bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Moral Imagination
Authors: Werhane Patricia H. 
Published: January 2015

AbstractThe idea of moral imagination derives historically from the work ofAdamSmith andImmanuelKant. In business ethics, moral imagination is defined as the ability in particular circumstances to discover and evaluate possibilities not merely determined by that circumstance, or limited by its operative mental models, or merely framed by a set of rules or rule‐governed concerns. In management decision making, moral imagination entails perceiving norms, social roles, and relationships entwined in any situation. Developing moral imagination involves heightened awareness of contextual moral dilemmas and their mental models, the ability to envision and evaluate new mental models that create new possibilities, and the capability to reframe the dilemma and create new solutions in ways that are novel, economically viable, and morally justifiable.
South Africa, Business Ethics in
Authors: Rossouw Gedeon J. 
Published: January 2015

Abstract
The article provides an overview of the development of Business Ethics in post‐apartheid South Africa. It demonstrates how the unique landscape of South Africa's transition from a society marred by historical racial injustices impacted on the development of Business Ethics. The role that the three King reports on corporate governance as well as various legal reforms have played in shaping Business Ethics as field of study and as business practice are discussed. An overview of recent developments in academic teaching and research is also provided. Finally institutes and centres with a partial or exclusive focus on Business Ethics are identified.
E‐business
Authors: Dunfee John W. , Fort Timothy L. 
Published: January 2015

Abstract
During the e‐commerce fervor of the late 1990s, it often seemed that the Internet might be ushering in an entirely new set of ethical issues for business. With the passage of time, it is more accurate to say that there were many old issues that were dressed in a new form and that there were some technologically driven issues that, if not entirely new, were strangely enough presented to have the effect of raising new ethical issues for business.
Property, Public and Private
Authors: Mack Eric 
Published: January 2015

AbstractProperty, public and private refers both to (i) a normative relationship between agents and things, and (ii) the things that stand in that normative relationship to agents. In the paradigm case of property, an individual is related to some physical object by having an exclusive right to use that object as he chooses (i.e., it is the property of that agent to do with as he sees fit). In the paradigm case, the property holder's right of disposition is only subject to the constraint that he not dispose of his property in ways that violate others' rights. Many instances of property diverge in one or more respects from this basic paradigm. An agent's property need not be a physical object, but can instead be a more abstract. Distinct agents may have property in different aspects of the same thing; for example, one may have the usual land ownership rights, while another may hold the subsurface mineral rights. Distinct agents may jointly own particular things (e.g., “community” property). Is private property morally justified? The case discussed by Harold Demsetz and like narratives suggest a consequentialist vindication. But many have opposed private property regimes because they undercut communal or public life.
Agency Theory
Authors: Mitnick Barry M. 
Published: January 2015

AbstractThe theory of agency seeks to understand the problems created when one party, theagent, is acting for another, theprincipal. Agency has two sides: The activities and problems of identifying and providing services of “acting for” (agent side), and the activities and problems of guiding and correcting agent actions (the principal side). Because all actions and corrections have costs, it often does not pay the principal (or the agent) to insist on, or provide, perfect agency. But social institutions must routinely manage such imperfect conditions. By instructing the agent to perform as perfectly as possible for the principal, thefiduciary normhelps solve the institutional dilemmas of ensuring trustworthy behavior. The article describes the basic arguments of agency theory, its origins, and the varieties of work being done. The best known application of the theory of agency applied the economic theory of agency to the theory of the firm, though agency theory, including the more general institutional theory of agency, has applications throughout social science. The institutional theory of agency is not constrained by assumptions embedded in economic theory or to the modeling of the corporation alone.
Auditing, Ethical Issues In
Authors: Gaa James C. 
Published: January 2015

Abstract
Audits are examinations of information for the purpose of evaluating its reliability. The information in question may be financial or nonfinancial, and may be intended for users of information who are either internal or external to the organization. The objective of external auditing is to increase the confidence of external stakeholders regarding the quality of the financial information produced by organizations. The globalization of capital markets has had an impact on the ethics of auditing, because cultural diversity presents major issues regarding appropriate international ethical standards, and because of increased attention by capital market regulators to the inter‐jurisdictional aspects of auditing. Auditors have an obligation to make in the interest of external stakeholders and in the public interest. The central problem is that, for auditing to be an important factor in capital markets, auditors must be independent of their clients. However, there are built‐in factors that make solving this conflict of interest difficult. One of the fundamental principles of accounting and auditing is confidentiality. Recent developments internationally involving unethical and illegal acts of companies have caused regulators and ethics standard setters to consider the conditions under which confidentiality may be or should be breached.
Bluffing and Deception
Authors: Carson Thomas L. 
Published: January 2015

