George Cheney, Dan Lair, Dean Ritz, and Brenden Kendall
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195182774
- eISBN:
- 9780199871001
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195182774.001.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Corporate Governance and Accountability
This book offers a fresh perspective on ethics at work, questioning the notions that doing ethics at work has to be work, and that work is somehow a sphere where a different set of rules applies. ...
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This book offers a fresh perspective on ethics at work, questioning the notions that doing ethics at work has to be work, and that work is somehow a sphere where a different set of rules applies. When we separate ethics from life, we put it beyond our daily reach, treating it as something that is meaningful only at certain moments. This problem permeates our everyday talk about ethics at work, in popular culture, in our textbooks, and even in our ethics codes. This book uses insights from the fields of communications and rhetoric to show how in the very framing of ethics—even before we get to specific decisions—we limit the potential roles of ethics in our work lives and in the pursuit of happiness. Sayings such as “It's just a job” and “Let the market decide” are two examples of demonstrating that our perspective on professional ethics is shaped and reinforced by everyday language. The standard “bad apples” approach to dealing with corporate and governmental wrongdoing is not surprising; few people are willing to consider how to cultivate “the good orchard.” The book argues that ethics is about more than behaviour regulation, spectacular scandals, and comprehensive codes. The authors offer a new take on virtue ethics, referencing Aristotle's practical ideal of eudaimonia, or flourishing, allowing us to tell new stories about the ordinary and to see the extraordinary aspects of professional integrity and success.Less
This book offers a fresh perspective on ethics at work, questioning the notions that doing ethics at work has to be work, and that work is somehow a sphere where a different set of rules applies. When we separate ethics from life, we put it beyond our daily reach, treating it as something that is meaningful only at certain moments. This problem permeates our everyday talk about ethics at work, in popular culture, in our textbooks, and even in our ethics codes. This book uses insights from the fields of communications and rhetoric to show how in the very framing of ethics—even before we get to specific decisions—we limit the potential roles of ethics in our work lives and in the pursuit of happiness. Sayings such as “It's just a job” and “Let the market decide” are two examples of demonstrating that our perspective on professional ethics is shaped and reinforced by everyday language. The standard “bad apples” approach to dealing with corporate and governmental wrongdoing is not surprising; few people are willing to consider how to cultivate “the good orchard.” The book argues that ethics is about more than behaviour regulation, spectacular scandals, and comprehensive codes. The authors offer a new take on virtue ethics, referencing Aristotle's practical ideal of eudaimonia, or flourishing, allowing us to tell new stories about the ordinary and to see the extraordinary aspects of professional integrity and success.
Muel Kaptein and Joha Wempe
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199255504
- eISBN:
- 9780191698248
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199255504.003.0002
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Corporate Governance and Accountability, Organization Studies
This chapter discusses what business ethics is all about. It starts with a description of the integrity management approach, which advances an integrated and balanced perspective on business ethics. ...
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This chapter discusses what business ethics is all about. It starts with a description of the integrity management approach, which advances an integrated and balanced perspective on business ethics. It then discusses three historically ambiguous moral intuitions regarding the appropriateness of ethics within corporations. A discussion of significant social developments explains the need for ethics in the corporate context. Finally, the chapter presents a view on the academic role of business ethics by paying attention to the relativism-universalism debate in ethics. The chapter concludes by discussing the case of KPN Telecom to illustrate why a corporation should be concerned with ethics.Less
This chapter discusses what business ethics is all about. It starts with a description of the integrity management approach, which advances an integrated and balanced perspective on business ethics. It then discusses three historically ambiguous moral intuitions regarding the appropriateness of ethics within corporations. A discussion of significant social developments explains the need for ethics in the corporate context. Finally, the chapter presents a view on the academic role of business ethics by paying attention to the relativism-universalism debate in ethics. The chapter concludes by discussing the case of KPN Telecom to illustrate why a corporation should be concerned with ethics.
Muel Kaptein and Joha Wempe
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199255504
- eISBN:
- 9780191698248
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199255504.003.0007
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Corporate Governance and Accountability, Organization Studies
This chapter formulates integrity requirements for corporations. These requirements are grounded on the autonomy approach and corporate social contract theory. The integrity requirements can be ...
