bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Spermatozoa stimulate prostaglandin synthesis and secretion in bovine oviductal epithelial cells
Authors: Kodithuwakku Suranga P , Miyamoto Akio , Wijayagunawardane Missaka P B
Published: July 2007

The dynamic action of oviductal secretory compounds on spermatozoa function is well documented. In contrast, the effect of spermatozoa on oviductal function remains poorly characterized. Previously, our lab and others have shown that prostaglandin (PG), together with other vasoactive peptides, plays major roles in oviductal contractions and sperm transport. We therefore examined the effect of spermatozoa on the production of PG by cow oviductal epithelial cells (OEC). A bovine spermatozoa–OEC co-culture system was utilized for this purpose. OECs in the second passage were co-cultured for 0, 1, 3, 6, 12, and 24 h with six doses of motile, killed, or truncated spermatozoa heads (control; without spermatozoa, 102–106 spermatozoa/ml medium). The levels of PGE2 and PGF2α in the medium were measured using enzyme immunoassays. Messenger RNA expression of cyclooxygenase-2, PGF synthase (PGFS), and PGE synthase (PGES) was investigated using real-time RT-PCR. The results indicated that motile spermatozoa increased the secretion of PG by OEC as well as cellular expression of mRNA for cyclooxygenase, PGES, and PGFS in a dose- and time-dependent manner. A maximum three- to fivefold increased secretion of PG was observed with a dose of 105 spermatozoa/ml after a 12-h co-incubation. Neither killed spermatozoa nor truncated spermatozoa heads stimulated oviductal biosynthesis and secretion of PG at any dose or time point observed. The results provide the first evidence that live spermatozoa in the oviduct up-regulate the local PG system, and thereby, enhance oviductal contractions. Thus, spermatozoa may bear a role in accelerating their own transport into the fertilization site.
Macintyre’s Position on Business: A Response to Wicks
Authors: Dobson John
Published: July 2007

Andrew Wicks recently reflected “On The Practical Relevance of Feminist Thought to Business.” Part of his reflection focussed on my contributions to this subject. In critiquing my work, Wicks notes the similarity between my views on business and those of Alasdair MacIntyre. He goes on to give a brief overview of our position as he sees it. Wicks’s overview, although insightful, is misleading in certain key respects. My purpose in this response, therefore, is to clarify MacIntyre’s views on business. In doing this I will, by default, clarify my own.

MacIntyre himself might be surprised by the frequency with which his name appears in the business-ethics discourse. Although, over a period spanning nearly fifty years, he has written prolifically on the subject of ethics, he has only, as far as I am aware, written two brief articles directly addressing the subject of business ethics. Why then should we in business or in business ethics concern ourselves with his views? I think our interest in MacIntyre stems from our interest in virtue ethics, specifically our interest in the applicability of the virtues to business. When it comes to virtue ethics MacIntyre is recognized as an authority, if not the authority. Even his fiercest detractors would, I hope, admit that he has been largely responsible for the resurrection of classical philosophy in the latter half of this century. His bookAfter Virtue,in which he criticizes modernity and praises a classical virtue-based approach to ethics, is undoubtedly one the most influential books on moral philosophy written this century. Indeed, as postmodernism gains steam as a cultural force, its full influence is perhaps yet to be determined. If MacIntyre’s critique of modernity proves correct, then much of business-ethics theory—not to mention moral theory in general—would be discredited. Thus interest in MacIntyre’s thesis, from many quarters, is understandable.
Sources of Virtue: The Market and the Community
Authors: Shaw Bill
Published: July 2007

Virtues are habits of character that advance excellence in all of ones endeavors. In the Aristotelian formulation, training in the virtues is driven by a sense of the “good,” that is, by a widely shared agreement on the components of a good society and on the roles (and appropriate virtues or excellencies) of the “social animals” that energize that society. In the modern era, however, a strong sense of community has been much diminished. Freedom from the restraints of the Church and other social institutions and an emphasis on individual autonomy has fostered a different ethical perspective, a perspective in which the market enters importantly into one’s conception of the good. Does the market generate virtues which in turn sustain it? What guides the development of virtue in market economies that are entering the “information superhighway,” and a new millennium as well?
Toward a Feminist Firm: Comments on John Dobson and Judith White
Authors: Derry Robbin
Published: July 2007

This response to Dobson and White's call for a feminine firm argues that such a concept is based on a misinterpretation of Gilligan's research. Moreover, virtue ethics and feminine ethics do not share a common approach to nurturing relationships or the moral orientation of care. Acknowledging the worthwhile goals of Dobson and White's endeavor, the feminist firm is presented as offering greater potential to achieve these goals.
Reimagining Moral Leadership in Business
Authors: Fisher David H. , Fowler Sarah B.
Published: July 2007

