Business Ethics

Dale Miller is a Professor of Philosophy at Old Dominion University, whose work focuses on John Stuart Mill’s moral and social-political philosophy. He has a Ph.D. in Philosophy and M.A. in Economics from the University of Pittsburgh. He has held positions at the University of Minnesota Duluth, University of Florida and Universität Hamburg. Recently, he has become an experienced administrator, serving as department chair, Provost's Fellow for Faculty Development and Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies. William H. Shaw is the author and editor of numerous books and articles in the areas of ethics and social and political philosophy. Shaw obtained a Ph.D. in political philosophy from the London School of Economics and teaches philosophy at San Jose State University, where he served as chair of the department for 11 years. He has also been a visiting professor at the University of Zimbabwe, the University of Hong Kong and the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. He has two other books with Cengage Learning, SOCIAL AND PERSONAL ETHICS and MORAL ISSUES IN BUSINESS (with Vincent Barry).

• Part One | Moral Philosophy and Business.Chapter 1 The Nature of Morality.1. Ethics.2. Business and Organizational Ethics.3. Moral versus Nonmoral Standards.4. Morality and Etiquette.5. Morality and Law.6. Professional Codes.7. Where Do Moral Standards Come From?8. Religion and Morality.9. Morality Need Not Rest on Religion.10. Ethical Relativism.11. Relativism and the “Game” of Business.12. Having Moral Principles.13. Conscience.14. The Limits of Conscience.15. Moral Principles and Self-Interest.16. Morality and Personal Values.17. Individual Integrity and Responsibility.18. Organizational Norms.19. Conformity.20. Diffusion of Responsibility.21. Moral Reasoning.22. Defensible Moral Judgments.23. Patterns of Defense and Challenge.24. Requirements for Moral Judgments.25. Case 1.1 Made in the U.S.A.—Dumped in Brazil, Africa, Iraq . . .26. Case 1.2 Loose Money.27. Case 1.3 Just Drop off the Key, Lee.28. Case 1.4 The A7D Affair.Chapter 2 Normative Theories of Ethics.29. Philosophical Theories of Ethics.30. Consequentialist and Nonconsequentialist Theories.31. Ethical Egoism.32. Misconceptions about Egoism.33. Psychological Egoism.34. Criticisms of Ethical Egoism.35. Utilitarianism: A First Look.36. Six Points about Utilitarianism.37. Utilitarianism in an Organizational Context.38. Critical Inquiries of Act Utilitarianism.39. The Interplay between Self-Interest and Utility.40. Kant’s Ethics.41. Good Will.42. The Categorical Imperative.43. Kant in an Organizational Context.44. Critical Questions about Kant’s Ethics.45. Other Nonconsequentialist Perspectives.46. Ross’s Pluralism and Prima Facie Obligations.47. How Much Does Morality Demand from Us?48. Moral Rights.49. Nonconsequentialism in an Organizational Context.50. Critical Inquiries of Nonconsequentialism.51. Utilitarianism Once More.52. What Will the Optimal Code Look Like?53. Making Moral Decisions Together: A Practical Approach.54. Obligations, Effects, Ideals.56. Case 2.1 A Day at the Zoo.57. Case 2.2 The Ford Pinto.58. Case 2.3 Blood for Sale.Chapter 3 Justice and Economic Distribution.59. The Nature of Justice.60. Rival Principles of Distribution.61. The Utilitarian View.62. Utilitarianism and Economic Distribution.63. Criticism of the Utilitarian Approach.64. The Libertarian Approach.65. Nozick’s Theory of Justice.66. Nozick’s Wilt Chamberlain Example.67. The Libertarian View of Liberty.68. Markets and Free Exchange.69. Property Rights.70. Criticism of the Libertarian Approach.71. Rawls’s Theory of Justice.72. The Original Position.73. Choosing the Principles.74. Rawls’s Two Principles.75. Fairness and the Basic Structure.76 Benefits and Burdens.77. Criticism of Rawls’s Theory.78. Case 3.1 Eminent Domain.79. Case 3.2 A College Education: Who Should Pay?80. Case 3.3 Poverty in America.Part Two | American Business and Its Basis.Chapter 4 American and Global Capitalism.81. Capitalism.82. Historical Background of Capitalism.83. Key Features of Capitalism.84. Companies.85. Profit Motive.86. Competition.87. Private Property.88. Two Arguments for Capitalism.89. The Natural Right to Property.90. Adam Smith’s Concept of the Invisible Hand.91. Criticisms of Capitalism.92. Inequality.93. Human Nature and Capitalism.94. Competition Might Not Be What it’s Cracked Up to Be.95. Exploitation and Alienation.96. Today’s Economic Challenges.97. The Decline of American Manufacturing.98. Exclusive Focus on the Short Term.99. Changing Attitudes Toward Work.100. Case 4.1 Catastrophe in Bangladesh.101. Case 4.2 Licensing and Laissez Faire.102. Case 4.3 One Nation under Walmart.103. Case 4.4 A New Work Ethic?104. Case 4.5 Paying College Athletes.Chapter 5 Corporations.105. The Limited-Liability Company.106. Corporate Moral Agency.107. Can Corporations Make Moral Decisions?108. Vanishing Individual Responsibility.109. Rival Views of Corporate Responsibility.110. The Narrow View: Prof