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This chapter formulates integrity requirements for corporations. These requirements are grounded on the autonomy approach and corporate social contract theory. The integrity requirements can be applied to the actions of corporations but they also make demands on the organization as such. The integrity requirements that are developed are based on deductive and inductive research.Less
This chapter formulates integrity requirements for corporations. These requirements are grounded on the autonomy approach and corporate social contract theory. The integrity requirements can be applied to the actions of corporations but they also make demands on the organization as such. The integrity requirements that are developed are based on deductive and inductive research.
Muel Kaptein and Joha Wempe
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199255504
- eISBN:
- 9780191698248
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199255504.003.0008
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Corporate Governance and Accountability, Organization Studies
This chapter discusses a number of phases for developing and managing corporate integrity. It looks at considerations that must be taken into account in writing and implementing code, the role of ...
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This chapter discusses a number of phases for developing and managing corporate integrity. It looks at considerations that must be taken into account in writing and implementing code, the role of management, and the importance of monitoring and reporting the effectiveness of the code.Less
This chapter discusses a number of phases for developing and managing corporate integrity. It looks at considerations that must be taken into account in writing and implementing code, the role of management, and the importance of monitoring and reporting the effectiveness of the code.
Elaine Sternberg
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199592173
- eISBN:
- 9780191729058
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199592173.003.0002
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Corporate Governance and Accountability
Corporate social responsibility is criticized on a number of fronts: for its vagueness; for the ‘stakeholder approach’; and primarily for its attempts to obligate business people to subvert business ...
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Corporate social responsibility is criticized on a number of fronts: for its vagueness; for the ‘stakeholder approach’; and primarily for its attempts to obligate business people to subvert business resources towards other, non‐business, purposes. Thus, CSR reflects the failure of its advocates to understand the proper role of business in society, i.e. to make long‐term financial gain for the owners through provision of a good or service. Within this perspective, conventional CSR is deemed irresponsible because it encourages employees and managers to divert owner funds towards socially responsible behaviours and actions and, as such, CSR is unethical and impedes ‘realist business ethics’. Instead, business actions are ethical when they are conducted in accordance with principles of ‘Ordinary Decency’ and ‘Distributive Justice’. CSR actions that are strategic for promoting organizational success are not criticized however; these are understood to be just good (business) practice.Less
Corporate social responsibility is criticized on a number of fronts: for its vagueness; for the ‘stakeholder approach’; and primarily for its attempts to obligate business people to subvert business resources towards other, non‐business, purposes. Thus, CSR reflects the failure of its advocates to understand the proper role of business in society, i.e. to make long‐term financial gain for the owners through provision of a good or service. Within this perspective, conventional CSR is deemed irresponsible because it encourages employees and managers to divert owner funds towards socially responsible behaviours and actions and, as such, CSR is unethical and impedes ‘realist business ethics’. Instead, business actions are ethical when they are conducted in accordance with principles of ‘Ordinary Decency’ and ‘Distributive Justice’. CSR actions that are strategic for promoting organizational success are not criticized however; these are understood to be just good (business) practice.
Muel Kaptein and Joha Wempe
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199255504
- eISBN:
- 9780191698248
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199255504.003.0003
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Corporate Governance and Accountability, Organization Studies
This chapter discusses three competing approaches to ethical analysis: consequentialism, deontology, and virtue ethics. It describes the Integrity Approach that combines consequentialist, ...
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This chapter discusses three competing approaches to ethical analysis: consequentialism, deontology, and virtue ethics. It describes the Integrity Approach that combines consequentialist, deontological, and virtue ethics. The chapter concludes by discussing the case IHC Caland to illustrate the inadequacy of applying general ethical theories to the corporate domain.Less
This chapter discusses three competing approaches to ethical analysis: consequentialism, deontology, and virtue ethics. It describes the Integrity Approach that combines consequentialist, deontological, and virtue ethics. The chapter concludes by discussing the case IHC Caland to illustrate the inadequacy of applying general ethical theories to the corporate domain.