Abstract
Deception can be defined as intentionally causing someone to have false beliefs. Bluffing in negotiations involves attempting to deceive others about one's intentions or negotiating position. In the United States it is common, often a matter of course, for people to misstate their intentions during business negotiations. For example, suppose that Bob is selling a house and tells a prospective buyer that $350,000 is absolutely the lowest price that he will accept, when he knows that he would be willing to accept as little as $320,000 for the house (in this case $320,000 is his “reservation price”). Arguments for and against the view that this is permissible are considered.
In sales and negotiations sellers often provide prospective buyers information about the goods or services being sold. Ths legal principle of caveat emptor permits sellers to withhold information about the products they serve, but forbids lying and deception about this. Few defend lying or deception in sales, but the permissibility of withholding information about the nature of the goods and services one sells is the subject of some debate.
Canada, Business Ethics In
Authors: Poff Deborah C. 
Published: January 2015

AbstractSome might argue it is unnecessary to specify a particular nation‐state when speaking about business ethics. While Canadian history makes the discussion of business ethics somewhat culture‐specific, the Canadian future may include the erosion of such specificities through free‐trade agreements, information highways, and a globalized economy that diminishes the importance of national boundaries and the strength of autonomous nation‐states.
Economics and Ethics
Authors: Buchanan Allen 
Published: January 2015

Abstract
Economics is frequently defined as the science of choice, where choice is understood to be the selection of one course of action from among a set of options, on the basis of weighing costs and benefits. Essential to the economic conception of choice is the recognition that every choice involves costs. Ethics is sometimes understood to refer to a code of conduct, but in the literature of contemporary ethics generally and of business ethics in particular it is more often understood to be a practical activity – a reflective and self‐critical process of making decisions about which acts are right, wrong, or permissible. Economics appears to recognize only one reason for acting – namely, that doing this rather than that will maximize one's expected utility. Ethics, in contrast, not only offers a variety of considerations (human welfare, individual autonomy, fairness, etc.), but also requires that individuals sometimes act contrary to their own interests. Economists are expanding what has traditionally been regarded as the proper subject matter of economics to include moral behavior, not just self‐interested behavior. In doing so, they are recognizing a more complex and mutually enriching relationship between economics and ethics.
Finance, Ethical Issues in
Authors: Aggarwal Raj 
Published: January 2015

Abstract
Ethical issues are ubiquitous and important in finance. According to Adam Smith a capitalistic pursuit of self‐interest must be constrained by expectations of moral behavior. Ethics act as important and cost‐effective constraints on self‐serving and other undesirable behavior by parties to a contract such as agents, (such as managers), who have preferential information and who are responsible for the management of assets that belong to others (principals). Ethics in finance are especially important as it is impractical for laws, regulations, and corporate rules of behavior to cover every contingency in financial transactions.
Liberty
Authors: Brenkert George G. 
Published: January 2015

Abstract
Liberty is one of the fundamental values of Western society. Discussions of liberty frequently distinguish between negative liberty and positive liberty. The former exists when one is not subject to constraint of various kinds. The latter occurs when one enjoys a form of self‐determination or autonomy. Each form of liberty has important implications for political states as well as for businesses. Proponents of negative liberty are wary of constraints imposed on citizens and employees. Defenders of positive freedom seek to ensure that individuals have adequate measures of self‐determination through such measures as forms of participation in society or the workplace.
Managerial Ethics and the Ethical Role of the Manager
Authors: McMahon Christopher 
Published: January 2015

Abstract
The ethical dimension of management is determined by the social role that managers are understood as playing. For example, (i) Managers are agents acting on behalf of a principal or client; (ii) Managers are trustees for various corporate constituencies; and (iii) Managers are partners with governmental officials in an integrated system of political authority. If managers are agents acting on behalf of a principal/client, the moral dimension of management is the same as in any agency relationship. Managers of corporations are often thought to be agents of shareholders, but the law does not support this claim. The core of the “stakeholder” model holds that, morally, managers have the status of trustees not only for the shareholders but also for other groups – most importantly, employees, customers, suppliers, and neighbors of corporate facilities. Another way to understand the social role of managers looks at managers serving employees. In the government sphere, legitimate authority is authority that serves the interests of those over whom it is exercised. If so, then managers should be regarded not as servants of the shareholders or the stakeholders, but as servants of the employees. On all these ways of understanding the social role of managers, the moral structure of managerial decision‐making is the same. There is some goal that managers are understood as being responsible for promoting, and there are constraints, deriving from rights, on what managers may do to promote these goals.
Marketing and the Consumer
Authors: Robin Donald P. 
Published: January 2015

