Business Ethics, 6th Edition

Business Ethics, 6th Edition

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Book description

NEW EDITION, REVISED AND UPDATED
This is a pragmatic, hands-on, up-to-date guide to determining right and wrong in the business world. Joseph Weiss integrates a stakeholder perspective with an issues-oriented approach so students look at how a business’s actions affect not just share price and profit but the well-being of employees, customers, suppliers, the local community, the larger society, other nations, and the environment.

Weiss uses a wealth of contemporary examples, including twenty-three customized cases that immerse students directly in recent business ethics dilemmas and ask them to consider how they would resolve them. The recent economic collapse raised ethical issues that have yet to be resolved—there could not be a better time for a fully updated edition of Weiss’s classic, accessible blend of theory and practice.

New to the Sixth Edition!

New Cases! Fourteen of the twenty-three cases in this book are brand new to this edition. They touch on issues such as cyberbullying, fracking, neuromarketing, and for-profit education and involve institutions like Goldman Sachs, Google, Kaiser Permanente, Walmart, Ford, and Facebook.

Updated Throughout! The text has been updated with the latest research, including new national ethics survey data, perspectives on generational differences, and global and international issues. Each chapter includes recent business press stories touching on ethical issues.

New Feature! Several chapters now feature a unique Point/Counterpoint exercise that challenges students to argue both sides of a contemporary issue, such as too-big-to-fail institutions, the Boston bomber Rolling Stone cover, student loan debt, online file sharing, and questions raised by social media.

