss the theoretical basis of business ethics and of business and human rights. Even though the actions and activities of business may be discussed from a moral perspective, not least in the media, the judgments and opinions relating to business and management often lack deeper moral reflection and consistency. Partly for this reason, business ethicists are constantly challenged to provide such moral and philosophical foundations for business ethics and for business and human rights, and to communicate them in an understandable manner. Such a challenge is also of scientific kind. Positions and opinions in the academic field need to be substantiated by thorough moral and theoretical reflection to underpin normative approaches. Far too often, business ethicists may agree on matters, which they approach from different and sometimes irreconcilable philosophical standpoints, resulting in superficial agreement but deeper-lying disagreement. In other cases, it may be of high relevance to identify philosophical standpoints that despite conflicting fundamentals may arrive at conclusions acceptable to everyone.

This book offers students a philosophical introduction to the ethical foundations of business management. It combines lessons from Kant with virtue ethics and also touches upon additional approaches such as utilitarianism. At the core of the book lies the concept of the nexus of imperfect managerial duty: building and reinforcing the virtuous managerial team, engaging in reasoned discourse among all stakeholders, and diligently pursuing business responsibilities, including the creative efforts necessary for modern organizations. Case illustrations of these applications are presented throughout the book, including chapter appendices. Ancillary videos, test and answer banks and sample syllabi are available online via the author’s website.