Plato's Statesman and the nature of business leadership: An analysis from an ethical point of view

Plato's paradigm for statesmanship in the Statesman, the “weaving” of temperate and courageous properties, provides the contemporary business ethics theorist with an aid for determining certain problems and solutions with regard to business leadership. The history of American business values manifests the destructive, and especially unethical, effects of deviating from this paradigm by over-emphasizing one or the other of the above types of qualities. However, with the aid of Plato's model for leadership in the Statesman and suggestions from Peters and Waterman's In Search of Excellence, progress can be made towards constructing an adequate model for corporate leadership, especially from an ethical standpoint.     

Ethics from the top: top management and ethical business

Codes of ethics and conduct typically demand the highest standard of ethical behaviour from every single employee. This implies a democratic or lobbyist understanding of ethics in business. The contrasting view would argue that business ethics is an elitist undertaking that can only be instigated from the top, by managing directors or owner managers. This article looks at three types of ethical businesses, three types of approaches to ethical problem-solving, and three possible incentives for ethical business to see which of the above is more convincing. It will be argued that the impulse for value-driven business has to come from the top. Only top management and owner managers have the opportunity to foster major change in business practice.     

Participation in the organization: An ethical analysis from the papal social tradition

How one structures an organization is not only important from the perspective of productivity and efficiency, but primarily how it affects the moral formation of those who are employed in that organization. Organizational structures whether in the manufacturing, service or non-profit sector have moral dimensions that cannot be escaped. Papal social tradition has been concerned about the moral formation of all workers within the organization. This tradition has maintained that an essential component to a humane organizational structure is participation of those involved in the organization, and consequently that participation must be understood primarily in terms of the formation of employees. This article explores the papal social tradition's understanding of participation and examines its significance in today's organizational environment, particularly in reference to work-teams.Michael Naughton is an assistant professor at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN. He holds a joint appointment in the theology and management departments. He received his Ph.D. in theology, where he studied social ethics and organizational theory. He is currently finishing his MBA at the University of St. Thomas. He is the author ofThe Good Stewards which examines the relationship between organizational issues and the Catholic social tradition. He has also published several articles and has delivered several papers, presentations, and workshops on organizational issues and the Christian social tradition.     

A corporate model of sustainable business practices: An ethical perspective

This paper considers contemporary business practice and its sustainable performance from the view of stakeholders and their perceived value. A company has responsibilities and commitments to many different internal and external stakeholders in the marketplace and society. This view underlines the need for organizations to, not only provide value, but do so in a sustainable and socially responsible manner. A model is developed based on five, separate but interconnected, elements. The model is iterative and acknowledges its elementary state, suggesting further development and refinement in the field of sustainable business practices from an ethical perspective.     

An integrative model for understanding and managing ethical behavior in business organizations

Managing ethical behavior is a one of the most pervasive and complex problems facing business organizations today. Employees' decisions to behave ethically or unethically are influenced by a myriad of individual and situational factors. Background, personality, decision history, managerial philosophy, and reinforcement are but a few of the factors which have been identified by researchers as determinants of employees' behavior when faced with ethical dilemmas. The literature related to ethical behavior is reviewed in this article, and a model for understanding ethical behavior in business organizations is proposed. It is concluded that managing ethics in business organizations requires that managers engage in a concentrated effort which involves espousing ethics, behaving ethically, developing screening mechanisms, providing ethical training, creating ethics units and reinforcing ethical behavior. W. Edward Stead, Ph.D., is Professor of Management at East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN. His research interests include ethical behavior, cancer in the workplace, social strategy implementation, the ethical implications of cost-benefit analysis, and managing professional employees. His articles have appeared in Psychological Reports, Personnel Journal, Business and Society Review, and the Journal of Accountancy among others, and he has published cases in leading business policy and social responsibility texts. Dan L. Worrell, Ph.D., is Professor of Management and Department Chairperson at Appalachian State University, Boone, NC. He has published articles in such Journals as Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Management, Business Horizons, and Psychological Reports among others. His research interests include managerial succession, ethical behavior and social responsibility. Jean Garner Stead, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Management at East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN. Her research interests include ethical behavior, cancer in the work place, social strategy implementation, and the ethical implications of cost-benefit analysis. Her articles have appeared in Psychological Reports, Personnel Journal, Business and Society Review and the International Journal of Management among others, and she has published cases in leading business policy and social responsibility texts.     