Matthew Gill
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199547142
- eISBN:
- 9780191720017
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199547142.001.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Corporate Governance and Accountability, Finance, Accounting, and Banking
Accounting is the language of business, increasingly standardized across the world through global banks and corporations: a technical tool used to reach the correct, unquestionable answer. ...
More
Accounting is the language of business, increasingly standardized across the world through global banks and corporations: a technical tool used to reach the correct, unquestionable answer. Nonetheless, as recent corporate scandals have shown, a whole range of financial professionals (accountants, auditors, bankers, finance directors) can collectively fail to question dubious actions. How is this possible? To understand such failures, this book explores how accountants construct the technical knowledge they deem relevant to decision-making. In doing so, it not only offers a new way to understand deviance and scandals, but also suggests a reappraisal of accounting knowledge which has important implications for everyday commercial life. The book's findings are based on interviews with chartered accountants working in the largest accountancy practices in London. The interviews reveal that although accounting decisions seem clear after they have been made, the process of making them is contested and opaque. Yet accountants nonetheless tend to describe their work as if it were straightforward and technical. This book delves beneath the surface to explore how accountants actually construct knowledge, and draws out the implications of that process with respect to issues such as professionalism, performance, transparency, and ethics. This thought-provoking book concludes that accountants' technical discourse undermines their ethical reasoning by obscuring the ways in which accounting decisions must be thought through in practice. Accountants with particular ethical perspectives more readily understand and construct particular types of knowledge, so the two issues of knowledge and of ethics are inseparable. Increasingly technical accounting rules can therefore be counterproductive. Instead, this book shows how reinvigorating the ethical discourse within the financial world could be a more effective means of averting future scandals.Less
Accounting is the language of business, increasingly standardized across the world through global banks and corporations: a technical tool used to reach the correct, unquestionable answer. Nonetheless, as recent corporate scandals have shown, a whole range of financial professionals (accountants, auditors, bankers, finance directors) can collectively fail to question dubious actions. How is this possible? To understand such failures, this book explores how accountants construct the technical knowledge they deem relevant to decision-making. In doing so, it not only offers a new way to understand deviance and scandals, but also suggests a reappraisal of accounting knowledge which has important implications for everyday commercial life. The book's findings are based on interviews with chartered accountants working in the largest accountancy practices in London. The interviews reveal that although accounting decisions seem clear after they have been made, the process of making them is contested and opaque. Yet accountants nonetheless tend to describe their work as if it were straightforward and technical. This book delves beneath the surface to explore how accountants actually construct knowledge, and draws out the implications of that process with respect to issues such as professionalism, performance, transparency, and ethics. This thought-provoking book concludes that accountants' technical discourse undermines their ethical reasoning by obscuring the ways in which accounting decisions must be thought through in practice. Accountants with particular ethical perspectives more readily understand and construct particular types of knowledge, so the two issues of knowledge and of ethics are inseparable. Increasingly technical accounting rules can therefore be counterproductive. Instead, this book shows how reinvigorating the ethical discourse within the financial world could be a more effective means of averting future scandals.
Muel Kaptein and Johan Wempe
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199255504
- eISBN:
- 9780191698248
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199255504.001.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Corporate Governance and Accountability, Organization Studies
This book provides a coherent overview of the most important theories and insights in the field of business ethics, together with a substantiated development of ethical norms and values with which ...
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This book provides a coherent overview of the most important theories and insights in the field of business ethics, together with a substantiated development of ethical norms and values with which organizations must comply. At the end of each chapter is a case study (e.g., Shell, KPN Telecom, IHC Caland, Herald of Free Enterprise disaster, etc.), ideal for graduate courses in business ethics and corporate social responsibility.Less
This book provides a coherent overview of the most important theories and insights in the field of business ethics, together with a substantiated development of ethical norms and values with which organizations must comply. At the end of each chapter is a case study (e.g., Shell, KPN Telecom, IHC Caland, Herald of Free Enterprise disaster, etc.), ideal for graduate courses in business ethics and corporate social responsibility.
