Business Ethics (Stakeholder Analysis and Problem Management Methods, 3rd Edition)

Author: Wes, translated by Fu Caixia
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-06-01
Features:
The features of this book are:
■ Clear and easy-to-understand expression The principles, concepts, and examples in the book avoid professional terminology as much as possible and strive to explain their meanings clearly. Although the book was originally intended for business ethics courses, it is also very useful as supplementary material for other professional courses, such as an introduction to business, business law, business and society, and business policy.
■ Rich cases Business Ethics retains the original cases at the end of the book while adding 7 new cases. Short cases and evaluations are interspersed throughout the chapters.
■ Global perspective Integrating ethics beneficially into the global economy forms the core content of Chapter 7, "Global Environment, Stakeholder Management, and Multinational Corporations."
■ Contemporary approach This edition includes new chapters on globalization, international ethics, stakeholder evaluation methods for organizations, and the impact of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on business ethics. The book examines contemporary personal and professional ethical dilemmas in business.
■ Interdisciplinary coverage The themes of philosophy, law, ethics, business, society, and management enrich understanding.
■ Emerging perspectives Looking ahead, Chapter 8 of the book discusses emerging views on business and ethics, specifically "Business Ethics in the 21st Century," as well as the impact of the 2001 "9·11" attacks on future business ethics.
□ Writing Purpose
■ To introduce basic ethical concepts, principles, and examples to enhance the ability to understand and apply ethics when resolving moral dilemmas;
■ To introduce stakeholder and issue management methods, a strategic and practical approach that outlines the relationships between businesses, groups, and individuals, enabling readers to apply ethical thinking in market and work relationships;
■ To expand readers' understanding of the factors contributing to ethical and unethical practices at the individual, group, organizational, and international levels in business;
■ To strengthen readers' confidence and ability to think and act according to ethical principles when establishing, managing, and researching stakeholder relationships in their domestic and international contexts.
□ Book Structure
■ Chapter 1 defines business ethics, familiarizing readers with ethical cases in business practices, levels of ethical analysis, and expectations for a business ethics course.
■ Chapter 2 introduces stakeholder and issue management methods for studying social responsibility relationships at the employee, group, and organizational levels. These methods advocate the integration of ethical principles and concepts and provide a basis for this integration.
■ Chapter 3 analyzes the "micro-level" methods of ethical decision-making: proposing moral norms and concepts of ancient and contemporary ethical thinking and behavior. The chapter also examines types of individual ethical decision-making. Although discussed at the micro level, these principles can also be used to evaluate and explain corporate strategies and actions. (The chairman, managers, employees, allies, government officials, and other external stakeholder groups can all be considered individuals.)
■ Chapter 4 introduces businesses as stakeholders and analyzes value-driven stakeholder management within internal organizations. The dominant idea of this chapter is to unify leadership styles, strategies, structures, culture, and systems, while also examining how to manage a business ethically.
■ Chapter 5 addresses the ethical controversies and issues businesses face when dealing with external consumers, governments, and environmental organizations. It discusses whether and how businesses should act ethically in commercial transactions.
■ Chapter 6 analyzes the ethical issues and dilemmas faced by employees as stakeholders in the modern workplace.
■ Chapter 7 expands the analysis to domestic and multinational companies, discussing ethical issues between multinational corporations, host countries, and other organizations. It highlights different forms of capitalism internationally and analyzes the relationship between ethics and industry competitiveness using the United States as an example.
■ Chapter 8 analyzes the impact of the 2001 "9·11" attacks on many ethical issues and summarizes the emerging ethical challenges that employees, managers, businesses, and multinational stakeholders must face in the near future.
□ Cases
This edition of the book provides 13 cases, including 7 new ones:
■ Microsoft: Is it an industry predator or a fierce competitor? (New addition)
■ Dow Corning Company and breast implants;
■ "Almost a crisis": The Intel Pentium chip incident;
■ Written words versus actual practice: An ethical dilemma faced by a high-tech public relations company (New addition);
■ Merrill Lynch Enters Online Trading (New addition);
■ Fleet Bank and BankBoston Merger: Cultural Clash: Looking Ahead (New addition);
■ Napster at the Beginning: Weapon of Mass Destruction or Illegal Weapon? (New addition);
■ The Paris Dilemma: The Experience of EuroDisney in Europe;
■ General Motors Sues the Media: NBC's Dateline;
■ Stella Liebeck Sues McDonald's: Product Liability (From a judicial system perspective)?
■ Gun Control Debate (New addition);
■ Women in the Public Accounting Industry (and other professions): Gender and Workplace Barriers;
■ DoubleClick's Online Privacy Controversy (New addition).
Are problems with company products best concealed or actively recalled? What should we do if others bribe us when trying to win customers? Should companies take the initiative to be responsible for environmental pollution? All these questions are related to business ethics, and this book will tell you how to handle them with ease.
—Fu Caixia
The author, Professor Wes, is highly experienced, and the book is comprehensive and detailed, with cases that are close to real-life situations, making it an excellent textbook for business ethics.
—Book Editor
Business ethics is an interdisciplinary subject that explores the intersection of business and ethics, forming the foundation of the relationship between business and society. With the rapid development of China's economy, business ethics in the market economy has become a focal point of social discussion. Business Ethics (3rd Edition) is an outstanding international textbook on business ethics, systematically analyzing external political, economic, legal, environmental, and technological factors that affect corporate operations, the basic principles for ethical decision-making, and ethical issues in marketing, R&D, human resources, and other departments within businesses. The book consists of 8 chapters, covering main topics such as:
■ Changing Environments and Stakeholder Management;
■ Stakeholder Analysis and Issue Management Methods;
■ Ethical Theories, Quick Assessments, and Decision Guides;
■ Businesses and Internal Stakeholders: Value-Based Ethical Issues Related to Leadership, Strategy, Structure, Culture, and Self-Discipline;
■ Businesses and External Stakeholders: Market Moral Responsibility Management;
■ Employees and Companies as Stakeholders;
■ Global, Stakeholder Management, and Multinational Corporations;
■ Business Ethics in the 21st Century.
The book's readership is extremely broad, suitable not only for teachers, undergraduate and graduate students, MBA and EMBA students, and management personnel of various enterprises and institutions in economic and management colleges across the country but also for management consultants, business ethics experts, and self-study learners interested in business ethics as essential reference material.