Alienation and empowerment: Some ethical imperatives in business

The issue of worker alienation in the context of business ethics is critically examined. From a normative perspective, it is assumed that the minimal ethical requirement in business should include accountability for adverse consequences of management practice for workers in organizations. Using this standard, managerial actions that are responsible for worker alienation are considered unethical. The nature of work alienation and the organizational conditions responsible for it are outlined. Several dealienation measures in the form of empowerment strategies for management are presented as ethical imperatives.Rabindra N. Kanungo, Chaired Professor of Management, McGill University. Concentrating on the basic and applied areas of psychology and management, his publications include eight books and more than 100 articles in professional journals.The preparation of the paper is supported by the Power Corp. International Management Centre. The author is thankful to Manuel Mendonca for his suggestions and critical comments.     

Leading by example: Testing a moderated mediation model of ethical leadership,value congruence,and followers' openness to ethical influence

In this study, we investigate a key question of ethical leadership theory: Are ethical leaders able to gain followers' openness to their ethical influence? When describing ethical leadership, we distinguish between leaders’ moral person behavior (i.e., behaviors that are normatively appropriate) and moral management (i.e., using position power to reinforce ethical standards). We then draw on mechanisms of social learning and social exchange and test a moderated mediation model. It is predicted that the effect of leaders' moral person behavior on followers’ openness to ethical influence is mediated by leader‐follower ethical value congruence. Moreover, we examine whether moral management amplifies the effects of moral person behavior. For hypothesis testing, existing measures from the literature are integrated to operationalize four underlying normative reference points of leaders' moral person behavior: humane, justice, responsibility/sustainability, and moderation orientation. After establishing the psychometric properties of this integrative measure, the main hypotheses are tested in two separate studies. While results showed a positive effect of leaders' moral person behavior on followers' openness to ethical influence through ethical value congruence, the moderating effect of moral management was, contrary to our expectation, negative. With this, our study contributes to a better understanding of the mechanisms of ethical leadership.     

The rising tide of artificial intelligence and business automation: Developing an ethical framework

Recent advancements in robotics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and sensors now enable machines to automate activities that once seemed safe from disruption—including tasks that rely on higher-level thinking, learning, tacit judgment, emotion sensing, and even disease detection. Despite these advancements, the ethical issues of business automation and artificial intelligence—and who will be affected and how—are less understood. In this article, we clarify and assess the cultural and ethical implications of business automation for stakeholders ranging from laborers to nations. We define business automation and introduce a novel framework that integrates stakeholder theory and social contracts theory. By integrating these theoretical models, our framework identifies the ethical implications of business automation, highlights best practices, offers recommendations, and uncovers areas for future research. Our discussion invites firms, policymakers, and researchers to consider the ethical implications of business automation and artificial intelligence when approaching these burgeoning and potentially disruptive business practices.     

When organizations are too good: Applying Aristotle's doctrine of the mean to the corporate ethical virtues model

Aristotle's doctrine of the mean states that a virtue is the mean state between two vices: a deficient and an excessive one. The Corporate Ethical Virtues (CEV) Model defines the mean and the corresponding deficient vice for each of its seven virtues. This paper defines for each of these virtues the corresponding excessive vice and explores why organizations characterized by these excessive vices increase the likelihood that their employees will behave unethically. The excessive vices are patronization, pompousness, lavishness, zealotry, overexposure, talkativeness, and oppressiveness.     

Promoting ethical reflection in the teaching of business ethics

A case study provides the basis for consideration of the purpose of business ethics teaching, the importance of reflection and the evaluation of ethics teaching. The way in which personal reflection and an increased capacity for ethical action can be encouraged and openly identified as aims of the course is discussed. The paper considers changes in the design and delivery of the international management ethics and values course taught at the University of South Australia as part of the undergraduate management degree in Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong. As a result of student and teaching staff responses, and course evaluations, the course design, teaching and assessment has moved steadily toward an aim which explicitly refers to behaviour, without losing the significant conceptual base. Ways in which opportunities can be provided to enhance the development of a reflective capability are considered, including narrative, role models, ethical reflection, journal‐keeping and practice. The changes required a change in assessment practice. The difficulties of assessing intention and commitment to ethical action, whether in an individual course or across the curriculum, are discussed.     