Muel Kaptein and Joha Wempe
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199255504
- eISBN:
- 9780191698248
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199255504.003.0006
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Corporate Governance and Accountability, Organization Studies
This chapter views the corporation as a bundle of contracts with its own identity and embedded in a broader social contract. Based on the conclusion that the corporation is an autonomous moral ...
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This chapter views the corporation as a bundle of contracts with its own identity and embedded in a broader social contract. Based on the conclusion that the corporation is an autonomous moral entity, corporations are defined as contracting partners so that the principles for contractual relations can be applied to the organization. The chapter concludes by discussing the near bankruptcy of Avebe to illustrate the contract theory of corporations.Less
This chapter views the corporation as a bundle of contracts with its own identity and embedded in a broader social contract. Based on the conclusion that the corporation is an autonomous moral entity, corporations are defined as contracting partners so that the principles for contractual relations can be applied to the organization. The chapter concludes by discussing the near bankruptcy of Avebe to illustrate the contract theory of corporations.
Muel Kaptein and Joha Wempe
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199255504
- eISBN:
- 9780191698248
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199255504.003.0005
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Corporate Governance and Accountability, Organization Studies
The difficulty in assessing corporations in moral terms is that the dominant ethical theories have been developed to evaluate human action. Since it is awkward to identify corporate actions in ...
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The difficulty in assessing corporations in moral terms is that the dominant ethical theories have been developed to evaluate human action. Since it is awkward to identify corporate actions in practice, applying these theories runs into difficulties. This is why many ethicists argue that corporations cannot be subjected to moral judgement. Chapter 3 showed that the corporation can be conceived as a moral subject. This chapter tries to determine which ethical concepts can be applied to the functioning of corporations. It describes three fundamental dilemmas based on an analysis of the corporate condition (i.e., dirty hands dilemma, many hands dilemma, and entangled hands dilemma). With a view to formulating criteria for corporations to address these dilemmas, it develops a contract theory for corporations.Less
The difficulty in assessing corporations in moral terms is that the dominant ethical theories have been developed to evaluate human action. Since it is awkward to identify corporate actions in practice, applying these theories runs into difficulties. This is why many ethicists argue that corporations cannot be subjected to moral judgement. Chapter 3 showed that the corporation can be conceived as a moral subject. This chapter tries to determine which ethical concepts can be applied to the functioning of corporations. It describes three fundamental dilemmas based on an analysis of the corporate condition (i.e., dirty hands dilemma, many hands dilemma, and entangled hands dilemma). With a view to formulating criteria for corporations to address these dilemmas, it develops a contract theory for corporations.
J. R. LUCAS
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198235781
- eISBN:
- 9780191679117
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198235781.003.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
This introductory chapter briefly sets out the purpose of the book, which is to offer a single organizing idea which makes sense of a large range of moral, legal, and political discourse on ...
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This introductory chapter briefly sets out the purpose of the book, which is to offer a single organizing idea which makes sense of a large range of moral, legal, and political discourse on responsibility. Specifically, it brings together the topics of atonement, free will, rationality, consequentialism, political accountability, and business ethics, and offers a unified view of them all. An overview of the subsequent chapters is also presented.Less
This introductory chapter briefly sets out the purpose of the book, which is to offer a single organizing idea which makes sense of a large range of moral, legal, and political discourse on responsibility. Specifically, it brings together the topics of atonement, free will, rationality, consequentialism, political accountability, and business ethics, and offers a unified view of them all. An overview of the subsequent chapters is also presented.
George A. Aragon
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195305968
- eISBN:
- 9780199867844
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195305968.003.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Financial Economics
This chapter reviews the development of business ethics as an academic field and argues that equating financial ethics with business ethics (as it has developed) confines financial ethics to a ...
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This chapter reviews the development of business ethics as an academic field and argues that equating financial ethics with business ethics (as it has developed) confines financial ethics to a normative framework. It further argues that financial ethics can also be used within a positive framework to explain and predict the economic consequences of ethical and unethical behavior. The final section provides a detailed outline of the remaining chapters.Less
This chapter reviews the development of business ethics as an academic field and argues that equating financial ethics with business ethics (as it has developed) confines financial ethics to a normative framework. It further argues that financial ethics can also be used within a positive framework to explain and predict the economic consequences of ethical and unethical behavior. The final section provides a detailed outline of the remaining chapters.