In this paper we explore challenges facing leadership in a culture of “all consuming images” from a perspective which claims that images have a moral or normative dimension. The cumulative effect of contemporary image saturation is increased resistance to the normative power of an image. We also suggest that in a culturally diverse global economy, it is necessary to expand the moral aspects of good business leadership beyond providing a basis for productive, coherent group identity within a firm at the expense of seeing outsiders as “others.” We also explore what imagining leadership in business might be like in a world in which visual images shape our understandings of individual and group identity. While our focus is on leadership in business, we also use examples from the political arena. We also suggest that imagining business leadership in the ways we propose may be helpful to women, providing them with an image of business leadership more closely reflective of their experience of corporate culture, its limits, and possibilities.
Machiavelli's Prince as Ceo
Authors: D'Andrade Kendall
Published: July 2007

The Machiavellian model is often praised as a realistic description of modern corporate life. My analysis of The Prince follows Rousseau in arguing that the prince can survive and prosper most easily by creating an environment in which almost all the citizens prosper. Far from licensing unrestrained self-aggrandizement, in this model success only comes from providing real value to almost every citizen for the entire period of one's leadership.

Translation from the early sixteenth to the late twentieth century is far from simple; for example, the CEO is in many ways far less powerful than a Medici prince. The closest approximation is a far less bureaucratic organization with very small units possessing maximum autonomy. Also, deciding who is, and who is not, a citizen is not nearly as straightforward as it was for Machiavelli; it probably includes every stakeholder on whom the corporation has a major impact.
Institutionalizing Ethics Into Business Organizations: A Model and Research Agenda
Authors: Weber James
Published: July 2007

Grounded upon the late 1970s phrase “institutionalizing ethics into business,” I present a multi-component model and research agenda to enhance our understanding of organizations' efforts to integrate ethics into the daily decision-making process of employees. Three research foci are emphasized: (1) the need to establish consistent categorical frameworks to describe business organizations' efforts in the field, (2) the study of the interrelationships between the various components presented in the model, and (3) the exploration of the linkage between organizational efforts to institutionalize ethics and ethical employee behavior. Research and organizational implications evolving from these research foci are discussed.
Enlarging the Conversation
Authors: Herman Stewart W.
Published: July 2007

To date, BEQ has published contributions mainly from philosophers and social scientists. With these essays, we hope to expand this interdisciplinary conversation. The origins of this special issue extend back to a DePaul University conference some ten years ago, when Richard T. De George asserted that there was little that philosophers could learn from religious thinkers that would be of value for the field of business ethics (De George, 1986a). The challenge nestled deep in this author, much like the proverbial irritating grain of sand in the shell of an oyster, and it continues to merit serious reflection: what can religious approaches offer to the field? Are there indeed any pearls of insight to be harvested? Is there even an academic field of what might be termed religious business ethics?
Ethics and the Political Activity of Business: Reviewing the Agenda
Authors: Weber Leonard J.
Published: July 2007

In April of 1996, the Michigan Automobile Association made a $2500 campaign contribution to the Republicans in the Michigan House of Representatives. Three days later, the Republican-controlled House Tax Policy Committee approved a bill that would have reduced the state sales tax on a new car, based on the value of the trade-in, a bill supported by the automobile dealers. A few days after that, however, the Governor, also a Republican, threatened to veto that legislation. An executive of the auto dealers association called up the House Republication staff and asked for the $2500 contribution back. When informed that the check had been deposited, he told his bank to stop payment (Luke, 1996).
Ethical Standards for Business Lobbying: Some Practical Suggestions
Authors: Hamilton J. Brooke , Hoch David
Published: July 2007

Rather than being inherently evil, business lobbying is a socially responsible activity which needs to be restrained by ethical standards. To be effective in a business environment, traditional ethical standards need to be translated into language which business persons can speak comfortably. Economical explanations must also be available to explain why ethical standards are appropriate in business. Eight such standards and their validating arguments are proposed with examples showing their use. Internal dialogues regarding the ethics of lobbying objectives and tactics will plausibly occur only in businesses which recognize social responsibility mandates. Public interest stakeholders could hasten this recognition by making use of information made available by the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 to institute external dialogues regarding lobbying by specific businesses and industry groups . Given practical ethical standards and the information on business lobbying provided by the law, the press, corporate activists, consumers, pension fund managers and the public can apply pressure for ethical lobbying practices.
The Ethical Limits of Trust in Business Relations
Authors: Husted Bryan W.
Published: July 2007