Abstract
Marketing is an open and non‐coerced exchange of values between the marketer and the consumer. The consumer is the final user of the utility in the exchange, and is the focus of marketing efforts developed to create enough perceived consumer value to precipitate the exchange. Society has set very broad limits on the freedom of choice within these exchanges. The marketer's information is usually far superior to the knowledge of the consumer leading to the “knowledge gap.” During his term, US President John F. Kennedy announced a bill of rights for the consumer intended to help address this.
Mergers and Acquisitions
Authors: Harris Robert S. 
Published: January 2015

Abstract
Mergers and acquisitions change contracts and, as a result, affect a wide array of stakeholders. As contracts are often imperfect and incomplete this recontracting process introduces a host of ethical issues. A society's structure of corporate governance (the shape of which may vary dramatically across political and cultural boundaries) sets down the rules of the market for corporate control and thus shapes how particular stakeholders are affected by business combinations.
Normative/Descriptive
Authors: Stephens Carroll U. , Shepard Jon M. 
Published: January 2015

Abstract
The field of business ethics draws upon two distinct theoretical bases: philosophy and the social sciences – most often social psychology and organization theory. The former base is normative, prescriptive, and held to represent values. The latter is descriptive, empirical, and held to represent “value‐free” facts. To ignore the normative aspects is to risk amoral social science, and to ignore the descriptive aspects is to risk unreal philosophy.
Research Centers for Business Ethics
Authors: Rowe Mark 
Published: January 2015

Abstract
Research centers dedicated to the study of what is good or right for individuals and groups of individuals engaged in business activity. Generally not‐for‐profit, business ethics centers are most effective when they combine theoretical inquiry and practical application. Most centers have multiple functions including research, teaching, the preparation of teaching materials, organizing conferences and seminars and the provision of speakers and scholars for public or media events.
Rights
Authors: Gewirth Alan 
Published: January 2015

Abstract
Examines the primary legal and moral appeals to rights, and identifies the controversies raised by or among the various treatments about who has rights to what, from conceptual, substantive, and normative perspectives. An initial treatment of legal rights distinctions among types of rights based on claims, liberty, power, and immunity (Hohfeld). Further discussion treats the subjective and objective elements of rights along with relevant justifications raised in each case. Provides specific examples of various rights claims and controversies among these legal views. The article also examines rights as personal entitlements, and addresses their normative necessity, their nature and justification, and their relative importance. Includes a discussion of moral rights, including positive rights and solely negative rights, highlighting the libertarian perspective. Addresses the relationship between moral arguments based on rights and on utilitarian perspectives.
Roles and Role Morality
Authors: Goldman Alan H. 
Published: January 2015

Abstract
A distinct role morality would consist in special norms that are to guide the conduct of those in certain professional or business roles. These norms would elevate the values central to those roles relative to ordinary moral deliberation and limit the authority of agents in those positions to act on ordinary moral considerations. The special norms might be justified by appeal to the fallibility of role occupants in ordinary deliberation or to a moral division of labor. But when such special norms, for example, the pursuit of profit by business managers, override ordinary moral considerations, common moral rights will be sacrificed in the process.
Social Cost‐Benefits
Authors: Sagoff Mark 
Published: January 2015

Abstract
Cost–benefit analysis (CBA), when used as it was in the 1930s to measure the social return on public spending, made sense – and still makes sense – as a bulwark against “pork barrel” and other wasteful projects. When expanded to apply the principles and assumptions of welfare economics to social policy more generally, however, CBA imposes its own goal – efficiency – on society and justifies that goal by defining social welfare in terms of it. It then substitutes itself for both markets (which fail to be efficient) and political deliberation (which seeks goals other than efficiency) as an expert method for allocating public and other resources.
Trade Agreements, Ethics of
Authors: Dobson John 
Published: January 2015