Muel Kaptein and Joha Wempe
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199255504
- eISBN:
- 9780191698248
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199255504.003.0004
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Corporate Governance and Accountability, Organization Studies
This chapter addresses the question of whether the notion of integrity is applicable to organizations and whether an organization can be viewed as an autonomous entity. It analyzes three positions on ...
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This chapter addresses the question of whether the notion of integrity is applicable to organizations and whether an organization can be viewed as an autonomous entity. It analyzes three positions on the localization of the moral responsibility of corporate activities: the amoral model, the functional model, and the autonomy model. The chapter concludes by discussing the disaster of the Herald of Free Enterprise to illustrate the autonomy of model organizations.Less
This chapter addresses the question of whether the notion of integrity is applicable to organizations and whether an organization can be viewed as an autonomous entity. It analyzes three positions on the localization of the moral responsibility of corporate activities: the amoral model, the functional model, and the autonomy model. The chapter concludes by discussing the disaster of the Herald of Free Enterprise to illustrate the autonomy of model organizations.
Harold James
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691153407
- eISBN:
- 9781400841868
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691153407.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This chapter turns to the next generation, and examines the business ethic and the political and personal life of Friedrich Alfred Krupp. Friedrich Alfred Krupp is described a rather kind and gentle ...
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This chapter turns to the next generation, and examines the business ethic and the political and personal life of Friedrich Alfred Krupp. Friedrich Alfred Krupp is described a rather kind and gentle person who tried to improve relations with the workforce, who also reflected endlessly about the problems of his age and tried to find answers based on modern science. Furthermore, the chapter shows that, in just the same way as the regime of Alfred Krupp had seemed to mirror the establishment of the German Empire and the Bismarckian political settlement, Friedrich Alfred's world corresponded to that of Wilhelmine Germany, and Wilhelminism was above all about size and power.Less
This chapter turns to the next generation, and examines the business ethic and the political and personal life of Friedrich Alfred Krupp. Friedrich Alfred Krupp is described a rather kind and gentle person who tried to improve relations with the workforce, who also reflected endlessly about the problems of his age and tried to find answers based on modern science. Furthermore, the chapter shows that, in just the same way as the regime of Alfred Krupp had seemed to mirror the establishment of the German Empire and the Bismarckian political settlement, Friedrich Alfred's world corresponded to that of Wilhelmine Germany, and Wilhelminism was above all about size and power.
Luciano Floridi
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199641321
- eISBN:
- 9780191760938
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199641321.003.0014
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy, Philosophy of Science
Business organizations are among the most influential multi-agent systems affecting the well-being of the infosphere. In this chapter, I argue that information ethics can provide a good, foundational ...
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Business organizations are among the most influential multi-agent systems affecting the well-being of the infosphere. In this chapter, I argue that information ethics can provide a good, foundational approach to both. I articulate and defend an informational approach to the conceptual foundation of business ethics, by using ideas and methods developed in the previous chapters, in view of the convergence of the two fields in an increasingly hyperconnected society. This brings to completion the line of reasoning begun in Chapter 7, where I defended the importance of extending our conception of moral agents to artificial entities as well (and therefore to business agents), and further expanded in Chapter 13, where we saw the systemic, distributed nature of aggregate actions emerging from the interactions between different moral agents of various kinds.Less
Business organizations are among the most influential multi-agent systems affecting the well-being of the infosphere. In this chapter, I argue that information ethics can provide a good, foundational approach to both. I articulate and defend an informational approach to the conceptual foundation of business ethics, by using ideas and methods developed in the previous chapters, in view of the convergence of the two fields in an increasingly hyperconnected society. This brings to completion the line of reasoning begun in Chapter 7, where I defended the importance of extending our conception of moral agents to artificial entities as well (and therefore to business agents), and further expanded in Chapter 13, where we saw the systemic, distributed nature of aggregate actions emerging from the interactions between different moral agents of various kinds.