This article defines and analyzes the nature of a trust relation. It specifically examines the internal and external morality of trust relations and the ethical limits of those relations. It examines both the ends pursued by trust relations as well as the means by which trust is developed. It shows that the ends need to be evaluated by traditional ethical theories, while the ethical constraints of the trust process depend upon the specific bases of trust. In addition, the consequences of the trust process differ in their impact on the trustor and third parties. Despite the popularity of trust in the literature, this study recommends caution in the use of trust as an ethical basis for economic organization. The optimal form of trust, although still subject to limitations, is fairness-based trust.
A New Model of Business: Dual-Investor Theory
Authors: Schlossberger Eugene
Published: July 2007

The paper suggests replacing the shareholder/stakeholder distinction with a “Dual-Investor” model of business: stockowners provide the specific capital for business ventures, while society provides the “opportunity capital.” Thus society is an investor in every business venture. Dual-Investor theory provides a response (based purely on the ethics of investment) to Milton Friedman’s arguments that executives should maximize profit by any legal means, avoids recent criticisms by Kenneth Goodpaster and Thomas McMahon, and suggests that the dichotomy between private and public ownership overlooks several important alternatives. Some consequences of the theory are detailed and a sketch of a theory of property, based on Dual-Investor theory, is appended.
What is (and Isn’t) the Matter with “What’s the Matter…”
Authors: Monast Joseph H.
Published: July 2007

In mid-1993 a provocative piece on business ethics appeared on the pages of the Harvard Business Review. Andrew Stark’s “What’s the Matter with Business Ethics?” (1993a) found plenty wrong with business ethics, arguing that the product served up to managers and potential managers by traditional ethicists in their articles and classrooms is without practical value. Since it is supposed to be “applied” ethics, he finds something seriously amiss with a business ethics that offers nothing to help a manager resolve moral dilemmas in business. While some “new” ethicists are now beginning to appear, ethicists who are willing to get their hands dirty and acknowledge the legitimacy of normal business practices, the traditional ethicists continue to dominate the field and continue to offer a product unable to satisfy the manager’s needs. According to Stark, “[Business ethicists] have been too preoccupied with absolutist notions of what it means for managers to be ethical, with overly general criticisms of capitalism as an economic system, with dense and abstract theorizing, and with prescriptions that apply only remotely to managerial practice” (1993a, p.38). Or, as he puts it in a more detailed discussion, traditional business ethics fails because it is a deadly combination of “too general,” “too theoretical,” and, worst of all, “too impractical” (1993a, p.44). In short, the “old” approach is idealistic and academic, irrelevant to the rough-and-tumble of real business.
A Critique of Social Contracts for Business
Authors: Conry Edward J.
Published: July 2007

This article evaluates the social contract theorizing of Professors Thomas Donaldson, Thomas Dunfee and Michael Keeley. This theorizing is tested with G.E. Moore’s concept of moral authority, with moral psychology, and by managerial utility. Both strengths and weaknesses are found in the theories and the author concludes that while there is great potential, much work in theory development remains.
Organization Ethics from a Perspective of Praxis
Authors: Nielsen Richard P.
Published: July 2007

Organization ethics praxis is theory and method of appropriate action for addressing ethics issues and developing ethical organizations. The perspective of praxis (theory and method of action) is important and different from the perspectives of theoria (theory of understanding), epistemology (ways of knowing), and ontology (ways of being/existing). Praxis is the least developed area within the field of organization ethics. Differences between theoria and praxis are considered within the context of Kohlberg—Gilligan developmental ethics where part of the controversy may be unnecessary due to Kohlberg’s concentrating on epistemology and theoria, but not praxis; and, Gilligan’s considering aspects of praxis with epistemology and theoria. Differences between epistemology and praxis perspectives are considered in the contexts of two cases: Socratic “double-loop” action-learning conversations the night before the Challenger explosion; and, “triple-loop״ action-learning in a cross-cultural Boston—Indonesia child worker safety, acid-washed jeans case.
Does Business Ethics Make Economic Sense?
Authors: Sen Amartya
Published: July 2007

The importance of business ethics is not contrdicted in any way by Adam Smith’s pointer to the fact that our “regards to our own interests” provide adequate motivation for exchange. There are many important economic relationships other than exchange, such as the institution of production and arrangements of distribution. Here business ethics can play a major part. Even as far as exchange is concerned, business ethics can be crucially important in terms of organization and behavior, going well beyond basic motivation.
Corporate Moral Responsibility: When it Might Matter
Authors: Phillips Michael J.
Published: July 2007

