UNIT 1. Ethics, Values, and Social Responsibility in Business1. Thinking Ethically: A Framework for Moral Decision Making, Manuel Velasquez et al., Issues in Ethics, Winter 1996Outlined here are key steps and five different approaches to dealing with moral issues and helping to resolve ethical dilemmas.2. Business Ethics: Back to Basics, William I. Sauser, Jr., Society for Advancement of Management, 2005William Sauser gives an eight-point action list for establishing a strong ethical culture as well as provides a decision checklist when ethical dilemmas loom.3. Advice from Aristotle on Business Ethics, James O'Toole, At the Center: Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, Winter 2005James O'Toole defines and applies some of Aristotles principles to the ethics of leadership.4. Truth or Consequences: The Organizational Importance of Honesty, Erline Belton, The Nonprofit Quarterly, Summer 2004Erline Belton discusses why the importance of running an organization based on truth requires the taking of personal risks and time.5. Why Good Leaders Do Bad Things, Charles D. Kerns, Graziadio Business Report, Fall 2003In making ethical decisions, Charles Kern advocates letting virtuous values guide one's judgements while being aware of the mental games that can undermine ethical decision making.6. Best Resources for Corporate Social Responsibility, Karen McNichol, Business Ethics, Summer 2001In this Business Ethics journal, Karen McNichol provides a list of some of the best Web sites on corporate social responsibility. They are listed with addresses in this article.UNIT 2. Ethical Issues and Dilemmas in the WorkplacePart A. Employee Rights and Duties7. Flip-Flop Over Faculty Fingerprints, Sharon Walsh, The Chronicle of Higher Education, November 19, 2004Sharon Walsh relates the difficulty in putting in place a screening policy for new faculty hires.Part B. Organizational Misconduct and Crime8. Corruption: Causes and Cures, Joseph T. Wells, Journal of Accountancy, April 2003This article reveals ways auditors can help deter bribery and kickbacks.9. Where the Dangers Are, David Bank and Riva Richmond, The Wall Street Journal, July 18, 2005The authors explain the threats of information security that keep the experts up at night-and what business and consumers can do to protect themselves.Part C. Sexual Treatment of Employees10. Sexual Harassment and Retaliation: A Double-Edged Sword, Ann C. Wendt and William M. Slonaker, SAM Advanced Management Journal, Autumn 2002Retaliation against a person who complains of sexual harassment-or any other type of discrimination-is itself a new form of employment discrimination.Part D. Discriminatory and Prejudicial Practices11. The Under-Reported Impact of Age Discrimination and Its Threat to Business Vitality, Robert J. Grossman, Business Horizons, 2005Robert Grossman examines how the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) is credited with helping many blatant forms of age discrimination in employment.12. Where Are the Women?, Linda Tischler, Fast Company, February 2004Linda Tischler investigates why there are still so few women at the top when the managerial pipeline is stuffed with capable, talented female candidates for senior positions.13. How Corporate America is Betraying Women, Betsy Morris, Fortune, January 10, 2005Forty years after sex discrimination became illegal, a huge gap in pay and promotion still remains. Now, Betsy Morris describes how angry women are suing their employers-and winning.Part E. Downsizing of the Work Force14. 50 and Fired, John Helyar, Fortune, May 16, 2005Getting fired during one's peak earning years has always been scary. John Helyar considers why today this is even worse than it was in the past.15. Into Thin Air, Jennifer Reingold, Jena McGregor, Fiona Haley, Michael Prespero, and Carleen Hawn, Fast Company, April 2004The article reflects that many high-tech workers have lost jobs to low-wage countries because of outsourcing.Part F. Whistleblowing in the Organization16. Hall Monitors in the Workplace: Encouraging Employee Whistleblowers, Sharie A. Brown, M World, Winter 2003Sharie Brown describes how whistleblowers can help a company resolve problems before they become front-page fodder.17. On Witnessing a Fraud, Don Soeken, Business Ethics, Summer 2004A case is presented where saying no to the scam was easy, but deciding whether to report it was considerably harder.Part G. Handling Ethical Dilemmas at Work18. Birth of the Ethics Industry, James C. Hyatt, Business Ethics, Summer 2005James Hyatt reveals that there has been a recent mushrooming attention to business ethics and the seeking of consultants to help companies as they struggle to cope with the complexities of Sarbanes-Oxley legislation, passed in 2002 in the wake of financial scandals.19. Academic Values and the Lure of Profit, Derek Bok, The Chronicle of Higher Education, April 4, 2003Derek Bok poses some thoughtful and challenging questions in this article: Just how far have individual sponsors gone in seeking to use higher-education institutions and professors for their own commercial ends? How willing have universities been to accept money at the cost of compromising values central to the academic enterprise?20. Like the Smoke of a Blazing Room, Doug Wallace, Business Ethics, Winter 2004Doug Wallace provides a classic case from Business Ethics about an ethical dilemma that comes about on a company's new hotline.21. The Parable of the Sadhu, Bowen H. McCoy, Harvard Business Review, May/June 1997The parable presented in this reading has significance for managers as they encounter ethical dilemmas that involve merging the individual ethic (personal values) and the corporate ethic (organizational values) to make the best decisions within the corporate culture. Bowen McCoy stresses the importance of management's agreeing on a process for dealing with dilemmas and conflicts of interest.UNIT 3. Business and Society: Contemporary Ethical, Social, and Environmental IssuesPart A. Changing Perspectives in Business & Society22. Does It Pay to Be Good?, A.J. Vogl, Across the Board, January/February 2003Corporate citizenship represents a diffuse concept for