The moral status of the corporation

Corporations are moral persons to the extent that they have rights and duties, but their moral personality is severely limited. As artificial persons, they lack the emotional make-up that allows natural persons to show virtues and vices. That fact, taken with the representative function of management, places significant limitations on what constitutes ethical behavior by management. A common misunderstanding of those limitations can lead ethical managers to behave unethically and can lead the public to have improper expectations of corporations. Bob Ewin is Associate Professor of Philosophy at The University of Western Australia. He is the author of Co-operation and Human Values(1981), Liberty, Community, and Justice(1987), and Virtues and Rights: The Moral Philosophy of Thomas Hobbes(forthcoming).     

The corporate social challenge for the multinational corporation

The modern corporation has come to be regarded as a dynamic force for subverting traditional norms in repressive societies. However, the role that MNCs can play in transforming the socio-political landscapes of most host countries is largely circumscribed by the actions that host governments can take. In the case of South Africa, the vast disparities and inequalities created and maintained by many years ofapartheid rule are limiting factors to the trickle-down effect that would normally take place. The paper argues that under the existing circumstances, the corporate withdrawal strategy proved to be the most effective catalytic role MNCs could play in the transformation of SA society.The author, holder of an M.B.A. and a Ph.D. in Strategic Management, is a native of South Africa. He lived there and worked for a large MNC prior to going to the U.S. nine years ago. He teaches at the University of Massachusetts' School of Management in the areas of Business Policy & Strategy, Organization Theory, and Business and Its Environment. He is the Director of the M.B.A. program.     

Integrity in the corporation: The plight of corporate product advocates

The integrity of corporate product advocates (advertisers and salespersons) is questionable for the same reason the integrity of lawyers is questionable. In both cases the requirements of a professional role inevitably lead to forms of deception. However, the integrity of lawyers has been taken to be a more serious issue than the integrity of product advocates. I consider why this is so, and I conclude that we should pay more attention to the integrity issue in the corporate case. In addition, I consider a parallel set of arguments that purport to justify a lack of integrity among product advocates and lawyers respectively. According to these arguments, a great social good is obtained from the institutions, corporate and legal, of which these persons are essential participants. Against these arguments, I emphasize the overriding importance of integrity, both within institutions and in society at large.     

The morality of software piracy: A cross-cultural analysis

Software piracy is a damaging and important moral issue, which is widely believed to be unchecked in particular areas of the globe. This cross-cultural study examines differences in morality and behavior toward software piracy in Singapore versus the United States, and reviews the cultural histories of Asia versus the United States to explore why these differences occur. The paper is based upon pilot data collected in the U.S. and Singapore, using a tradeoff analysis methodology and analysis. The data reveal some fascinating interactions between the level of ethical transgression and the rewards or consequences which they produce.William R. Swinyard is a Professor of Business Management and holder of the Fred G. Meyer Chair of Retailing at Brigham Young University. Professor Swinyard publishes widely in many top marketing journals, and his work has appeared previously in this journal. Heikki Rinne is an Associate Professor of Business Management at Brigham Young University. He has published in numerous academic journals including the Journal of Marketing Research, the Journal of Retailing, the European Journal of Operational Research, the Journal of Retailing, etc. Ah Keng KAU is an Associate Professor with the Department of Marketing, National University of Singapore, and was previously Director of the School of Postgraduate Management Studies and Head of the Department of Marketing there. Dr. Kau has published papers in many western and international journals.     

Accountability and the public benefit corporation

Can benefit corporations be held accountable for delivering requisite public goods? An oft-cited criticism is that they cannot, but little empirical research exists to support that claim. Based on an in-depth case study of the oldest corporation to amend its governing documents as a public benefit corporation (PBC) under Delaware law, this article suggests that a company can be held accountable for delivering requisite public goods when external mechanisms are accompanied by an organization’s internal commitment to self-awareness, learning, and measurement. In the case in question, the company established a three-pillar structure focused on professional engagement, community support, and charitable giving built on a 6-year-old sustainability initiative, accompanied by an adaptive learning culture, and driven by top-down and bottom-up efforts. Current challenges include measuring impact and branding the PBC to grow the company’s business.