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.     

Codes of Practice and Ethics in the UK Communications Industry

The media, advertising and public relations are all regulated in some degree by ethical codes of practice, but do they work and do they help practitioners? The author is Senior Lecturer in public relations and philosophy at Leeds Business School, Leeds Metropolitan University, Leeds LS2 8AF. She is currently preparing material for a new MA in Business Policy and Ethics, to be offered jointly by Leeds Metropolitan University and the University of Leeds.     

Business Sponsorship in British Schools

Is it ethical for a school to accept sponsorship from business, and if so under what conditions? Indeed, given the poor provision of many UK local schools for their pupils is it ethical to refuse business sponsorship? Where does responsibility lie? “To attract and persuade is not an appropriate behaviour in dealing with inexperienced parties.” The author completed her MBA at London Business School in July 1997 and is currently setting up a new family business, The Organic Food Company Ltd.     

In Defence Of Mutuality

“There was something a little unseemly about how the building societies intending to demutualise did so by encouraging their members to vote in favour with the inducement of significant payments in shares”. Should one have no regard for the intentions of those who produced the present capital accumulation, or for the idea of holding reserves in trust for future members? The author is DBM Professor of Corporate Governance at Leeds Business School, Leeds Metropolitan University, Calverley Street, Leeds LS1 3HE.     

Business policy,ethics and society

This section will cover (a) definition of business policy: strategic decisions in the enterprise; (b) ethical behaviour above and beyond the requirements of the law: what might this involve e.g. in respect of products and markets in which the business is prepared to operate? (c) does business have a responsibility towards ‘society’? For example, should businesses decide without being legally required to do so, to undertake activities which they think are in the national interest even if this may appear to conflict with strictly commercial interests? (d) if ethical/social decisions are required, who is to make them — at what levels of an enterprise — e.g. does the board make them all or are they also expected below board level? This section will also cover: (e) practical examples in the light of changing attitudes towards business and market behaviour in the 1980's and 1990's; (f) implications of attitudes towards corporate crime and of behaviour which may not be illegal but which may be regarded as ‘unacceptable’: this will be discussed with examples from experience in Australia and other countries. The section will first explain the meaning of the phrase ‘business policy’ and will briefly outline the kinds of strategic decision which have to be made in business enterprises. It will go on to consider whether there are things a business ‘ought’ or ‘ought not’ to do even if they are within the law. The section will illustrate these problems with examples in the light of changing attitudes towards business policy and market behaviour in the 1980's and 1990's. It will take into account some recent cases of corporate crime in Australia and elsewhere and also of behaviour which while neither against the law or outside the power of the board, might be thought ‘inappropriate’.     

FOCUS: Stakeholder Responsibilities: turning the ethical tables

Stakeholder theory aims at identifying those who have rights or interests at stake in business behaviour. Can we turn the tables and also consider what ethical responsibilities various stakeholders may have for the good behaviour of business? The author is Editor of this Review. This article contains material which also appeared in the Hugh Kay Memorial Lecture for 1993 delivered by the author under the auspices of the Christian Association of Business Executives, London.     

'Good and Bad'

If it's not good for something, then it's good for nothing. The Director of the Centre for Business and Professional Ethics at the University of Leeds continues her examination of basic terms frequently used in business ethics.     

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.     

Ethical Behaviour in the South African Organizational Context: Essential and Workable

The South African business world is increasingly characterised by the absence of clear ethical norms and behaviour. However, changing business circumstances has made South African organizations ethically more vulnerable. Furthermore, new perspectives on the benefits of ethical behaviour make the implementation thereof essential. A theoretical model of ethical behaviour for generating an improved understanding of ethical behaviour in organizational context is discussed. This model is used as a basis for presenting practical suggestions on the implementation of ethical behaviour in organizational context.     