Upendra Baxi
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- October 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195690439
- eISBN:
- 9780199081059
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195690439.003.0009
- Subject:
- Law, Human Rights and Immigration
This chapter explores a particular set of practices of resistance to the onset of the trade-related, market-friendly paradigm of human rights, which takes the form of full reassertion of the ...
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This chapter explores a particular set of practices of resistance to the onset of the trade-related, market-friendly paradigm of human rights, which takes the form of full reassertion of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights paradigm in relation to corporate governance and business conduct. This reassertion is articulated under the very auspices of the United Nations system, which otherwise fosters contemporaneously, and assiduously, the trade-related market-friendly paradigm of human rights. This chapter focuses on the Norms on the Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with Regard to Human Rights, formulated by a Working Group of five independent experts. It explores five related themes: the dense intertextuality of the Norms and the Commentary; the ‘network’ conception of corporate governance and business conduct; ways of categorizing the range of general and specific obligations; strategies of implementation; and business ethics in relation to human rights.Less
This chapter explores a particular set of practices of resistance to the onset of the trade-related, market-friendly paradigm of human rights, which takes the form of full reassertion of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights paradigm in relation to corporate governance and business conduct. This reassertion is articulated under the very auspices of the United Nations system, which otherwise fosters contemporaneously, and assiduously, the trade-related market-friendly paradigm of human rights. This chapter focuses on the Norms on the Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with Regard to Human Rights, formulated by a Working Group of five independent experts. It explores five related themes: the dense intertextuality of the Norms and the Commentary; the ‘network’ conception of corporate governance and business conduct; ways of categorizing the range of general and specific obligations; strategies of implementation; and business ethics in relation to human rights.
Christian Olaf Christiansen
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780198701033
- eISBN:
- 9780191770500
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198701033.003.0005
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Political Economy
This chapter examines the rising prominence of neoliberalism in the 1990s and 2000s, and considers arguments about capitalism being without alternatives, being the best in creating wealth, achieving ...
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This chapter examines the rising prominence of neoliberalism in the 1990s and 2000s, and considers arguments about capitalism being without alternatives, being the best in creating wealth, achieving social efficiency, and developing technology. The new, entrepreneurial “spirit” of American capitalism in the 1990s, however, also holds that free markets were the very essence of freedom, democracy, consumer sovereignty, coolness, and individual self-actualization. Capitalism was described as revolutionary, color-blind, and anti-hierarchical as well as capable of moral self-governance. Social entrepreneurship was in search of “shared value,” and corporations were construed as global, responsible citizens. There were tensions between the view of the corporation as an instrument for shareholder value-maximization and a “progressive” view of the corporation with a “corporate conscience,” publicly displaying its care for life and humanity itself. But they shared the basic premises of business being the key, progressive force in history, and that to “do well” could be combined with “doing good.”Less
This chapter examines the rising prominence of neoliberalism in the 1990s and 2000s, and considers arguments about capitalism being without alternatives, being the best in creating wealth, achieving social efficiency, and developing technology. The new, entrepreneurial “spirit” of American capitalism in the 1990s, however, also holds that free markets were the very essence of freedom, democracy, consumer sovereignty, coolness, and individual self-actualization. Capitalism was described as revolutionary, color-blind, and anti-hierarchical as well as capable of moral self-governance. Social entrepreneurship was in search of “shared value,” and corporations were construed as global, responsible citizens. There were tensions between the view of the corporation as an instrument for shareholder value-maximization and a “progressive” view of the corporation with a “corporate conscience,” publicly displaying its care for life and humanity itself. But they shared the basic premises of business being the key, progressive force in history, and that to “do well” could be combined with “doing good.”
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226470405
- eISBN:
- 9780226470429
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226470429.003.0004
- Subject:
- Law, Company and Commercial Law
This chapter reveals the effects of an abandoned substantive corporate criminal law, where prosecutorial discretion trumps liability rules; where there is a whim and arbitrariness to corporate ...
