Contemporary Reflections on Business Ethics

Description

Over 30 years Ronald F. Duska has established himself as one of the leading scholars in business ethics. This book presents Duska’s articles the years on ethics, business ethics, teaching ethics, agency theory, postmodernism, employee rights, and ethics in accounting and the financial services industry. These reflect his underlying philosophical concerns and their application to real-world challenges ― a method that might be called an Aristotelian common-sense approach to ethical decision making. Preface to the Second Edition Introduction to the First Edition Acknowledgments Contents Part I: Introduction Chapter 1: The Why’s of Business Revisited Chapter 2: Business Ethics: Oxymoron or Good Business? 2.1 Business Ethics as Oxymoron 2.2 Business as Pursuit of Self-Interest: The Bottom-Line Perspective 2.3 Countering the Friedman Approach to Ethical Business 2.4 Ethics as a Prerequisite for Social Stability 2.5 Ethics as a Strategy for Good (i.e., Profitable) Business 2.6 The Purpose of Ethics 2.7 Two Notions of Justice 2.8 A Moral Schizophrenia 2.9 The Soulless Corporation 2.10 On Refurbishing Business Ethics 2.11 Is Business Ethics Impossible? Chapter 3: Revisiting the Egoism Question in Business 3.1 The Critique of the Egoistic Paradigm 3.2 Ethical Egoism 3.3 The Kantian Turn 3.4 The Strategic Argument 3.5 The First Categorical Imperative 3.6 The Second Categorical Imperative 3.7 Conclusion References Chapter 4: How Losing Soul Leads to Ethical Corruption in Business 4.1 The Promise Making Animal 4.2 Worthwhile Goals 4.3 Cause of the Loss of Soul 4.4 Enron as an Example 4.5 Qwest SWAPS 4.6 How Did We Get Here? The Origin of Capitalism and Its Ethic 4.7 Ethics Is Taught 4.8 What Is The Purpose of Business? 4.9 The Professions 4.10 Arthur Andersen’s Failure Chapter 5: What’s the Point of a Business Ethics Course? 5.1 Skepticism as a Pervasive Attitude 5.2 Relativism as Skepticism 5.3 Critiques of Relativism 5.4 The Possibility of Moral Knowledge 5.5 Implications for Teaching Business Ethics Courses 5.6 Is There a Solution? 5.7 What Ethics Courses Need to Add to Common Opinion 5.8 A Final Difficulty: “Who Are You to Say?” Teaching One’s Values 5.9 Conclusion Bibliography Part II: Introduction Reference Chapter 6: The Religious Roots of Business Ethics 6.1 Meaning of Spirit 6.2 The History of the Right to Property 6.3 Locke’s Theory 6.4 The Invention of Money 6.5 Putting Money to Work 6.6 A Changing View of Usury 6.7 A New View of Man 6.8 The Protection Against Unconstrained Egoism 6.9 The Laws of Justice Smith’s Appeal Fails 6.10 Justice, Capitalism, and Religion 6.11 Turning Psychological Impulse into a Social Function Versus Aims 6.12 A New Ideal Type 6.13 Recommendations 6.14 Can Rawls’ View Be Justified? Chapter 7: Aristotle: A Pre-modern Post-modern? Implications for Business Ethics 7.1 Postmodernism 7.2 The Aristotelian Solution 7.3 Conclusion Chapter 8: Rhetoric and Egoism in Aristotle’s Ethics 8.1 Aristotle’s Moderate Approach to Ethical Argument 8.1.1 Argument By Example 8.1.2 Argument by Enthymeme 8.1.3 Ethical Discourse Like Aesthetic Critique 8.1.4 Agreements in Forms of Life 8.1.5 Capitalism and Self-Interest 8.2 The True Egoist 8.3 Conclusion Chapter 9: Why Business Ethics Needs Rhetoric: An Aristotelian Perspective 9.1 Conclusion Chapter 10: Patricia Werhane and Adam Smith, with Side Comments on Aesthetics and Wittgenstein 10.1 True Egoism 10.2 The Division of Labor 10.3 Ethical Discourse Like Aesthetic Critique 10.3.1 Pat’s Moral Imagination 10.3.2 Agreements in Forms of Life References Chapter 11: What’s Literature to Ethics or Ethics to Literature? With Reflections on Business Ethics 11.1 One Can Always Learn from Literature References Part III: Introduction Chapter 12: Employee Rights 12.1 Employee Rights 12.1.1 The Right to Meaningful Work 12.1.2 The Rights of the Employee The Right to a Safe and Healthy Work Environment The Right to Job Security and Due Process in Disciplining, Demoting, Promoting, and Firing The Right to Privacy The Right to Compensation for Injury The Right to Participation or Voice in Matters Affecting Workers The Right to Equal Treatment Without Regard to Race or Gender The Right to Pension Protection The Right to Organization Bargaining and the Right to Strike The Right to Be Free from Harassment The Right to a Living Wage References Chapter 13: Whistleblowing and Employee Loyalty Part IV: Introduction Chapter 14: The Responsibilities of Accountants 14.1 The Responsibilities of The Accounting Firm 14.2 The Skeptical Watchdog 14.3 Causes of Ethical Failure 14.4 Accumulation as a Factor in Accounting Firms 14.5 Conclusion Chapter 15: Ethics in Financial Services: Systems and Individuals 15.1 Introduction 15.2 The Purpose of Financial Markets 15.3 Losing Sight of the Purpose of Financial Markets 15.4 What Is Corruption? 15.5 Is Greed a Factor in the Corruption? 15.6 Tying It All Together 15.7 Financial Services Professionals 15.8 Basic Ethical Principles: A Call to Reexamine Purpose Chapter 16: The Corruption of Financial Markets: Systemic Inevitability or Aberration? Part V: Introduction Chapter 17: Unethical Behavioral Finance: Why Good People Do Bad Things 17.1 Weakness of Will 17.2 Ignorance 17.3 Slippery Slope 17.4 Arrogance 17.5 Rationalization 17.6 Docility 17.7 Conclusion Chapter 18: Harry Potter, 9/11, and Enron: Implications for Financial Service Professionals Chapter 19: Whose Life Insurance Is It, Anyway? Chapter 20: Divorcing Your Client Financial Services Style Chapter 21: On the “Rights” to Health Care and Health Insurance 21.1 The Right to Health Care 21.2 The Right to Health Insurance Chapter 22: The Dark Side of Retirement 22.1 The Modern Notion of Retirement 22.2 Aristotle, Wealth, and Retirement 22.3 Lifeboat Ethics in Retirement Chapter 23: Shakespeare’s King Lear: Looking for an Estate Planner Chapter 24: Managing for an Ethical Culture: What to Do with Tom? Chapter 25: Blowing the Whistle on Fellow Professionals Chapter 26: Being Real About the Ethics of the Fiduciary: What’s Wrong with Self-Interest? Chapter 27: What’s the Wealth in Wealth Management? Epilogue Biography: Ronald Duska