FOCUS: Ethics in Business and Health

"The NHS may not, on a tight definition, be a business, but it has an obligation to its financial stakeholders (the tax-payers), and this implies an ethical obligation to be business- like. This means it must be as well-managed as it is well-meaning." The author is Chairman of St George's Healthcare NHS Trust. Until 1988 she was Head of the Department of Politics at Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London, where she is now Visiting Professor. She is a non-executive director of Norwich Union and of the HMV Group and her most recent book is Business Ethics at Work , Cambridge University Press, 1995.     

FOCUS: Business Ethics in Austria

Our Associate Editor for Austria describes the unique national features which underlie the recent development of modern business ethics in his country. Univ.-Prof. Dr Franz Rupert Hrubi is a member of the Abteilung für Philosophie, the University of Economics and Business Administration, A 1090 Vienna, Schlagergasse 6, Austria.     

FOCUS: Ethical Problems in Ethics Research

Current research in business ethics gives serious cause for concern because it may be designed more to advance academic careers than to encourage ethical business. The author is completing his doctoral thesis in business ethics at the Management School, Imperial College, London.     

FOCUS: Ethics in the Accountancy Profession in Ireland

Accountants confronted with ethical dilemmas are expected to comply with their ethical guide or seek advice from their professional body. This study of Chartered Accountants in Ireland records their views on the usefulness of a Code of Ethics, the efficacy of their professional Institute and the need for ethics courses in Continuing Professional Development. Peter Clarke is a lecturer in the Department of Accountancy, University College Dublin, Dublin 4; Nancy Hill and Kevin Stevens are members of the School of Accountancy, DePaul University, Chicago.     

FOCUS: Ethics in Need of Regulation

How much real impact on business behaviour is achieved by ethical debate and discussion? The author contends that little ethical change will come about unless it is the subject of regulation and institutions, as instanced in equal opportunities, corporate governance and the quality of financial services. Dr Clarke is a member of the Department of Sociology, University of Liverpool, P.O. Box 147, Liverpool L69 3BX.     

FOCUS: Information Technology and Business Ethics

'Those who understand the underlying technology on which the modern business depends have a professional, social and moral obligation to look to the needs of their neighbours who lack that understanding'. Professor Ennals is a member of the Business Information Technology Research Unit of Kingston Business School, Kingston University, Kingston-on-Thames KT2 7LB, England, where he has shared in developing the new Business Information Technology degree.     

FOCUS: Research in Business Ethics* Business Ethics Research: Shaping the Agenda

“The most significant outcome of effective business ethics research would be an improvement of ethical standards and ethical behaviour in organizations”. So how can such research be made effective? The author is Lecturer in Management Studies, University of Cambridge, and Fellow of Lucy Cavendish College.     

FOCUS: Ethics in Competition Morality and Competitive Advantage

Successful business activity in the market is commonly likened to evolution and the survival of the fittest, in which there is little, if any, place for ethics. The author questions various assumptions underlying this view, and suggests that competition can bring out the best as well as the worst in human character. He is a member of the Department of Philosophy in the Faculty of Letters, Reading University, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 2AH. This paper was first presented at a Seminar on Teaching Business Ethics held at London Business School on Friday, 10 March, 1995.     

FOCUS: Risks in Business Ethics and Venture Capital

By creating new ventures and new job opportunities venture capital is essential to a dynamic economy. But it should also be fair and ethical at every stage. Professor Fassin explores the various ethical issues which arise between venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and investors. He teaches at the University of Mons (FUCAM) and has written widely on management. From 1988-1991 he was Secretary General of the European Venture Capital Association. He is partner of the Veerick School of Management of the University of Ghent.     

FOCUS: Business Ethics in Europe Current Developments in German Business Ethics

Germany is at the leading edge of European reflection on the nature and requirements of ethical business. Two scholars in the field provide a survey of the main lines of discussion in the current German business ethics scene, and discuss three important books which are helping set the scene for further developments. Prof. Dr. Horst Steinmann holds the Chair for Business Administration and Management at the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Lange Gasse 20, D-90403 Nürnberg, and Dipl.-Hdl. Brigitte Kustermann is research assistant to the same chair.     

