Is business ethics philosophy or sophism?

The contrast between the philosopher and the sophist is subtle and significant. The significant difference is identified by Socrates when he claims, in the Apology 21d, to be the wisest man in Athens: “Neither of us has any knowledge to boast of, but he thinks that he knows something which he does not know, whereas I am quite conscious of my ignorance.” Nearly two and one half millennia later, business ethics has transported street corner conversation into the meeting room and board room, where ethical leadership is cultivated or stifled. Are these conversations about ethics philosophy, or are they sophism? In this paper, I will evaluate the philosophical soundness of business ethics as it is practiced in business situations. My objective will be to outline the unfulfilled value of philosophical wisdom to ensuring the value of business ethics, and business, to society at large.     

An econometric test of the self-employment model: The case of Italy

In this paper the authors put forward their attempt to test a self-employment model using an Italian data set which collects information about 78 Italian provinces (out of 95) over the period of 1985–1988. The self-employment model is introduced as a useful way to explain the formation of new small firms and subsequently previous econometric studies based on this model are discussed and compared.Once the empirical definitions of the variables are clarified, the econometric specification is introduced in Section 4 and results are discussed in Section 5 and 6.The general outcome of the estimates backs to a certain extent the self-employment approach which has already been tested with good results both in the U.K. and in the U.S. As far as the income choice is concerned, it turns out to be important in explaining the birth of new small firms. With regard to the role of job-losses, they also turn out to be significantly correlated with the high rates of firm formation.On the other hand, the discussion reported in Section 5 underlines the importance of other environmental factors which were not included in the original specification of Section 4. In particular, if the numerosity of the existing small firms is taken into account, self-employment relationships lose some of their significance. p]The laborer asks what he thinks the entrepreneur will be able to pay, and in any case will not accept less than he can get from some other entrepreneur, or by turning entrepreneur himself. In the same way the entrepreneur offers to any laborer what he thinks he must in order to secure his services, and in any case not more than he thinks the laborer will actually be worth to him, keeping in mind what he can get by turning laborer himself.Knight, 1921, p. 273     

透视欧洲央行新掌门人--特莱切特

The European Central Bank has a new president: Conservative Jean-Claude Trichet is expected to weigh his words more carefully than his predecessor Wim Duisenberg. Apart from that, he will probably not change the policies of the Central Bank much.     

顾雏军的“光辉岁月”

综观顾雏军的职业生涯,对时机的准确把握、对人际关系的高超处理以及大胆、偏执的个性造就了过去的“光辉岁月”。     

Barry Shank. A Token of My Affection: Greeting Cards and American Business Culture. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004. xvii + 328 pp. ISBN 0-231-11878-3, $50.00 (cloth).

Barry Shank has written a history of commercially produced greetingcards in the United States. Using vocabulary, concepts, andthe terrifically long sentences common to cultural studies,Shank argues that greeting cards reveal the emotional life ofcard-buying Americans. That inner life, he argues, was fundamentally"conditioned" and "structured" by American business culture.Many business historians will find Shank’s book challengingto read and not always convincing. If they persevere, and occasionallysuspend empirical demands, they will     

The disappearing data source: Ameliorating relations between academics and business

Growing corporate disillusionment with survey research has put a strain on the relationship between businessmen and academicians. The situation is becoming critical, and researchers may lose access to a rich data base if ways of alleviating the friction are not found. The authors look for causes (one is the sheer bulk of questionnaires received), and suggest approaches that researchers can take to elicit the support of businessmen. If the researcher is to enjoy the cooperation of practitioners, he must be aware of several points: the executive is a valuable resource; if he participates in a study he can legitimately expect that the results will be accurately reported; and his company must somehow profit from the study.     

IS YOUR COMPANY READY TO SUCCEED?

Srikumar Rao has asked thousands of students about the ideal company of the future, the kind of place where they would want to spend their lives. Thinking about what he has heard from them, he believes tomorrow's successful enterprise will be a different kind of company indeed.     

范拉伊模式下的纳税人意识研究

本文将纳税人意识纳入经济心理学中范拉伊模式的框架下进行研究.研究发现,影响纳税人意识的因素之间存在着相互影响.良好的纳税人意识,意味着同时具备正确充分的税收环境知觉和满意的纳税人主观感受,与之相伴的必然是依法纳税的税收行为.因此,创造良好的税收环境,灵活开展税收宣教以及对纳税人群体区别对待等对提高中国纳税人意识具有重要意义.     