many. However, according to A.J. Vogl, it generally speaks to companies voluntarily adopting a triple bottom line, one that takes into account social, economic, and environmental considerations as well as financial results.23. Trust in the Marketplace, John E. Richardson and Linnea Bernard McCord, McGraw-Hill/Dushkin, 2000The authors scrutinize the significance of companies that are cognizant of the precarious nature and powerful advantages of gaining and maintaining trust with their customers in the marketplace.24. How Women Are Changing Corporate America, Diversity Inc., March 2005Women approach management and leadership differently than men, emphasizing relationship-building and attentiveness to employee needs, both of which focus a team on common goals.25. Old. Smart. Productive., Peter Coy, BusinessWeek, June 27, 2005Peter Coy delineates that the next generation of older Americans is likely to make a much bigger contribution to the economy than many of today's forecasts predict.26. The Truth About Drug Companies, Marcia Angell, The New York Review, July 15, 2004Marcia Angell examines the pharmaceutical industry and gives evidence concerning why it is due for fundamental reform.Part B. Contemporary Ethical Issues27. Eminent Domain: Is It Only Hope for Inner Cities?, Ryan Chittum, The Wall Street Journal, October 5, 2005Ryan Chittum investigates the new attention given to eminent domain-the government's power to force a landowner to sell property at what is considered to be a fair price.28. Debate Flares Anew Over Violence in Video Games, Alex Pham, Los Angeles Times, October 5, 2005State lawmakers nationwide are considering bans on the sale or rental to violent video games, but the industry contends such efforts to censorship.Part C. Global Ethics29. Values in Tension: Ethics Away From Home, Thomas Donaldson, Harvard Business Review, September/October 1996Thomas Donaldson believes that even the best-informed, best-intentioned executives must rethink their assumptions about business practices in foreign settings.30. Managing Ethically with Global Stakeholders: A Present and Future Challenge, Archie B. Carroll, Academy of Management Executive, 2004Archie Carroll elucidates why global business ethics will demand cutting-edge thinking and practice as companies strive to expand their products, services, sales, and operations throughout the world.31. Fakes!, Frederik Balfour, BusinessWeek, February 7, 2005The global counterfeit business, according to Frederik Balfour, is out of control, targeting everything from computer chips to life-saving medicines.UNIT 4. Ethics and Social Responsibility in the MarketplacePart A. Marketing Strategy and Ethics32. The Perils of Doing the Right Thing, Andrew W. Singer, Across the Board, October 2000Andrew Singer discusses why a number of companies have discovered how difficult it is to do well by doing good. Some question whether ethical behavior makes any economic sense at all.33. Is Marketing Ethics an Oxymoron?, Philip Kotler, Marketing Management, November/December 2004Philip Kotler believes that marketers should be proud of their field since they have encouraged and promoted the development of many products and services that have benefited people worldwide.34. Truth in Advertising: Rx Drug Ads Come of Age, Carol Rados, FDA Consumer, July/August 2004Direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising of prescription drugs in its varied forms-is widely used throughout the United States. Carol Rados scrutinizes the educational and promotional effect these ads can have on consumers.35. Rejuvenating Wal-Mart's Reputation, Thomas A. Hemphill, Business Horizons, 2005Thomas Hemphill critically evaluates if Wal-Mart is a good corporate citizen or bad influence.Part B. Ethical Practices in the Marketplace36. Managing for Organizational Integrity, Lynn Sharp Paine, Harvard Business Review, March/April 1994Lynn Sharp Paine advocates the idea that by supporting ethically sound behavior, managers can strengthen the relationships and reputations that their companies depend on.37. An Ethical Delimma: How to Build Integrity into Your Sales Environment, Theodore B. Kinni, Selling Power, October 2004The article wrestles with the key question: How do you equip salespeople to deal with ethical dilemmas?38. The Right Balance, Jennifer Gilbert, Sales & Marketing Management, November 2004The growing mature market is an attractive target for unscrupulous salespeople, who take advantage of seniors' supposed vulnerability in closing a deal. But beware, warns Jennifer Gilbert, if salespeople are selling unethically, the cost ultimately will outweigh the benefit.39. Patagonia's Founder Seeks to Spread Environmental Gospel, Leslie Earnest, Los Angeles Times, October 9, 2005Patagonia's founder and chairman, Yvon Chouinard, is now facing what could be his biggest challenge: convincing corporate America that environmental awareness can be a profitable model.UNIT 5. Developing the Future Ethos and Social Responsibility of Business40. Ethics for a Post-Enron America, John R. Boatright, Phi Kappa Phi Forum, Spring 2003John Boatright asserts that the high-profile scandals at Enron, WorldCom, Global Crossing, and Tyco, among others, combined with the spectacular dissolution of the accounting firm Arthur Andersen, are more than business failures. Top executives and their advisers also failed to fulfill their basic fiduciary duties to serve the interests of shareholders and the public.41. Hiring Character, Dana Telford and Adrian Gostick, Sales & Marketing Management, June 2005In an excerpt from Dana Telford and Adrian Gostick's new book, Integrity Works, they present a look at business leader Warren Buffett's practice of hiring people based on their integrity.42. Why Corporations Can't Control Chicanery, Saul W. Gellerman, Business Horizons, May/June 2003Recent corporate scandals, according to Saul Gellerman, prove that the lessons of previous scandals have not been learned. Instead of focusing on the real cause: pressures that push management to test the boundaries of the permissible, most companies would rather blame rogue employees and pundits would blame business schools.