The debate over corporate moral responsibility has become a fixture in business ethics research and teaching. Only rarely, however, does the sizable literature on that question consider whether the debate has important practical implications. This article examines that question from a corporate control perspective. After assuming corporate moral responsibility’s existence for purposes of argument, the article concludes that such responsibility makes a difference in cases where it is present but personal responsibility is absent. Then the article tries to identify the forces that diminish personal responsibility when corporate responsibility exists. The most important such forces, it concludes, spring from the socialization processes people undergo when they enter groups. One example is the well-known phenomenon of groupthink, which can exculpate individuals by rendering them justifiably ignorant of foreseeable risks of harm.
The Business Ethics Movement; Where are We Headed and What Can We Learn From Our Colleagues in Bioethics?
Authors: Wicks Andrew C.
Published: July 2007

There is a long and distinguished history of ethical thought in both business and medicine dating back to ancient times. Yet, the emergence of distinct academic disciplines [“business ethics” and “bioethics”] which are also tied to broader social movements is a very recent phenomenon. In spite of the apparent affinities that would seem to emerge from this connection, many have argued that the differences between business and medicine make any constructive interaction between business ethics and bioethics minimal. Indeed, little has been done to specifically examine the potential for collaboration and interdisciplinary research. This paper argues that there is considerable potential for constructive interaction between these two movements based on three major arguments: that the differences between medicine and business have been exaggerated, that both fields face a number of urgent problems that are common to each, and that the model of bioethics can serve as a useful guide for business ethicists.
Motivational Appeal in Normative Theories of Enterprise
Authors: Vidaver-Cohen Deborah
Published: July 2007

This essay examines how normative theories of enterprise can be strengthened by incorporating the empirical study of motivation into the theory-development process. The link between moral conduct and motivation in the literature is reviewed, the framework for Motivational Appeal Analysis introduced and applied, and implications for theory and research are discussed.
An Ethical Analysis of Japan’s Response to the Arab Boycott of Israel
Authors: Reingold Ruth N. , Lansing Paul
Published: July 2007

Japan’s political, cultural, and geographic isolation, its symbiotic government-business arrangement, and its practice of practical, resources-oriented politics, trade, and diplomacy have led it to be the only major global economic power to strictly comply with the Arab boycott. A brief history and description of the boycott are presented here, along with an overview of the responses of major economic trading nations. Three issues are addressed: Japan’s global conscience, the framework appropriate to analyze the ethics of global economic boycotts, and the Japanese government’s excuse of leaving boycott decisions to business considering the historic relationship between the two. The logical conclusion of this analysis is that Japan as a nation must abandon its insularity and take a greater ethical responsibility in line with its economic power. From this comes the responsibility of the govenment to guide the business sector towards a corporate conscience, one that is grounded in global awareness.
The Perils of Multinationals’ Largess
Authors: Donaldson Thomas
Published: July 2007

In an article in the Journal of Business Ethics, Professor Kevin Jackson raised a critical challenge to my claim in The Ethics of International Business that corporations should be excused from certain rights-honoring responsibilities. Surely he is right to sound a note of caution. Not lightly, and not without deep reflection, should we let rich and powerful global corporations off the moral hook. Not lightly should we excuse the Sonys and General Motors of the world from the burdens of remedying global rights abuses. And this is the nub of the issue between Professor Jackson and me; for even though I have written that corporations should bear heavy and often unacknowledged duties in honoring human rights, I have also stipulated that these duties (unless “exceptional” circumstances obtain) should fall only in two classes, namely:
Harmony, Hobbes and Rational Negotiation: A Reply to Dees and Cramton’s “Promoting Honesty in Negotiation”
Authors: Gibson Kevin
Published: July 2007

Dees and Cramton have argued that we should take a deontological stand to make negotiations more ethical (“Promoting Honesty in Negotiation: An Exercise in Practical Ethics” BEQ, Vol. 3, #3). I suggest that their analysis is overdetermined, and that one can, in fact, reach the same conclusions through a Hobbesian approach to negotiation. I suggest that an equally valid way to develop ethical negotiation is through the consequentialist “Harmony Thesis” which posits that moral behavior is coextensive with beneficial results.

Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves; be ye therefore as wily as serpents and harmless as doves
Toward a New Understanding of Moral Pluralism
Authors: Buchholz Rogene A. , Rosenthal Sandra B.
Published: July 2007

The current literature in business ethics is tending toward an unacknowledged moral pluralism, with all the problems this position entails. An adequate moral pluralism cannot be achieved by a synthesis of existing theoretical alternatives for moral action. Rather, what is needed is a radical reconstruction of the understanding of the moral situation that undercuts some of the traditional dichotomies, provides a solid philosophical grounding which is inherently pluralistic, and offers a new understanding of what it is to think morally. The philosophical position of American pragmatism, as briefly sketched in this paper, offers one such possible reconstruction.
Reflections on the Practical Relevance of Feminist Thought to Business
Authors: Wicks Andrew C.
Published: July 2007