Abstract
The World Trade Organization (WTO) (which grew out of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)) administers most trade agreements. The WTO and its activities on behalf of trade have proven controversial. Critics charge that the powerful WTO, operating with free trade ideology, enables multinational corporations to maximize their profits at the expense of local economies, especially those of the developing world. The key question is whether trade agreements genuinely promote fair trade or whether they enable powerful corporations to exploit those with less power.
Christianity and Business Ethics
Authors: Calkins Martin 
Published: January 2015

Abstract
The moral language and operating norms of business find their roots in Judaism, Catholicism and Protestantism. Judaism gives business ethics a set of operative norms, upon which Christianity builds to identify principles, that reflect the complexity and diversity of business activity outside the ancient Jewish world. Early Christian traditions influenced heavily by the work of St. Ambrose, Augustine, and Thomas, plus the contemporary contributions of Catholic social thought articulated by Popes Leo XIII, John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and others, contribute to concepts of justice, virtue and specific acts in business and management. Luther, Weber, and others writing in the wake of the Protestant Reformation introduce in the language and norms of business ethics concepts like the vocation or “calling” to business as a type of ministry, the work ethic, and the spirit of economic activity.
Climate Change
Authors: DesJardins Joseph 
Published: January 2015

Abstract
“Global warming” and “climate change” refer to systemic, planet‐wide changes to the earth's climate brought about by human activities. In recent years there has been a shift away from the language of “global warming” in favor of the language of “global climate change.” The rationale is that global warming refers to the average mean surface temperature, whereas global climate change refers to a broad range of climatic changes that would result from an increase in the average global temperature. Predictions made decades ago that increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide would lead to an increase in global temperatures have been well‐confirmed. However the consequences of those increased average temperatures are still unfolding.
History of Corporate Responsibility
Authors: Post James E. 
Published: January 2015

Abstract
The concept of corporate responsibility runs throughout the history of capitalism. For more than two centuries, nations have tried to reconcile two realities of capitalism: corporations are very efficient mechanisms for producing wealth, meeting consumer needs, and building industries. Yet, corporations often impose costly negative externalities on stakeholders – employees, communities, society. Society rightfully expects that successful corporations will abide by the rule of law and help meet the expectations and needs of the community.
Voluntary action, such as philanthropy, is part of the social contract that imposes responsibility on businesses for more than their narrow economic results.
Triple Bottom Line
Authors: Glac Katherina 
Published: January 2015

Abstract
The triple bottom line (3BL) is, narrowly defined, an approach to measuring the success of an organization's activities that considers the organization's social and environmental performance in addition to the traditional financial performance. The term was originally introduced in the mid‐1990s alongside other existing frameworks, guidelines, and approaches to social and environmental accounting and reporting. Despite the increased popularity and adoption of the 3BL concept among business organizations, 3BL has come under scrutiny for a lack of specificity regarding the measurement of the social and environmental performance components. The difficulty of finding a unified measure for the two additional bottom lines has been considered a fundamental threat to the bottom line idea, which assumes, at least based on a narrow interpretation of the term, a final result or statement expressed in some unit of measurement. Despite the criticism, or maybe because of it, the debate in the literature is increasingly coalescing around a view of 3BL as a paradigm of sustainable business practice rather than a very specific approach to performance measurement or accounting.
U
nited
N
ations
G
lobal
C
ompact
Authors: Williams Oliver F. 
Published: January 2015

Abstract
The United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) is the world's largest voluntary corporate social responsibility project. Launched in 2000, the UNGC in 2014 had more than 10,000 participants – including over 8,000 businesses in over 135 countries around the world.
The UNGC has its mission as the development of a consensus on the ethical norms which should guide global business, focusing on human rights, labor rights, the environment, and fighting corruption.These ideals are outlined within the 10 key principles that signatories of the Compact make a commitment to upholding.
The UNGC is a first step on the ladder toward a responsible brand of capitalism. It is by no means a foolproof solution, but it does represent the beginnings of a paradigm shift in which “soft” trans‐national law is gradually complementing and completing “hard” national law.
Profit, Profits, and Profit Motive
Authors: Brady F. Neil 
Published: January 2015

Abstract
What are profits and how can they be justified? These questions are at the center of this article. In the first part, different positions and theories in the history of economic thought on the nature of profits are explored. The second part deals with the legitimacy of profits, specifically through the lens of Rawls's Theory of Justice and Robert Nozick's libertarian perspective. Of key importance from a business ethics perspective are questions related to the distribution of profits and to the motivation that underlies profit‐seeking.