FOCUS: Coping with Scepticism: about the philosopher's role in teaching ethical business

A philosopher looks at the scepticism of some of her colleagues about just what the study of ethics can contribute to ethical business, and argues that its main purpose is to help business people to engage in constructive ethical dialogue in society as well as in their corporation. The author is a regular contributor to this Review, and Director of the Centre for Business and Professional Ethics, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT.     

In search of ethical profits: Insights from strategic management

This paper expands the focus of ethical analysis to look at the basic approaches to strategy used by business firms. Using a set of criteria historically used to judge ethical issues, three strategy paradigms are evaluated in terms of their likely effects on society as well as the firm. From this analysis, recommendations are offered regarding the ethical pursuit of profit and suggestions made for future research into the relationship between strategy and ethics.Grant Miles is currently completing work on his doctorate in Business Administration. His research and teaching interests lie in the area of strategic management with particular interests in exploring adaptive strategies which may benefit both firms and the larger society.     

Introduction: Thought leadership in brand management

This special issue contains eight articles developed from presentations at the fourth annual Thought Leaders' International Conference on Brand Management, held in Birmingham, UK in April 2008. Following a blind reviewing process, 65 papers were accepted and presented at the conference and all authors had the opportunity to revise their papers for possible inclusion in this special issue. A further round of double blind reviewing resulted in the selection of these eight articles. This introduction presents an overview of this thought-leading research into brand management.     

Trends in international business thought and literature: Traversing the path to insolvency: Lessons from an international alliance in management education

In 1988 the Madrid Business School (MBS) was created through a cooperative agreement between a small entrepreneurial firm in Madrid, Spain, and a large public institution of higher education in the United States. By mid-1994 MBS was financially insolvent and had closed. Discussion of this case focuses on two questions: first, could the American partner have taken any actions to increase the likelihood of MBS as a viable institution? Second, what constitutes a strategic approach to international cooperative agreements? Both issues offer lessons for entering into and participating in international cooperative agreements in higher education.     

The role of change management in implementing the offshore outsourcing business model: a processual view

By means of the case study approach, the nature and process of organizational change related to the implementation of offshore IT outsourcing and the effectiveness of approaches used to manage this change were examined in three information systems departments of a multinational pharmaceutical company. The findings reveal that a combination of contextual factors influenced the adoption and use of offshore outsourcing. Organizational factors involved in the diagnosis and planning as well as implementation phases that contribute to or prevent the successful management of change are identified, and the most commonly reported effects of change resulting from offshore outsourcing are also analyzed.     

Playing by the rules: ethical criteria at an ethical investment fund

Although ethical investment is a growing phenonenon which attracts a signficant amount of media interest, relatively little has been written about the internal operations of ethical investment funds. Using a variety of sources, including interviews with a fund manager and participant observation at meetings of the fund's ethical advisory committee, this paper examines the decision making of one ethical unit trust operating in the United Kingdom. In particular, it describes the development of the ethical criteria and the ways in which their implementation was monitored. Several significant parallels between publicly stated ethical investment criteria and corporate codes of ethics are then discusssed.     

A curriculum model for IT infrastructure management in undergraduate business schools

As information technology infrastructure becomes strategic to organizations, the author examines business-school programs that educate future infrastructure analysts. Information systems (IS) 2010 and information technology (IT) 2008 curriculum models are used to survey courses required by telecommunications and IT infrastructure programs in business schools. Of 525 Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business–accredited schools, 259 have IS/IT programs and 18 have telecommunications and infrastructure-related programs. IT Infrastructure, Networking-Advanced, and IT Security are the top three infrastructure-related courses. Programs also require courses including IS Project Management; Social and Professional Issues; and IS Strategy, Management and Acquisition. Data collected are used to develop a new curriculum model of IT infrastructure management program that can be offered by business schools.