Professional Ethics and The Culture of Trust

The cause of ethical failure in organisations often can be traced to their organisational culture and the failure on the part of the leadership to actively promote ethical ideals and practices. This is true of all types of organisations, including the professions, which in recent years have experienced ongoing ethical problems. The questions naturally arise: what sort of professional culture promotes ethical behaviour? How can it be implemented by a profession and engendered in the individual professional? The answers to these questions are of interest to business ethicists since the causes of ethical problems in business are often the same and the professions, as ethically challenged organisations, make useful and informative analogues for the measures to be adopted or avoided when the attempt is made to raise the ethical standards of business. Given this focus on the professions, it will be argued that the usual, direct attempts to control unethical behaviour by using codes of ethics, legislation and self-regulatory regimes, are not successful. The answer, it will be argued, lies in using an enforced self-regulation model that aims for ethics indirectly. Such a strategy seeks to develop a goal-orientated professional culture which is actively promoted by the leadership of the profession as well as the members. Specifically, the culture is one that seeks to promote trust in the profession and trustworthiness as a virtue exemplified in each individual. It will be argued that in order to develop a professional culture that cultivates trust a profession will need to develop certain institutions, programs and structures within the profession. I conclude by setting out a model of these trust-cultivating structures.     

An overview of corporate social responsibility in Greece: perceptions,developments and barriers to overcome

The objective of this paper is to provide an overview of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Greece and present the challenges that need to be met in order to further promote socially responsible business behaviour in the domestic economy. This is the first attempt to provide a systematic analysis of CSR in Greece and adds to the existing pool of knowledge of CSR embeddedness in countries where CSR awareness is still rather low, a literature field that is still quite limited. Drawing from prior literature, the paper is built around three basic questions in relation to the Greek context: how is CSR perceived by Greek business professionals? How is CSR practised in Greece? And which issues evident in the modern domestic environment act as underlying barriers to the broader dissemination of CSR in Greece? The extant empirical work suggests that, while CSR in Greece appears to be developing, there is still scope for improvement and further diffusion of relevant practices. While some of the patterns shaping CSR in Greece have been analysed, much work still remains to be carried out in extending and deepening our knowledge in this part of Europe.     

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: 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.     

Ganxi's Consequences: Personal Gains at Social Cost

Is guanxi ethical? This question is largely ignored in the existing literature. This paper examines the ethical dimension of guanxi by focusing on the consequences of guanxi in business, from ethically misgiving behaviour to outright corruption. Guanxi may bring benefits to individuals as well as the organisations they represent but these benefits are obtained at the expenses of other individuals or firms and thus detrimental to the society. As guanxi has an impact on the wider public other than the guanxi parties, it must be studied in the context of all stakeholders. It can be argued that guanxi is an inevitable evil under the current political and socio-economic systems in China. Its role and importance in business life will be diminished as the country moves towards an open market system.     

Uncharted territory: investigating individual business ethics in Cyprus

The research purpose of the study is to investigate and identify correlates of ethical behaviour and attitudes of individuals currently working or pursuing a business‐related graduate degree in Cyprus. Analysis of the quantitative questionnaire revealed that the majority of the respondents had a concept of ‘ethical behaviour’, consider ethics important, and hold attitudes that are conducive to ethical behaviour in business. In addition, findings revealed significant differences in three correlates: age, gender and position. Finally, reflecting the findings, the authors suggest specific actions that aim to improve ethical decision making in the Cyprus business environment.     