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Table of contents

  1. Cover Page
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Contents
  5. Preface
  6. Acknowledgments
  7. Case Authorship
  8. Chapter 1 Business Ethics, the Changing Environment, and Stakeholder Management
    1. 1.1 Business Ethics and the Changing Environment
      1. Seeing the “Big Picture”
      2. Point/CounterPoint
      3. Environmental Forces and Stakeholders
      4. Stakeholder Management Approach
      1. What Is Ethics and What Are the Areas of Ethical Theory?
      2. Unethical Business Practices and Employees
      3. Ethics and Compliance Programs
      4. Why Does Ethics Matter in Business?
      5. Working for the Best Companies
      1. Asking Key Questions
      2. Ethical Insight 1.1
      1. Myth 1: Ethics Is a Personal, Individual Affair, Not a Public or Debatable Matter
      2. Myth 2: Business and Ethics Do Not Mix
      3. Myth 3: Ethics in Business Is Relative
      4. Myth 4: Good Business Means Good Ethics
      5. Myth 5: Information and Computing Are Amoral
      1. 1. Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC: Wall Street Trading Firm
      2. 2. Cyberbullying: Who’s to Blame and What Can Be Done?
      1. 2.1 Ethical Reasoning and Moral Decision Making
        1. Three Criteria in Ethical Reasoning
        2. Moral Responsibility Criteria
        1. Ethical Insight 2.1
        2. Utilitarianism: A Consequentialist (Results-Based) Approach
        3. Universalism: A Deontological (Duty-Based) Approach
        4. Rights: A Moral and Legal Entitlement-Based Approach
        5. Justice: Procedures, Compensation, and Retribution
        6. Virtue Ethics: Character-Based Virtues
        7. The Common Good
        8. Ethical Relativism: A Self-Interest Approach
        9. Immoral, Amoral, and Moral Management
        1. Personal Level
        2. Organizational Level
        3. Industry Level
        4. Societal, International, and Global Levels
        1. Ethical Insight 2.2
        2. Moral Creativity
        3. Ethical Dilemma Problem Solving
        4. 12 Questions to Get Started
        1. Communicating and Negotiating across Ethical Styles
        1. Back to Louise Simms . . .
        1. 3. Ford’s Pinto Fires: The Retrospective View of Ford’s Field Recall Coordinator
        2. 4. Jerome Kerviel: Rogue Trader or Misguided Employee? What Really Happened at the Société Générale?
        3. 5. Samuel Waksal at ImClone
        1. 3.1 Stakeholder Theory and the Stakeholder Management Approach Defined
          1. Stakeholders
          2. Stakes
          1. Stakeholder Theory: Criticisms and Responses
          1. Taking a Third-Party Objective Observer Perspective
          2. Role of the CEO in Stakeholder Analysis
          3. Summary of Stakeholder Analysis
          1. Stakeholder Dispute Resolution Methods
          1. Marketing and Sales Professionals and Managers as Stakeholders
          2. R&D, Engineering Professionals, and Managers as Stakeholders
          3. Accounting and Finance Professionals and Managers as Stakeholders
          4. Public Relations Managers as Stakeholders
          5. Human Resource Managers as Stakeholders
          6. Summary of Managerial Moral Responsibilities
          1. What Is an Issue?
          2. Ethical Insight 3.1
          3. Other Types of Issues
          4. Stakeholder and Issues Management: “Connecting the Dots”
          5. Moral Dimensions of Stakeholder and Issues Management
          6. Types of Issues Management Frameworks
          1. How Executives Have Responded to Crises
          2. Crisis Management Recommendations
          1. 6. The BP Deepwater Horizon Explosion and Oil Spill: Crisis and Aftermath
          2. 7. Mattel Toy Recalls
          3. 8. Genetic Discrimination
          1. 4.1 Managing Corporate Social Responsibility in the Marketplace
            1. Ethical Insight 4.1
            2. Free-Market Theory and Corporate Social Responsibility
            3. Problems with the Free-Market Theory
            4. Intermediaries: Bridging the Disclosure Gap
            5. Point/CounterPoint
            1. The Corporation as Social and Economic Stakeholder
            2. The Social Contract: Dead or Desperately Needed?
            3. Balance between Ethical Motivation and Compliance
            4. Covenantal Ethic
            5. The Moral Basis and Social Power of Corporations as Stakeholders
            6. Corporate Philanthropy
            7. Managing Stakeholders Profitably and Responsibly: Reputation Counts
            8. Ethical Insight 4.2
            1. Ethical Insight 4.3
            2. Best Corporate Board Governance Practices
            3. Sarbanes-Oxley Act
            4. Pros and Cons of Implementing the Sarbanes-Oxley Act
            5. The Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations: Compliance Incentive
            1. Why Regulation?
            2. Laws and U.S. Regulatory Agencies
            3. Laws Protecting Consumers
            4. Laws Protecting the Environment
            1. 9. Conscious Capitalism: What Is It? Why Do We Need It? Does It Work?
            2. 10. Goldman Sachs: Hedging a Bet and Defrauding Investors
            3. 11. Google Books
            1. 5.1 Corporate Responsibility toward Consumer Stakeholders
              1. Corporate Responsibilities and Consumer Rights
              2. Consumer Protection Agencies and Law
              1. Ethics and Advertising
              2. The Federal Trade Commission and Advertising
              3. Pros and Cons of Advertising
              4. Ethical Insight 5.1
              5. Advertising and Free Speech
              6. Paternalism, Manipulation, or Free Choice?
              1. Advertising and the Internet
              2. The Thin Line between Deceptive Advertising, Spyware, and Spam
              3. Advertising to Children
              4. Protecting Children
              5. Tobacco Advertising
              6. The Tobacco Controversy Continues
              7. Alcohol Advertising
              8. Ethical Insight 5.2
              1. How Safe Is Safe? The Ethics of Product Safety
              2. Ethical Insight 5.3
              3. Product Liability Doctrines
              4. Legal and Moral Limits of Product Liability
              5. Product Safety and the Road Ahead
              1. The Most Significant Environmental Problems
              2. Causes of Environmental Pollution
              3. Enforcement of Environmental Laws
              4. The Ethics of Ecology
