Supererogation and Business Ethics

ABSTRACT It is occasionally said of individuals or groups of individuals that they have gone beyond the call of duty in certain of their business practices. Not only have they fulfilled or satisfied the requirements of duty, but they have risen above the level of duty in performing various meritorious or praiseworthy actions. Such acts, called acts of supererogation, are never required of moral agents; indeed, it is never morally blameworthy to refrain from them. However, they are morally good to perform and those who perform them are doing that which is morally worthy of praise or approbation. In this essay I begin with some examples of business practices which can plausibly be construed as acts of supererogation. I then discuss some general features of supererogation and draw some conclusions in the form of advice for persons who have a genuine concern to practise good ethics in their business or professional lives. The advice can be summed up as follows: although acts of supererogation are optional, good ethics requires that one should not take a complacent or indifferent attitude toward performing them.     

Applied Philosophy and Business Ethics

Given the socio-economic incentives for academic relevance, the sceptic may well challenge the academic integrity of the evolving discipline of business ethics. For, the question is, how could such an emerging field of enquiry constitute applied philosophy? I critically examine certain arguments, principally advanced by Michael Oakeshott and Stephen Clark, which might be thought to underwrite such scepticism, via a wholesale suspicion of applied ethics. Yet, I argue, philosophy can be and is properly concerned with our practical experience and actions. The significance of more general, abstract ethical questions derives, in great part, from their bearing upon our practical deliberations and actions. Moreover, reflection about the nature and role of ethical principles need not deny a role for moral judgement. Although for contingent reasons we may be right to be worried, I present an argument to show that, as a matter of principle, the sceptical challenge regarding business ethics can be refuted.     

An Aristotelian Business Ethics?

Elaine Sternberg's Just Business is one of the first book-length Aristotelian treatments of business ethics. It is Aristotelian in the sense that Sternberg begins by defining the nature of business in order to identify its end, and, thence, normative principles to regulate it. According to Sternberg, the nature of business is 'the selling of goods or services in order to maximise long-term owner value', therefore all business behaviour must be evaluated with reference to the maximisation of long-term owner value, constrained only by considerations of Ordinary decency and distributive justice . This stands in sharp contrast to recently popular 'stakeholder' approaches to business-ethical decision making. I argue that Sternberg's definition of business, particularly in its maximising and long-term conditions, is flawed, that her teleological method raises more questions than it solves, and that her Aristotelianism cannot be wedded happily to her libertarianism.     

国际商务伦理:基本原则与一般共识

20世纪80年代以来,国际商务活动中由伦理和文化因素而引起的冲突日益增多,有必要在全球层次建立一个经济伦理的背景机制.国际商务伦理由此兴起.十几年来,对国际商务伦理的研究取得了一定的成果,逐步形成了一些以人类共同利益为依托、能被所有国家都认可的道德理念,并在国际商务伦理的基本原则和道德规范上取得了不少共识.本文的目的在于对这些基本原则与初步共识做一个较为清晰的概要说明,以为进一步研究提供参考.     

Creating an Interdisciplinary Business Ethics Program

Driven by recent accreditation mandates, a changing legal environment, and multiple high-visibility corporate ethics scandals, many business schools are responding to the growing movement within higher education to integrate ethics into the curricula. The literature suggests that the amount of attention given to ethics varies widely among institutions, and has not been coherently developed. Moreover, institutions have struggled to tie related projects and instruction to the overall concept of assurance of student learning. The purpose of this paper is to provide a framework for institutions interested in creating an interdisciplinary business ethics program that combines critical success factors, assurance of student learning and continuous quality improvement. Using a nationally recognized business school’s ethics program, we provide an example of how our model can be applied at other institutions based on their own unique vision, mission and goals.     

Business Ethics for Mobile Network Operators

Science and Engineering Ethics - The letter is highlighting a case of Business Ethics for Mobile Network Operators based on the recent news.     

论徽商的商业伦理

明清时期 ,徽商贾而好儒 ,深受儒家传统诚信观、义利观的影响。在商业活动中 ,他们身体力行 ,以诚为本 ,诚信待人 ,诚实守信 ,以义为利 ,充分体现了儒家诚、信、仁、义的道德规范     

Business Faculty Perceptions and Actions Regarding Ethics Education

This paper examines faculty perceptions regarding ethical behavior among colleagues and students, and faculty practices with regard to teaching ethics in three institutions over a 4-year period. Faculty reported an uneven pattern of unethical behavior among colleagues over the period. A majority of business courses included ethics, however as both a specific topic on the syllabus and within course discussions. The percentage of courses with ethics discussions increased in 2006, however, the time allocated to these discussions decreased. These results suggest that faculty are approaching ethics instruction less formally, raising concerns over the success of curriculum integration.     