I appreciate the opportunity to comment on two recent papers (Burton and Dunn, “Feminist Ethics as Moral Grounding for Stakeholder Theory” and Dobson, “The Feminine Firm: A Comment”—both in the April 1996 edition of BEQ) which deal with the subject of feminism in business ethics. Both raise important issues for how we think about the relevance and potential contribution of feminist thought to this area of research.
Moral Problems of Employing Foreign Workers
Authors: Geva Aviva
Published: July 2007

The employment of foreign workers is one of the most crucial problems today in the domain of work relations. Absorbing workers from abroad poses serious questions concerning the moral obligations of the employers as well as the government authorities in the migrant-receiving country. Unfortunately, the moral dilemmas of foreign labor have been largely neglected by business ethics researchers. This paper develops a conceptual framework based on the multinational corporation (MNC) ethical research to help examine the moral obligations of employers and states toward foreign workers, as opposed to citizens. The main argument is that domestic employers, who have the power to affect crucial aspects in the lives of migrant workers, incur obligations to these people and bear moral responsibility for their subsistence. As regards the host country in a universal social order based on the existence of nation-states, the employment of foreign workers poses a genuine ethical dilemma between two valid moral duties: the duty to improve the welfare of nationals and the duty to promote the interests of everyone, regardless of their nationality.
Universalizability and Reciprocity in International Business Ethics
Authors: Hendry John
Published: July 2007

Most writers on international business ethics adopt a universalist perspective, but the traditional expression of problems in terms of a discrepancy between (superior) home country and (inferior) host country values makes it difficult to preserve the symmetry required by a universalizability criterion. In this paper a critique of Donaldson’s (1989) theory is used to illustrate some of the ways in which ethnocentric assumptions can enter into a supposedly universalist argument. A number of suggestions are then made for improving Donaldson’s approach by careful attention to the requirement of universalizability, expressed in a contractarian theory in the form of agent symmetry or reciprocity.
The Marketplace of Morality: First Steps Toward a Theory of Moral Choice
Authors: Dunfee Thomas W.
Published: July 2007

A marketplace of morality (MOM) is a place where individuals act under the influence of their moral desires. A MOM produces an output representing the aggregate acted-upon moral preferences of its participants. Individual behavior is influenced by POPs, or passions of propriety. People implement POP preferences when they buy stock, purchase goods and services, choose jobs and so on. Firms respond by social cause marketing and other devices which encourage customers to align their social preferences with those represented by the firm. The outputs of MOM constitute an important reference point for understanding business morality. Even so, the normative status of MOM outputs must be subject to principles of universal morality. A principle of greater preponderance is offered as a means for determining when a MOM output is ethically legitimate.

A theory of moral choice, based upon the concept of a MOM, may have potential for providing a unifying framework integrating moral preferences, reasoning, behaviors and organizational contexts with broader political and economic concepts.
Corporate Roles, Personal Virtues: An Aristotelean Approach to Business Ethics
Authors: Solomon Robert C.
Published: July 2007

Each of us is ultimately lonely, In the end, it's up to each of us and each of us alone to figure out who we are and who we are not, and to act more or less consistently on those conclusions.

–Tom Peters, “The Ethical Debate” Ethics Digest Dec 1989, p. 2.

We are gratefully past that embarrassing period when the very title of a lecture on “business ethics” invited—no, required—those malapert responses, “sounds like an oxymoron” or “must be a very short lecture.” Today, business ethics is well-established not only in the standard curriculum in philosophy in most departments but, more impressively, it is recommended or required in most of the leading business schools in North America, and it is even catching on in Europe (one of the too rare instances of intellectual commerce in that direction). Studies in business ethics have now reached what Tom Donaldson has called “the third wave,” beyond the hurried-together and overly-philosophical introductory textbooks and collections of too-obvious concrete case studies, too serious engagement in the business world. Conferences filled half-and-half with business executives and academics are common, and in-depth studies based on immersion in the corporate world, e.g. Robert Jackall’s powerful Moral Mazes, have replaced more simple-minded and detached glosses on “capitalism” and “social responsibility.” Business ethics has moved beyond vulgar “business as poker” arguments to an arena where serious ethical theory is no longer out-of-place but seriously sought out and much in demand.
Toward An Ethic of Exchange
Authors: Koehn Daryl
Published: July 2007