FOCUS: A New French Course in Business Ethics

The Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Rennes has recently introduced a final year group-taught compulsory course in Business Ethics. Its organisers here describe and discuss their aims, methods and results. Michael Brent is Head of the Human Resources Department at Groupe ESC Rennes, 2 rue Robert-d'Arbrissel, 35065 Rennes, and has an MA in Philosophy and diplomas in business and marketing, as well as several years European consultancy experience. Susan Grinsted teaches production management and related subjects at Rennes, with a first degree in Metallurgy and a PhD in Engineering as well as several years UK industrial experience and a previous appointment at Warwick University, England.     

FOCUS: Business Ethics Research: A Cultural Perspective

Why do certain ethical values and beliefs work within the realities of organisation life, while others do not? Research into corporate culture in its various expressions can provide a means of relating corporate rhetoric to actual performance and provide a deeper understanding of the conditions for practical change. Dr Brigley is a member of the Centre for the Study of Organisational Change in the School of Management, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath BA2 7AY. He wishes to acknowledge the benefits received from discussion with his colleagues in the Centre and especially with its Director, Dr Paul Bate.     

FOCUS: The Ethics of HIV/AIDS and the Workplace

How should companies handle the issue of HIV/AIDS and cope with the ethical dilemmas which result? Should they adopt a defensive policy or aim for a more humanistic policy? Dr Goss is Senior Lecturer in Organizational Behaviour in the University of Portsmouth Business School.     

FOCUS: New Ethics in a Future Dutch Health Market

Changes being introduced to deregulate the Dutch health care system after decades of extensive state control are to be welcomed, and will in future require consumers to be 'well-informed, cost-conscious and assertive patients, who are aware of their responsibility for their own health.' R.B. Kool MD, PhD and E.J.J.M. Kimman PhD are attached to the Department of Business Ethics in the Faculty of Economics and Econometrics at The Free University, P.O. Box 7161, 10107 MC Amsterdam.     

FOCUS: Using a Computerised Game in Teaching Business Ethics

Games have become a standard tool in management education. The authors have cooperated on developing just such a teaching aid for business people and management students interested in playing the business game ethically. Dr Higginson is Director of The Ridley Hall Foundation, Ridley Hall, Cambridge, CB3 9HG and Geoff Moore is Principal Lecturer at Newcastle Business School, University of Northumbria at Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8ST.     

FOCUS: Focus Groups: Are they Viable in Ethics Research?

Charges of methodological weakness in business ethics research may be partly countered by expanding the use of focus groups to concentrate on the experience of participants as they identify and discuss ethical dilemmas they have encountered and solutions they have explored. Dr Vyakarnam is Lecturer in Enterprise at Cranfield University School of Management, Bedfordshire MK43 OAL.     

FOCUS: Is it Ethical to Compete on Ethics?

Should ethical performance be a competitive factor in business behaviour? Is this necessarily a cynical view?‘A mature investigation into the use and abuse of ethics in relation to competition is required.’Dr Alan Stainer is Head of Engineering Management at Middlesex University, Bounds Green Rd., London N11 2NQ, Fellow of the World Academy of Productivity Science and Founder Director of the International Society for Productivity & Quality Research. Mrs Lorice Stainer is Senior Lecturer in Business Organisation at the University of Hertfordshire, Hertford Campus, Mangrove Road, Hertford SG13 8QF, responsible for the European Business Studies programme, and Business Ethics consultant. This paper was first presented at a Seminar on Teaching Business Ethics held at London Business School on Friday, 10 March, 1995.     

FOCUS: A Comparison of Business Ethics in North America and Continental Europe

The author of this major study compares the significantly different approaches to business ethics on both sides of the Atlantic and considers what they have to learn from each other. He has considerable experience of business ethics in both Europe and North America, having taught and researched the subject at the University of St Gallen in his native Switzerland before his appointment as Professor of International Business Ethics in the College of Business Administration, University of Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, USA. Professor Enderle was also the founding Honorary Treasurer of the European Business Ethics Network and is an Associate Editor of this Review.     

FOCUS: Practical Reflections on Teaching Business Ethics to Undergraduates

Teaching business ethics to undergraduates has disclosed difficulties for both students and teacher which raise deeper issues about what is the purpose of teaching ethics and of engaging in business. The author is Lecturer in Business Ethics in the Faculty of Business and Social Studies, Cheltenham & Gloucester College of Higher Education, Swindon Road, Cheltenham, Glos GL50 4AZ, UK.