              5. Green Marketing, Environmental Justice, and Industrial Ecology
              6. Rights of Future Generations and Right to a Livable Environment
              7. Recommendations to Managers
              1. 12. For-Profit Universities: Opportunities, Issues, and Promises
              2. 13. Fracking: Drilling for Disaster?
              3. 14. Neuromarketing
              4. 15. Wal-Mart: Challenges with Gender Discrimination
              5. 16. Vioxx, Dodge Ball: Did Merck Try to Avoid the Truth?
              1. 6.1 Leadership and Stakeholder Management
                1. Defining Purpose, Mission, and Values
                2. Ethical Insight 6.1
                3. Leadership Stakeholder Competencies
                4. Example of Companies Using Stakeholder Relationship Management
                5. Ethical Insight 6.2
                6. Spiritual Values, Practices, and Moral Courage in Leading
                7. Failure of Ethical Leadership
                8. Ethical Dimensions of Leadership Styles
                9. How Should CEOs as Leaders Be Evaluated and Rewarded?
                1. Organizational Culture Defined
                2. High-Ethics Companies
                3. Weak Cultures
                1. Organizational Structure and Ethics
                2. Boundaryless and Networked Organizations
                1. Ethical Insight 6.3
                2. Organizations and Leaders as Moral Agents
                3. Ethics Codes
                4. Codes of Conduct
                5. Problems with Ethics and Conduct Codes
                6. Ombuds and Peer-Review Programs
                7. Is the Organization Ready to Implement a Values-Based Stakeholder Approach? A Readiness Checklist
                1. 17. Kaiser Permanente: A Crisis of Communication, Values, and Systems Failure
                2. 18. Social Networking and Social Responsibility
                1. 7.1 Employee Stakeholders in the Changing Workforce
                  1. The Aging Workforce
                  2. Generational Differences in the Workplace
                  3. Steps for Integrating a Multigenerational Workforce
                  4. Ethical Insight 7.1
                  5. Women in the Workforce
                  6. Same-Sex Marriages, Civil Unions, Domestic Partnerships, and Workforce Rights
                  7. The Increasing Cultural Mix: Minorities Are Becoming the Majority
                  8. Educational Weaknesses and Gaps
                  9. Point/CounterPoint
                  10. Mainstreaming Disabled Workers
                  11. Balancing Work and Life in Families
                  1. Good Faith Principle Exception
                  2. Public Policy Principle Exception
                  3. Implied Contract Exception
                  1. Moral Foundation of Employee Rights
                  2. The Principle of Balance in the Employee and Employer Social Contract and the Reality of Competitive Change
                  3. Rights from Government Legislation
                  4. Employer Responsibilities to Employees
                  5. Employee Rights and Responsibilities to Employers
                  6. Employee Rights in the Workplace
                  7. Other Employee Rights and Obligations to Employers
                  8. Ethical Insight 7.2
                  1. Discrimination
                  2. Equal Employment Opportunity and the Civil Rights Act
                  3. Age and Discrimination in the Workplace
                  4. Comparable Worth and Equal Pay
                  5. Affirmative Action
                  6. Ethics and Affirmative Action
                  7. Reverse Discrimination: Arguments against Affirmative Action
                  8. Ethical Insight 7.3
                  1. What Is Sexual Harassment?
                  2. Who Is Liable?
                  3. Tangible Employment Action and Vicarious Liability
                  4. Sexual Harassment and Foreign Firms in the United States
                  1. When Whistle-Blowers Should Not Be Protected
                  2. Factors to Consider before Blowing the Whistle
                  3. Managerial Steps to Prevent External Whistle-Blowing
                  1. 19. Preemployment Screening and Facebook: Ethical Considerations
                  2. 20. Women on Wall Street: Fighting for Equality in a Male-Dominated Industry
                  1. 8.1 The Connected Global Economy and Globalization
                    1. Ethical Insight 8.1
                    2. Globalization and the Forces of Change
                    1. Shared Leadership in Teams’ Competency
                    2. Ethical Insight 8.2
                    3. Global Ethical Values and Principles
                    4. Know Your Own Cultural and Core Values, Your Organization’s, and Those with Whom You Are Working
                    5. Cross-Cultural Business Ethical Issues Professionals May Experience
                    1. International Crime and Corruption
                    2. Economic Poverty and Child Slave Labor
                    3. The Global Digital Divide
                    4. Westernization (Americanization) of Cultures
                    5. Loss of Nation-State Sovereignty
                    1. Power of MNEs
                    1. The Triple Bottom Line
                    2. Social Entrepreneurs and Social Enterprises
                    3. Microfinancing
                    1. Employment Practices and Policies
                    2. Consumer Protection
                    3. Environmental Protection
                    4. Political Payments and Involvement
                    5. Basic Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
                    1. External Corporate Monitoring Groups
                    2. Individual Stakeholder Methods for Ethical Decision Making
                    3. Four Typical Styles of International Ethical Decision Making
                    4. Hypernorms, Local Norms, and Creative Ethical Navigation
                    1. 21. Google in China: Still “Doing No Evil”?
                    2. 22. Sweatshops: Not Only a Global Issue
                    3. 23. The U.S. Industrial Food System
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                    Product information

                    • Title: Business Ethics, 6th Edition
                    • Author(s): Joseph W. Weiss
                    • Release date: July 2014
                    • Publisher(s): Berrett-Koehler Publishers
                    • ISBN: 9781626561427