Robert Solomon has suggested that we now have collectively moved beyond the point of treating the notion of “business ethics” as oxymoronic. If the possibility of business ethics were indeed a settled question, then there would be little point in offering yet another investigation into the character of business practice and norms. But if the “we” of this claim refers to philosophers, other writers and the community as a whole, then Solomon's claim appears false. For we remain very much concerned about the morality of business. Our doubts regarding business legitimacy have been brought into ever sharper focus by the trend of the past twenty years to assimilate business to the so-called “liberal” or “learned” professions of medicine, the ministry and the law. For, as Paul Camenisch has noted, while the three liberal professions all aim at readily identifiable goods and display an “atyptical moral commitment,” it is far from clear that the end of business is good. Since prof its can be made through the distribution of products many would regard as immoral, using labor practices of equally dubious morality (e.g., slave labor), it is hard to see how business can lay claim, like the other professions, to a legitimating moral commitment. Business legitimacy has been further undermined by research suggesting that business managers’ “expertise” creates more problems than it solves; and that the much-touted science of managerial effectiveness is a sham since no such science of controlling human behavior either does or can exist.
Community: A Work in Progress
Authors: Shaw Bill
Published: July 2007

Professor Ian Maitland advances a version of utilitarianism, constrained by Robert Nozick’s minimal state, that finds no connection between the pervasiveness of “market values,” which he gamely pursues, and the kind of problems that dominate our social scene. In his judgment, the prevailing tendency towards community or communitarian ends needlessly obstructs freedom, the overriding value of the libertarian-minimal state. When coupled with wrongheaded and perverse policies, communitarianism shackles the free market with crippling inefficiencies. This paper will interrogate Maitland’s characterization of communitarianism, challenge his view that traditional values can be instrumentalized without harming community, and paint a more plausible and complex picture of the communitarian tendency.
Business Ethics and Politics
Authors: Betz Joseph
Published: July 2007

What is the relation of business ethics to politics? My answer has two parts. First, business ethics exists quite apart from politics in matters of simple, basic ethical norms like those prohibiting lying, wanton injury, sexual harrassment. One would be foolish to unsettle this settled ethics as A. Z. Carr does in this article, “Is Business Bluffing Ethical?” For the business community thus loses the public’s trust and invites a government regulation of business smothering to business and burdensome to government.

Second, there are issues in business ethics which do not represent a settled and shared and common ethics because they represent a choice between competing, almost equally attractive, values. These problems in business ethics can only have a political solution. Politics here represents the commitment to different basic values and will represent liberal and conservative extremes or some compromise in-between. The solution acceptable for these problems will change with the political climate and will be unstable. We should strive to keep the basic, simple, settled, ethical issues in business out of politics, and we should strive to be frank about our political differences as we needfully politicize the solutions to the more complex unsettled problems in business ethics.
Rights and Interests in a Participatory Market Society
Authors: van Luijk Henk
Published: July 2007

In this paper I try to enlarge the scope of the questions commonly treated in business ethics. I first argue that not motives but action structures should form the basis of our analytical endeavours. I then distinguish three basic structures in human action: self-directed, other-including and other-directed actions. These structures, when linked with the concepts of interests and legitimate claims or rights, lead to a taxonomy of moral behaviour in business that I describe as, respectively, transactional, recognitional and participatory ethics, three distinct realms of moral behaviour, each characterized by a specific set of moral principles and a special relation between moral agents. My contention is that, up to now, analysis in business ethics has largely been focused on issues in the field of recognitional ethics. The discipline itself as well as ethical practices in business may greatly profit by paying explicit attention to market morality and transactional ethics as well as to the non-enforceable we-alliances of a participatory ethics, increasingly possible and needed in present-day civil society.
The Nature of Social Desirability Response Effects in Ethics Research
Authors: Fernandes Maria F. , Randall Donna M.
Published: July 2007

The study assesses how a social desirability (SD) bias influences the relationship between several independent and dependent variables commonly investigated in ethics research. The effect of a SD bias was observed when a questionnaire was administered under varying conditions of anonymity and with different measurement techniques for the SD construct. Findings reveal that a SD bias is present in the majority of relationships studied, and it most frequently plays a moderating role. While the measure of SD influences the strength and type of relationship, condition of anonymity has relatively little effect on the level of SD.
Towards Candor, Cooperation, & Privacy in Applied Business Ethics Research: The Randomized Response Technique (RRT)
Authors: Dalton Dan R. , Metzger Michael B.
Published: July 2007

Virtually every empirical inquiry of issues relevant to applied business ethics involves the asking of questions that are sensitive, embarrassing, threatening, stigmatizing, or incriminating. Accordingly, questions of this sort are likely to result in unsatisfactory outcomes: 1) many individuals will not respond; and/or, 2) many individuals will not respond candidly. An obvious objective, then, is to use a method to collect information which increases participation, provides absolute anonymity, and does not jeopardize subjects’ privacy. The randomized response technique (RRT) is a method designed to realize this promise. We provide here an overview of RRT approaches and applications which may be effectively used in empirical examinations of potentially sensitive issues in business ethics.
Moral Commitment and the Ethical Attorney
Authors: Jones Thomas M. , Gautschi Frederick H.
Published: July 2007