企业伦理的德性主义进路及其条件——以所罗门的亚里士多德方式为例

理解企业伦理的德性主义进路不可或缺。美国当代著名经济伦理学家罗伯特·C．所罗门成功地将亚里士多德德性论引入企业伦理学,为人们把握企业伦理提供了一条德性主义的诠释进路。而亚里士多德德性论强调实践、团体、人对幸福的追求和追求卓越等也为企业伦理的德性主义进路提供了思想资源。而美德自身也能够使人们正确地理解商业和商业伦理、使经济交易成为可能、使经济的运行更为成功。但德性主义进路不是没有条件的,它需要个体或企业具有良好的道德价值观念和良好的判断力,也需要规范伦理与之匹配,以及一个尊重美德的社会环境和相关的制度安排。     

中国经济伦理学研究中的若干问题——兼论经济伦理学的学科性质

中国经济伦理学的研究虽然成果显著,但还存在着需要进一步澄清的三个相互关联的重要问题,即“理论性”与“应用性”问题、“伦理学”与“经济学”问题、以及“理想性”与“现实性”问题。这三个问题的正确理解有助于关于经济伦理学学科性质的合理界定,也有助于中国经济伦理学研究的继续深入。     

企业道德的两个基本问题

企业道德的两个基本问题是:企业为什么要讲道德和企业怎么样讲道德.本文通过对否认企业道德重要性的自由主义模式的批判,以及对强调企业道德重要性的权力--责任模式、利益相关者模式、"伦理回报"模式和伦理价值模式的分析,为第一个问题的回答提供了一套较为完整的理论解释.而在企业怎么样讲道德这一问题上,本文强调为了使企业从"知"转而"行",在企业内部必须追求企业的道德认知、道德情感和道德意志的合而为一;在企业外部则应站在民主体制改革的高度,对"财产权神圣不可侵犯"这一理念提出质疑,以期从根本上改变企业的概念与性质,使企业的社会责任真正成为企业存在的合法性依据.     

The Missing Link between Virtue Theory and Business Ethics

In arguing against the view that the ethical standards for business are separate from normal interpersonal standards, virtue theory has been applied to business ethics in a limited manner. Previous virtue theorists have argued that this separation need not occur because the virtues for succeeding in business are congruent with civic and personal virtues. However, they have neglected the fact that virtue theory stresses that virtues are formed to fulfil certain desires, ends, and purposes of the person. Since ends are formed within a community, business and corporations should view themselves as members of the community which contributes to the ethical development of its individuals. Hence, I argue that business cannot have a separate standard of ethical behaviour than that of its community, because its goals are means which are subordinate to the ultimate goal of individual and community flourishing.     

Wittgenstein on Happiness: Harmony,Disharmony and Antitheodicy

This paper investigates Wittgenstein's remarks on happiness and harmony in the context of Wittgensteinian antitheodicy. Philosophers of religion inspired by Wittgenstein's philosophy often criticize theodicies seeking to justify apparently meaningless evil and suffering within God's overall harmonious plan. The paper analyses Wittgenstein's early views on happiness as harmony with the world, examining whether they are incompatible with an antitheodicist approach abandoning the very project of theodicy by acknowledging a certain kind of disharmony. However, antitheodicy may also, at the transcendental meta‐level, be considered a “harmonious” way of “seeing the world aright,” which raises a reflexive problem for any Wittgenstein‐inspired antitheodicy.     

我国MBA企业伦理学教学现状分析与前景展望

在过去的十几年中,我国MBA企业伦理学教学取得了明显的进步,但总体而言,与我国经济社会发展对MBA教育的要求以及与国外商学院相比,尚存在较大差距.从社会环境、商学院、教师、学生、教学体系、教材等六个方面分析,在我国开展企业伦理学教学既存在诸多不利因素,也有很多有利条件,而且有利条件在不断增加.为促进MBA企业伦理学教学的健康发展,着重需要加大商学院开展企业伦理学教学的动力与压力,加强师资队伍建设,了解学生需要、针对性地开展教学,完善企业伦理学教学目标、内容与方法.     

Students' Views of Business Ethics: An Analysis

This study investigates the difference in perceptions between undergraduate business and MBA students regarding selected ethical issues facing employees and managers of today's businesses. Furthermore, the study investigates the intergroup (i.e., at each educational level) and intragroup (i.e., between undergraduates and MBAs) differences in terms of the "situation"; that is, their position as an employee or a manager of the company. A sample of 104 undergraduate and MBA students was used. The results indicate that undergraduate students tend to act more ethically than do MBA students, and both groups tend to be more ethically oriented the higher their professional corporate position is. The findings have direct implications for business practitioners and for educators.     

经济伦理在资本的时代如何可能

按照马克思和恩格斯在《共产党宣言》中的分析,资本时代有两个主要特征:第一,私人利益压倒公共事务,公善为资本让路;第二,资本要求无止境地普遍化和理性化。当这两个特征走向极致时,就将导致资本主义的毁灭。换言之,资本的逻辑没有它看似所具有的合理性、神圣性和正当性。我们从中得到的启示是:既然资本的逻辑本身没有它的正当性,那么我们就有必要跳出资本自身的逻辑来寻求某种非资本的逻辑,从而重新引导我们对经济伦理的思考,传统的儒家思想对我们今天重新思考经济伦理问题有着特殊的意义。     

MBA Education, Business Ethics and the Case for Shareholder Value

The appropriate MBA curriculum has been debated for nearly a half century. More recently, critics contend that the emphasis on functional fields in MBA education has incorrectly elevated the importance of shareholder value resulting in unethical behavior. Although some criticism of MBA programs has merit, shareholder wealth maximization should remain the dominant management objective because it is relatively easy to implement and generally consistent with the interests of stakeholders.