The Field of Business Sustainability and the Death Drive: A Radical Intervention

We argue that the gap between an authentically ethical conviction of sustainability and a behaviour that avoids confronting the terrifying reality of its ethical point of reference is characteristic of the field of business sustainability. We do not accuse the field of business sustainability of ethical shortcomings on the account of this attitude–behaviour gap. If anything, we claim the opposite, namely that there resides an ethical sincerity in the convictions of business scholars to entrust capitalism and capitalists with the mammoth task of reversing, the terrifying reality of ecological devastation. Yet, the very illusory nature of this belief in capitalism’s captains to save us from the environmentally devastating effects of capitalism gives this ethical stance a tragic beauty. While sincere and authentic, it nevertheless is an ethical stance that relies on an “exclusionary gesture of refusing to see” (?i?ek, in Violence, 2008, p. 52), what in psychoanalysis is referred to as a fetishist disavowal of reality. We submit that this disavowal is fetishistic because the act is not simply one of repressing the real. If it was, we would rightly expect that we could all see the truth if we only provide more or better information to fill the subject’s lack of knowledge. The problem is that the fetishist transfers a fantasy of the real as the real. In the case of destructive capitalism, the fetishist disavows that particular reality by believing in another, thus subjectively negating the lack (or gap). Therefore, from the perspective of psychoanalytic theory, we submit that the gap between attitude and behaviour is best understood not only as an ethical flaw, but also as an essential component of an ethics that makes possible the field of business sustainability.     

Business Practice, Ethics and the Philosophy of Morals in the Rome of Marcus Tullius Cicero

Moral behaviour, and more recently wisdom and prudence, are emerging as areas of interest in the study of business ethics and management. The purpose of this article is to illustrate that Cicero—lawyer, politician, orator and prolific writer, and one of the earliest experts in the field recognised the significance of moral behaviour in his society. Cicero wrote ‘Moral Duties’ (De Officiis) about 44 BC. He addressed the four cardinal virtues wisdom, justice, courage and temperance, illustrating how practical wisdom, theoretical/conceptual wisdom and justice were viewed in Rome of the first century BC. ‘Moral Duties’ is a letter admonishing his son, Marcus. It refers to personal behaviour, business practice and analyses terms such as good faith and criminal fraud. In addition, it contains material which would be suitable for tutorials/seminars and discussions, particularly in the areas of critical thinking in business ethics and general management. A study of De Officiis in respect to present day management and business practice could give a wider perspective to business ethics and management students. If concepts such as moral virtue, moral propriety and moral goodness, many of which seem to be ignored in business situations today, are to be embedded in business leaders of the future, it is reasonable to expect that these qualities will be analysed and discussed by business students today. Further, a study of Cicero’s six-step approach, when preparing an address/speech, could be useful and productive for practitioners and students in this area.     

How to write a winning business plan

Investors agree that a business plan is necessary to obtain funding for any business. What value does a business plan serve? What should the plan include? This article answers these questions and includes a complete outline of the contents of the business plan.     

Strategy analysis in the health service

The operation of provider units, both NHS Trusts and Directly Managed Units, as competitive organizations in the market place, is as yet rudimentary. Although some have achieved notoriety through radical “business” behaviour, there is little evidence that they have adopted scientific business practices in order to strengthen or re‐orientate their position in the market place. Neither is there as yet any hard evidence that such behaviour would be beneficial in the long term.

This paper describes an exercise of strategic market analysis used as a device to lead and inform the business planning process for an NHS Trust. The primary objective of the analysis is to identify hitherto unrecognized strategies which would enhance the position of the organization in the market place and also to identify areas where business development is possible and desirable.     

Taking the pulse: Ethics and the British Cooperative Bank

Policy statements on ethical issues abound. If all organisations which produce mission statements, codes of practice or ethical codes were, therefore, ethical in conduct and performance, business ethics would be non-problematic. However, the effectiveness of corporate codes of ethics is dependent, inter alia, on the day-to-day behaviour of managers.Interest in the impact of ethical codes and mission statements on managerial behaviour has grown in recent years. The assumption underlying this paper is that one way of enriching our understanding of the ethical behaviour of managers is to focus on actual behaviour in real organisations.This paper reports the findings of a research project aimed at discovering the extent to which the British Cooperative Bank's Ethical Policy influences the behaviour of those managers at the Bank who are responsible for achieving the Bank's objectives in acquiring new business in the corporate market.It seeks to explore the impact of the Bank's Ethical Policy on the day-to-day behaviour of a significant group of the Bank's managers.Alan Kitson obtained his first degree in Politics and his doctorate in the political theories of Hegel and Marx from the University of Nottingham. He is Head of Bolton Business School at the Bolton Institute, England and teaches business ethics to undergraduate and MBA students.