The moral worth of attorneys has traditionally been judged in terms of compliance with legal codes of ethics. These codes, ostensibly designed to promote smooth and equitable functioning of an adversary system, are manifestations of a rule utilitarian moral system. This paper argues that ethical attorneys have a higher calling than rule compliance and that “moral commitment,” which combines commitment to “right” solutions and moral courage, is a superior yardstick for measuring their moral worth.
The Moral Status of the Corporation: Comments on an Inquiry
Authors: Nesteruk Jeffrey
Published: July 2007

Corporate moral agency is an important philosophical issue with significant implications for corporate law scholarship. While some legal scholars have recognized the significance of this issue for the analysis of corporate law, legal scholars generally have yet to give it the kind of attention and thorough examination it deserves. In this regard, Michael Phillips makes a valuable contribution to the debate, exploring how theories of the corporation prevalent in legal scholarship bear on the question of corporate moral agency. His analysis provides us with many insights. Still, I wish to raise some questions regarding his approach. Raising these questions, I believe, will help us to recognize more fully the possibilities the issue of corporate moral agency holds for corporate law scholarship.
A Review of The Realm of Rights
Authors: Samar Vincent J.
Published: July 2007

This book has two purposes: first, to state what it means to have a right; and second, to state which rights human beings have. Because Thomson believes that the first question is prior to the second, she begins by asking why it is morally significant that human beings have rights. Her answer to this question is that rights are a kind of moral constraint such that, other things being equal, one's rights ought to be accorded. As to the second question, Thomson distinguishes rights human beings have qua human beings from rights they have by participating in private transactions or living under a legal system. The former category includes the right not to be killed or harmed; the latter category includes rights related to promise keeping and private property. By explaining what in general makes the attribution of a human or social right true, Thomson seeks to provide a foundation for the notion that the interests of human beings are worthy of respect.
Business Ethics and Extant Social Contracts
Authors: Dunfee Thomas W.
Published: July 2007

Extant social contracts, deriving from communities of individuals, constitute a significant source of ethical norms in business. When found consistent with general ethical theories through the application of a filtering test, these real social contracts generate prima facie duties of compliance on the part of those who expressly or impliedly consent to the terms of the social contract, and also on the part of those who take advantage of the instrumental value of the social contracts. Businesspeople typically participate in multiple communities and, as a consequence, encounter conflicting ethical norms. Priority rules can be devised to resolve such conflicts. The framework of extant social contracts merges normative and theoretical research in business ethics and specifies a domain for empirical studies.
The Ethical Roots of Business Ethics
Authors: Vogel David
Published: July 2007

This paper traces the historical roots of some of our current preoccupations with the ethics of business. Its central argument is that many of the contemporary criteria that we use to evaluate the ethics of business are not new; rather, they date back several centuries. This paper illustrates this thesis by comparing historical and contemporary discussions of three sets of issues: the relationship between ethics and profits, the relationship between private gain and the public good and the tension between the results of capitalism and the intentions of businessmen.

The fact that these tensions are inherent in the nature of capitalism, if not in human nature itself, does not make our contemporary concerns or standards any less valid. On the contrary, it underlies their significance. Contemporary discussions of business ethics constitute part of an ongoing moral dialogue with both deep secular and religious roots.
What's the Point of a Business Ethics Course?
Authors: Duska Ronald F.
Published: July 2007

The paper argues that the point of a business ethics course is to improve behavior in business, and that an essential ingredient in that improved behavior is knowing what's right or wrong. To make that claim, the paper attempts to dispose of three arguments which support the contrary claim, that business ethics courses are useless. First, it is argued that morals can't be taught, since they only result from training. Second, it is argued that such courses are unnecessary because business executives already know right from wrong. Third, it is argued that ethical knowledge is impossible, so there is nothing to teach. The first two arguments are dealt with briefly, and the third is addressed extensively. The paper argues that the scepticism about ethical knowledge is part of a pervasive “relativism” in our society, but shows that such a relativism/scepticism is untenable and indicates how ethical knowledge is possible. If, then, knowledge of right and wrong is an essential ingredient for improving business behavior, and such knowledge can be imparted in an ethics course, there is some point to teaching business ethics.
A Critique of Business Ethics
Authors: Lippke Richard L.
Published: July 2007

The dominant approach to the analysis of issues in business ethics consists in the articulation and use of a set of mid-level moral principles. This approach is geared to business practitioners who are not interested in the difficult problems of moral and political theory. I argue that this “practitioner model” is philosophically suspect. I show how the theoretical frameworks prominent business ethicists employ are insufficiently developed. I also show how many of their analyses presuppose substantive views about issues of social justice which they rarely defend or acknowledge. Since no neutral position on these issues is available, I argue that the only alternative is to address the problems such issues raise for the analysis of institutions and the conduct of persons acting under those institutions. I offer suggestions about how we can develop a more philosophically defensible approach to business ethics.
Shadow-Boxing: A Comment on Miller's The Shadow of Ethics
Authors: Schneider Mark D.
Published: July 2007