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This chapter reveals the effects of an abandoned substantive corporate criminal law, where prosecutorial discretion trumps liability rules; where there is a whim and arbitrariness to corporate liability. The chapter considers how compliance games are played, their distinct objectives, rationales, and rules. It reviews how the game of compliance as business ethics seems to have magically changed in the post-scandals era. Finally, it concludes that there is a paradox to compliance that may offer a valuable lesson for the corporate governance movement. Without liability rules that fairly and justifiably construct blame, regulation will, at times, prompt some corporations to dissimulate in artful, gamelike ways.Less
This chapter reveals the effects of an abandoned substantive corporate criminal law, where prosecutorial discretion trumps liability rules; where there is a whim and arbitrariness to corporate liability. The chapter considers how compliance games are played, their distinct objectives, rationales, and rules. It reviews how the game of compliance as business ethics seems to have magically changed in the post-scandals era. Finally, it concludes that there is a paradox to compliance that may offer a valuable lesson for the corporate governance movement. Without liability rules that fairly and justifiably construct blame, regulation will, at times, prompt some corporations to dissimulate in artful, gamelike ways.
Christian Olaf Christiansen
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780198701033
- eISBN:
- 9780191770500
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198701033.003.0006
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Political Economy
This chapter examines critiques of capitalism in the 1990s and 2000, ranging from popular protests to conservative, Marxist, and social-liberal criticisms. Critics drew attention to rising inequality ...
More
This chapter examines critiques of capitalism in the 1990s and 2000, ranging from popular protests to conservative, Marxist, and social-liberal criticisms. Critics drew attention to rising inequality and questioned the new culture of capitalism that had been lauded for furthering flexibility and personal growth. Market weaknesses were pointed out, and the “correct” interpretation of the corporation became a central part of the debate. The radical left, the reformist left, the “progressive” business creed, and neoliberals had different ways of conceiving of capitalist globalization and of social protection, from ideas of global social and economic human rights, to neoliberal ideas about speeding up capitalist globalization. The chapter particularly highlights criticisms targeted against the spirit of a global, progressive business and notions such as corporate social responsibility, namely that these were not proper substitutes for democracy, and that progressive business would strengthen neoliberalism by providing a moral supplement to free markets.Less
This chapter examines critiques of capitalism in the 1990s and 2000, ranging from popular protests to conservative, Marxist, and social-liberal criticisms. Critics drew attention to rising inequality and questioned the new culture of capitalism that had been lauded for furthering flexibility and personal growth. Market weaknesses were pointed out, and the “correct” interpretation of the corporation became a central part of the debate. The radical left, the reformist left, the “progressive” business creed, and neoliberals had different ways of conceiving of capitalist globalization and of social protection, from ideas of global social and economic human rights, to neoliberal ideas about speeding up capitalist globalization. The chapter particularly highlights criticisms targeted against the spirit of a global, progressive business and notions such as corporate social responsibility, namely that these were not proper substitutes for democracy, and that progressive business would strengthen neoliberalism by providing a moral supplement to free markets.
James R. Otteson
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- March 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190914202
- eISBN:
- 9780190914240
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190914202.003.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Corporate Governance and Accountability, Strategy
The term “honorable business” will strike many as counterintuitive. Many are suspicious of business, as the widespread notion that business, or businesspeople, should “give back” to society—perhaps ...
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The term “honorable business” will strike many as counterintuitive. Many are suspicious of business, as the widespread notion that business, or businesspeople, should “give back” to society—perhaps to atone for their sins—suggests. Honorable Business argues that there is a way of understanding business activity such that it is beneficial and even morally praiseworthy, and thus not in need of atonement. The introduction to Honorable Business outlines the elements of the book’s argument, including the content of each chapter, but it also places the book’s argument in its proper context: who its audience is, and why its argument is necessary.Less
The term “honorable business” will strike many as counterintuitive. Many are suspicious of business, as the widespread notion that business, or businesspeople, should “give back” to society—perhaps to atone for their sins—suggests. Honorable Business argues that there is a way of understanding business activity such that it is beneficial and even morally praiseworthy, and thus not in need of atonement. The introduction to Honorable Business outlines the elements of the book’s argument, including the content of each chapter, but it also places the book’s argument in its proper context: who its audience is, and why its argument is necessary.