编外兵老程的光照之路

<正>十几年的部队大院生活,让程光照一直认为自己是个兵,虽然是编外的。他依然"军事化"管理着自己的三份产业,并乐在其中。程光照初次接触负离子节能灯缘于2009年的大连之旅。他第一次从韩国客户那里听到了负离子节能灯的概念。之后借着去杭州出差的机会,他探访了当地的工厂,有工厂说以前接过类似的负离子节能灯外单,但只是组装产品,不知道这东西怎么用、有什么用,可能出于自我保护,国内的组装代工厂根本接触不到产品说明书。     

Non-binding sequential exchange between discounting agents

When exchange is sequential, and no binding agreements can be written, the agent acting first is exposed to the possibility that even if he honors the agreement his trading partner might not. Repeated interaction of this nature is modeled. Exchange will successfully occur when there are ample gains from trade for the second agent, implying that the first agent may be better off with less bargaining power. Thus, the first agent may want to bargain at less than his full ability in order to ensure that an otherwise unsuccessful transaction will successfully occur. Additionally, if the first agent can facilitate exchange by hiring an escrow service, he will do so when his bargaining advantage is sufficiently large.JEL subject classification C70, D40, L14     

Aufschwung bleibt moderat — Wirtschaftspolitik wenig wachstumsorientiert

The German economy is experiencing a moderate upturn. Gross domestic product is expected to increase by 1.6 per cent this year and by 1.5 per cent in 2017. The upturn will be driven by private consumption, which will benefit from continued employment growth, sizeable increases in wage and transfer income, and also purchasing power gains thanks to lower energy prices. Fiscal policy will also be expansively oriented, partly due to rising costs related to refugee immigration. Public budgets will still post significant surpluses in the forecasting period, however. Failing to use this room for manoeuvre to promote growth, as seen in recent years, is not a sustainable path. In view of the continuous slack in the euro area economy, the monetary policy stance is considered to be appropriate. Should it become obvious in the course of this year that production does not return to normal capacity and that the inflation rate does not move towards two per cent, further measures to stimulate growth might become necessary. The scope for further monetary policy measures has been widely exhausted, though. A further economic stabilization could only be achieved through a combination of expansionary fiscal and monetary policy. This could severely damage the credibility of monetary policy, however.     

国企多任务努力成本相关下的高管激励问题

本文在Holmstrom和Milgrom多任务委托代理模型的分析框架下,建立国有企业的三任务模型,探讨国企多任务努力成本相关下高管激励问题。研究发现,当多任务为互补时,实现企业社会责任目标会对企业经济性任务产生互补促进性作用,有利于经济性任务目标的实现,增加可观测性较高的任务激励会带来互补性任务绩效的提高。当多任务为替代时,实现企业社会责任目标会对企业经济性任务目标的实现产生阻碍作用,不利于经济性任务目标的实现,增加可观测性较高的任务激励会带来互补性任务绩效的减少。当多任务为不相关时,任务间努力成本互相独立,实现企业的政策性任务与其他任务努力成本不相关,应剥离政策性任务。该结论对于国有企业的任务选择与指派,以及存在多任务时的激励机制设计具有重要参考价值。     

Vicki Howard. Brides, Inc.: American Weddings and the Business Tradition

Ah, how straight and gay men yearn for the day that they, too,will finally receive their engagement ring. Poring over groom'smagazines, furtively trying on those tuxes in the groom's salonsdespite not even having a partner, much less an engagement—butwhen a man has that gold ring put on his finger, he knows heparticipates in the age-old traditional celebration of .... Oh, excuse me—wrong scenario. Wedding marketers, especiallyjewelers, failed in the 1930s to create the new     

Business Ethics in Canada: Distinctiveness and Directions

This article examines the pressures and players that have shaped business ethics in Canadian corporations, and reports on the status of Canadian corporate social performance in 1995. Business in Canada has not been subject, up to 1996, to a powerful national institutional framework such as the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Consequently, business ethics in Canada have developed primarily in response to broader socio-political and socio-economic factors than in the US, and will probably continue to do so. Interestingly, the issues, policies and practices developed in Canada may provide insights for US corporations as they respond to broadened pressures. Business ethics in Canada, on the other hand, will benefit increasingly from the US experience as pressures grow for national regulation and statutes governing corruption.     