PROFESSOR Miller, responding to Pamental, suggested that business ethics should be taught to (business) students by adopting or endorsing an ethical approach within which to discuss and evaluate business ethics issues. That is, when teaching business ethics, one ought to reveal to the students, one's own reasoned answers to the issues, and one's bias as between deontological and consequentialist approaches. Miller claims that otherwise, students get confused, having to choose between moral theories while having to decide on the morality of some specific business ethics issue.
Reflections on Business Ethics: What Is It? What Causes It? And, What Should A Course In Business Ethics Include?
Authors: Wolfe Art
Published: July 2007

Business ethics courses have been launched with professors from business pulling on one oar, and professors of philosophy pulling on the other, but they lack a sense of direction. Let's begin with the basics: What is an ehtical decision? More fundamentally, why the interest in professional ethics in the first place?

There are over 300 centers for the study of applied ethics in this country—why? The events which face our society today (income and wealth disparity, environmental degradation, etc.) are outside the business-oriented collection of shared beliefs that set our public policy agenda. Our beliefs are too narrow, thus we see, understand, and control small slices of life.

Business ethics should be the study of the structure and impact on us of what we call “business science,” e.g., accounting, marketing, economics, law, etc., and the corresponding study of the process of what Carl Jung called individuation: learning to become one's own unique self in the face of these bodies of professional knowledge which have structured our lives and charted the direction for our sensibilities for too long.
Once Bitten: Defection And Reconciliation In A Cooperative Enterprise
Authors: Gibson Kevin , Bottom William , Murnighan J. Keith
Published: July 2007

Business negotiations often involve cooperative arrangements. Sometimes one party will renege on a cooperative enterprise for short-term opportunistic gain. There is a common assumption that such behavior necessarily leads to a spiral of mutual antagonism. We use some of the philosophical literature to frame general research questions and identify relevant variables in dealing with defection. We then describe an experimental approach for examining the possibility of reconciliation and discuss the results of one such experiment where participants were the victims of defection. In contrast to the initial assumptions we found that many participants were willing to reconcile, and that penance conditions, when demanded, were less stringent than expected. We suggest that these findings warrant further study and have implications for business dealings.

Very little can be learnt about [retribution] from Aristotle’sPoliticsor his three ethics. In modern ethico-political concepts of justice (in Hobbes, Rousseau and Hegel), the problem of retribution appears in conjunction with other problems and is not of central importance.—Agnes Heller
The Continuing Quest for Accountable, Ethical, and Humane Corporate Capitalism: An Enduring Challenge for Social Issues in Management in the New Millennium
Authors: Epstein Edwin M.
Published: July 2007

From their inception, the Social Issues in Management (SIM) field and the SIM Division within the Academy of Management have provided the essential venues to examine the complex, dynamic, two-way relationship between economic institutions of our society and the social systems in which they operate. They have blended the normative with the scientific, the speculative with the empirical, and the philosophical with the pragmatic. The field and the Division have served, perhaps most importantly, as the conscience of management education and the Academy. Their enduring quest andraison d’êtreis to foster corporate capitalism that is accountable, ethical, and humane.
Business Ethics in the New Millennium: Will the Patient Survive?
Authors: Hoffman W. Michael , Driscoll Dawn-Marie
Published: July 2007

To date, the business ethics movement has mainly concentrated on reaching the troops, not the generals. But the issue that will determine how well this movement succeeds in the opening decades of the new millennium is not how we drive ethics and compliance programs down an organization, but how we integrate considerations of ethics and values up in an organization. We must broaden the present group of business ethics advocates by enlisting influential policymakers, opinion leaders, the media, boards of directors, CEOs, investment bankers, international economic experts, and others who comprise what we might call the International Club of Thinkers and Doers. The key to ethical health in the future is a process that will drive integrity-based leadership and governance to the top of our global business organizations, with a goal to achieving global and universal standards of fundamental ethical values.
Traversing the Inferno: A New Direction for Business Ethics
Authors: Koehn Daryl
Published: July 2007

The discipline of business ethics traditionally has paid too much attention to articulating and applying the moral law and has devoted too little thinking to the nature and consequences of evil for our souls. For purposes of this discussion, I shall limit myself to Dante’s vision of evil as a diminution of human being. On his journey through hell, Dante encounters the shades—people who, through their own actions, have rendered themselves less than fully human. This paper concentrates especially on the various types of fraud and their psychic effects as portrayed by Dante in his book Inferno.