title: Alerting corporate leaders to the need for ethical deliberation and sustainability

authors: Sharma, Umesh Prasad

subjects: sustainability

abstract: In order to categorise business as “good” one must choose what characterises “Good Business”. Some argue that any profitable business is good business, but profitable business sometimes creates social and environmental problems. Anyone can list what good business characteristics are, but the list will not be acceptable to everyone. We argue that, over the past sixty years, many business students and managers have been prepared to accept unquestioningly what they are told good business characteristics are, without relating those characteristics to societal and environmental wellbeing. Some decision makers have been persuaded that ethical norms associated with good living are not relevant to business decisions, except when imposed by law. Business has created many problems in society. The Ancient Greeks chose to think carefully about the characteristics that should be encouraged in society. The results were sometimes questionable: women were not given a voice in societal decisions; the owning of slaves was acceptable. Nevertheless the decision makers of the time were required to build ethical arguments in to their decision making. In recent times business leaders have obtained huge power in society, but they have been excused building ethical considerations in to their decision models. Consequently our world is in jeopardy. Unless we build ethical considerations in to our deliberations, the world as we know it may collapse due to failures in the ecosystems, or rebellion from the huge number of intolerably poor people. We don’t believe it is possible to instruct future managers how to make correct ethical decisions, but we encourage them not to accept any extant decision model unquestioningly. Managers must install ethical considerations of their own choosing in to their decision models. Those responsible for management education must help future managers recognise the need for self-constructed ethical decision models in society.

text: Alerting corporate leaders to the need for ethical deliberation and sustainability In order to categorise business as “good” one must choose what characterises “Good Business”. Some argue that any profitable business is good business, but profitable business sometimes creates social and environmental problems. Anyone can list what good business characteristics are, but the list will not be acceptable to everyone. We argue that, over the past sixty years, many business students and managers have been prepared to accept unquestioningly what they are told good business characteristics are, without relating those characteristics to societal and environmental wellbeing. Some decision makers have been persuaded that ethical norms associated with good living are not relevant to business decisions, except when imposed by law. Business has created many problems in society. The Ancient Greeks chose to think carefully about the characteristics that should be encouraged in society. The results were sometimes questionable: women were not given a voice in societal decisions; the owning of slaves was acceptable. Nevertheless the decision makers of the time were required to build ethical arguments in to their decision making. In recent times business leaders have obtained huge power in society, but they have been excused building ethical considerations in to their decision models. Consequently our world is in jeopardy. Unless we build ethical considerations in to our deliberations, the world as we know it may collapse due to failures in the ecosystems, or rebellion from the huge number of intolerably poor people. We don’t believe it is possible to instruct future managers how to make correct ethical decisions, but we encourage them not to accept any extant decision model unquestioningly. Managers must install ethical considerations of their own choosing in to their decision models. Those responsible for management education must help future managers recognise the need for self-constructed ethical decision models in society.

year: 2015

title: Contingency discriminability, matching, and bias in the concurrent-schedule responding of possums (Trichosurus vulpecula)

authors: Bron, Angela

subjects: concurrent schedules

abstract: Six possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) responded under dependent concurrent variable-interval variable- interval schedules of reinforcement. Over 15 conditions, barley–carob was one reinforcer with the other reinforcer consisting of Coco Popst, coconut, or a barley–carob mixture with 0%, 2%, 4%, or 6% salt added to the barley. The schedules were both variable-interval 40 s. As has been found with other species, behavior on the concurrent schedules was biased by the type of feed, with the 6% salt and the coconut giving the greatest biases towards the barley–carob mixture. The schedules were varied over 17 conditions using the barley–carob mixture alone or the barley–carob mixture versus the mixture with 4% or 6% salt. Both the contingency-discriminability model (Davison & Jenkins, 1985) and the generalized matching law described the data from the three sets of conditions equally well. Both gave similar measures of bias; however, some of the parameter values found with the contingency discriminability model were uninterpretable. Thus, any argument for this model based on the interpretability of the parameter values becomes weak. It is worth retaining the generalized matching law as a descriptor of such data.

text: Contingency discriminability, matching, and bias in the concurrent-schedule responding of possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) Six possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) responded under dependent concurrent variable-interval variable- interval schedules of reinforcement. Over 15 conditions, barley–carob was one reinforcer with the other reinforcer consisting of Coco Popst, coconut, or a barley–carob mixture with 0%, 2%, 4%, or 6% salt added to the barley. The schedules were both variable-interval 40 s. As has been found with other species, behavior on the concurrent schedules was biased by the type of feed, with the 6% salt and the coconut giving the greatest biases towards the barley–carob mixture. The schedules were varied over 17 conditions using the barley–carob mixture alone or the barley–carob mixture versus the mixture with 4% or 6% salt. Both the contingency-discriminability model (Davison & Jenkins, 1985) and the generalized matching law described the data from the three sets of conditions equally well. Both gave similar measures of bias; however, some of the parameter values found with the contingency discriminability model were uninterpretable. Thus, any argument for this model based on the interpretability of the parameter values becomes weak. It is worth retaining the generalized matching law as a descriptor of such data.

year: 2003

title: Can the mana of Maori men who sexually abuse children be restored?

authors: Webb, Mate

subjects: Maori

abstract: The problem of child sex abuse is prevalent across all segments of society, and Maori, unfortunately, are overrepresented in this problem. In the total prison population of 6591, 13.6% are identified as child sex offenders. Of the 3,299 Maori in prison 283 (8.5%) are identified as child sex offenders whereas 631 (18.6%) of the 3292 non-Maori have been so identified. However, Maori only represent approximately 15% of the general population. In proportionate terms, approximately one of every 970 Maori men is currently in prison for child sex offences, while for non-Maori that figure is one in 31251. Also, disclosures from offenders suggest that sexual abuse is particularly common in rural or disadvantaged areas, with offenders frequently reporting being abused by multiple offenders and being aware of chronic abuse, little of which was ever reported.

text: Can the mana of Maori men who sexually abuse children be restored? The problem of child sex abuse is prevalent across all segments of society, and Maori, unfortunately, are overrepresented in this problem. In the total prison population of 6591, 13.6% are identified as child sex offenders. Of the 3,299 Maori in prison 283 (8.5%) are identified as child sex offenders whereas 631 (18.6%) of the 3292 non-Maori have been so identified. However, Maori only represent approximately 15% of the general population. In proportionate terms, approximately one of every 970 Maori men is currently in prison for child sex offences, while for non-Maori that figure is one in 31251. Also, disclosures from offenders suggest that sexual abuse is particularly common in rural or disadvantaged areas, with offenders frequently reporting being abused by multiple offenders and being aware of chronic abuse, little of which was ever reported.

year: 2008