农村超市发展初探

超市近年在大中城市悄然升级并超常规模发展，加上中国入世所带来的国际零售集团步入中国市场，给原本有限的竞争空间雪上加霜。与其在林立成群的城市超市夹缝中寻求生存并发展，还不如把经营触角伸向竞争相对缓和的农村市场，以促进超市持续健康有序发展。     

通货膨胀对低收入群体的影响

通货膨胀对低收入群体造成的影响是财富水平被更多地稀释、利益分配更为不利、基本生活更为窘迫。富人和低收入人群的财富水平不仅表现在数量上的悬殊,同时也表现在结构上的差异。通货膨胀对高收入群体的影响,主要是货币贬值、购买力下降,不会对其生存构成威胁。但对低收入群体等弱势群体来说,通货膨胀无疑切断了他们生存的脉搏,生活的希望。     

Let’s Talk Rights: Messages for the Just Corporation–Transforming the Economy Through the Language of Rights

Neoliberal globalization has not yielded the results it promised; global inequality has risen, poverty and hunger are still prevailing in large parts of this world. If this devastating situation shall be improved, economists must talk less about economic growth and more about people’s rights. The use of the language of rights will be key for making the economy work more in favor of the least advantaged in this world. Not only will it provide us with the vocabulary necessary to reframe such pressing global problems and to find adequate economic solutions; it will also deliver the basis for deriving according duties and duty-bearers – the language of rights is congruent with the language of justice and as such it is inevitably and at the same time the language of obligations. The language of obligations exposes the multinational corporation as one of the main agents of justice in the global economy. Taking distributive justice as a starting point for reflection, a consistent derivation of the multinational’s moral obligations must focus on capabilities rather than on causality. This will lead to a shift from merely passive to active duties and accordingly to a stronger emphasis on the corporation’s contribution to the realization of positive rights. Biography: Florian Wettstein is an assistant professor in the Department of Ethics and Business Law at University of St.␣Thomas. Before that, he taught in the Business and Society Program at York University (Toronto). Also, he was a research associate at the Institute for Business Ethics at the University St. of Gallen (Switzerland), a visiting scholar at Carroll School of Management at Boston College, and a research fellow in the Program on Human Rights and Justice at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).     

Who's afraid of an open insurance market?

Although until recently foreign markets were profitable only for insurers dealing with commercial risks, it may be assumed that the development of the free insurance market will have an impact also on the insurance of consumer risks. The insurer may remain passive in the hope that the prospective policy-holder will take the initiative to cross the border, or he may actively involve himself by advertising his services in the foreign country. In these endeavours, the insurer will need the support of the insurance intermediary. It is therefore to be expected that the popularity of the so-called broker's cover will increase vastly. This will not enhance the transparency of the insurance market. The option, open to the EC Member States, to decide whether or not to go for freedom of choice of law rule, does not make it easier to coordinate and harmonize private international insurance law among the Member States.     

The ethics of psychoactive ads

Many of today's ads work by arousing the viewer's emotions. Although emotion-arousing ads are widely used and are commonly thought to be effective, their careless use produces a side-effect: the psychoactive ad. A psychoactive ad is any emotion-arousing ad that can cause a meaningful, well-defined group of viewers to feel extremely anxious, to feel hostile toward others, or to feel a loss of self-esteem. We argue that, because some ill-conceived psychoactive ads can cause harm, ethical issues must arise during their production. Current pretesting methods cannot identify the potentially psychoactive ads; therefore, we offer some tentative guidelines for reducing the number of viewers harmed by psychoactive ads.No professional, be he doctor, lawyer, or manager, can promise that he will indeed do good for his client. All he can do is try. But he can promise that he will not knowingly do harm.... Peter F. Drucker, Management ... [C]oncern for consumer welfare includes an obligation to critically evaluate all marketing techniques that have indeterminant psychological effects. Spence and Moinpour, 1972, p. 43 Dr. Michael R. Hyman is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Houston — Clear Lake. He is a member of the American Marketing Association, Institute for Management Science, Academy of Marketing Science, Southern Marketing Association, and World Future Society. His work has appeared in the Journal of Marketing, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Retailing, Business Horizons, and several AMA national proceedings. His current research interests include foundations research and philosophical analyses in marketing. Dr. Richard Tansey is an Instructor of Marketing at the University of Wisconsin — Green Bay. He has his Ph.D. in history from the University of Texas, at Austin, Texas. He received his B.A. in philosophy from the University of West Florida. He minored in philosophy of history and psycho-history while earning his Ph.D. He received a Woodrow Wilson graduate fellowship in philosophy in 1971–1972. His work has appeared in Business Horizons.     

Privatization in Italy: Roundtable discussion with Paolo Savona the italian minister of industry

Over the last few years, the Italian government has intensified its privatization program of state-owned industries. Since 1989, it has privatized the banking and food industries and will begin work on the telecom and insurance industries in late 1994. Paolo Savona, the Minister of Industry, has been in part responsible for these reforms. In his comments to the Italian Academy of Advanced Studies at Columbia University, he outlines the constitutional and cultural difficulties that Italy has faced in its privatization program, and asserts that through reducing the public debt, improving efficiency, and enlarging capital and other markets, the Italian economy will be better prepared for the 21st Century.