Business Ethics in South Africa

In this paper an assessment will be made of the state of Business Ethics as an academic discipline as well as on the extent to which theory on Business Ethics has been translated into practice within the South African society. First the way in which Business Ethics is defined will be examined. Then the issues within the field of Business Ethics that is considered to be most important will be addressed, as well as the reasons why it is believed to be important to address them. From there the attention will be shifted to the way in which Business Ethics has been institutionalised at tertiary education level. An overview of important initiatives taken by the business sector themselves will also be reviewed. Then co-operation between business and academia on Business Ethics will be discussed. Finally an assessment will be made of what can be learned from Business Ethics elsewhere in the world and what can be offered in this regard. Also some future prospects of Business Ethics in South Africa will be explored.     

The Effectiveness of Business Codes: A Critical Examination of Existing Studies and the Development of an Integrated Research Model

Business codes are a widely used management instrument. Research into the effectiveness of business codes has, however, produced conflicting results. The main reasons for the divergent findings are: varying definitions of key terms; deficiencies in the empirical data and methodologies used; and a lack of theory. In this paper, we propose an integrated research model and suggest directions for future research. Muel Kaptein is Professor of Business Ethics and Integrity Management at the Department of Business-Society Management at RSM Erasmus University. His research interests include the management of ethics, the measurement of ethics and the ethics of management. He has published papers in the Journal of Business Ethics, Business & Society, Organization Studies, Academy of Management Review, Business & Society Review, Corporate Governance, Policing, Public Integrity, and European Management Journal. He is the author of the books Ethics Management (Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1998),The Balanced Company (Oxford University Press, 2002), and The Six Principles of Managing with Integrity (Spiro Press, 2005). Muel is also director at KPMG Integrity, where he assisted more than 40 companies in developing their business code. Mark S. Schwartz is Assistant Professor of Goverance, Law and Ethics at the Atkinson School of Administrative Studies at York University (Toronto). His research interests include corporate ethics programs, ethical leadership, and corporate social responsibility. He has published papers in the Journal of Business Ethics, Business & Society, Business Ethics Quarterly, Professional Ethics, and the Journal of Management History, and is a co-author of the textbook Business Ethics: Readings and Cases in Corporate Morality (McGraw Hill). He is also a Research Fellow of the Center of Business Ethics (Bentley College) and the Business Ethics Center of Jerusalem (Jerusalem College of Technology).     

Ethical Corporate Consultancy

As ethical consultancy to business develops what are its principles, its methods and its possible pitfalls? The author is Professor of Business Ethics at the Netherlands School of Business, Nijenrode, and Chairman of the European Business Ethics Network.     

基于《电子商务发展“十一五”规划》的电商发展新动向展望

日前,我国首部《电子商务发展"十一五"规划》出台,这是我国电子商务发展的最高指导性文件,本文从解读《电子商务发展"十一五"规划》入手,以当前我国电子商务发展态势为现实基础,以《电子商务发展"十一五"规划》为理论依据,从微观角度对未来我国电子商务发展方向作出试探性展望。     

Why Stakeholder And Stockholder Theories Are Not Necessarily Contradictory: A Knightian Insight

The normative foundations of the investor centered model of corporate governance, represented in mainstream economics by the nexus-of-contracts view of the firm, have come under attack, mainly by proponents of normative stakeholder theory. We argue that the nexusof- contracts view is static and limited due to its assumption of price-output certainty. We attempt a synthesis of the nexus-of-contracts and the Knightian views, which provides novel insights into the normative adequacy of the investor-centered firm. Implications for scholarship and management practice follow from our discussion. S. Ramakrishna (Rama) Velamuri is Assistant Professor at IESE Business School, where he teaches Entrepreneurship and Negotiation in the MBA and executive education programs. He is also a visiting professor at the Indian School of Business in India, the University of Saarland in Germany, and the University of Piura in Peru. His research has been published in both academic and practitioner outlets: Journal of Business Venturing, Business Ethics Quarterly, Journal of Entrepreneurial Finance and Business Ventures (forthcoming), Universia Business Review, Financial Times Mastering Management Series, The Hindu, Business Line, Actualidad Economica, La Vanguardia, and Diario Financiero (Chile). He has also contributed several book chapter on enterpreneurship and strategy. He received a B.Com. degree from the University of Madras, an MBA from IESE Business School, and a Ph.D. from the Darden Graduate School of Business, University of Virginia. Sankaran Venkataraman (Venkat) is the MasterCard Professor of Business Administration at the Darden Graduate School of Business Adminstration, University of Virginia, where he teaches MBA and executive level courses in strategy and entrepreneurship. He also serves as the Director of Research of the Batten Institute and is the Editor of the Journal of Business Venturing. He consults with Fortune 500 firms as well as several small companies. He is advisor to firms, universities and government organizations. He is a speaker for and advisor to the Entrepreneurial Forum, a program of the International Trade Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce aimed at promoting trade through entrepreneurship around the world. He received his M.A. in Economics from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, India; his MBA from the Indian Institute of Management (Calcutta); and his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota.     

Does East Meet West in Business Ethics: An Introduction to the Special Issue

This article introduces and summarizes selected papers from the first World Business Ethics Forum held in Hong Kong and Macau in November 2006, co-hosted by the Hong Kong Baptist University and by the University of Macau. Business Ethics in the East remain distinct from those in the West, but the distinctions are becoming less pronounced and the ethical traffic flows both ways. Gabriel D, Donleavy is Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Business Administration at the University of Macau teaching Business Ethics, Business Negotiation and Advanced Management. His work has been published in Critical Perspectives in Accounting, Corporate Governance, the Journal of Business Ethics, Advances in Applied Business Strategy, the Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, Long Range Planning and the Asian Review of Accounting which he co-founded. Kit-Chun Joanna LAM is Professor in Department of Economics of the Hong Kong Baptist University. She is also Guest Professor in the Centre for Business Ethics of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, China. She received her Ph.D. degree in economics from Harvard University. Her work has appeared in the Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Labor Economics, Canadian Journal of Economics, Economica, Journal of Comparative Economics, and Labour Economics. Simon S.M. Ho is Dean and Professor at the School of Business and Director for Corporate Governance and Financial Policy, Hong Kong Baptist University. He founded the Asia-Pacific Corporate Governance Conference and the world’s first master programme in corporate governance & directorship in 2004. He published over 40 academic refereed articles in leading journals such as Journal of Accounting, Accounting & Finance, Journal of Accounting & Public Policy, and Journal of Corporate Finance.     

The Sine-Egyptian Joint Business Council Business Forum Held

On December 25, Chairman Wan Jifei led the Chinese business delegation attending the Sino-Egyptian Joint Business Council Business Forum co-hosted by the CCPIT and the Sino-Egyptian Business Council in Cairo, Egypt. Chinese vice Premier Li Keqiang who was on a visit to Egypt attended the forum and addressed the opening ceremony.     

International Business Research and Game Theory: Looking beyond the Prisoner's Dilemma

This article outlines the un-mined potential of Game Theory for International Business (IB) research. Game Theory has been only rarely used in International Business – particularly, in comparison to transaction cost economics and the resource based view. Although its applications to International Business problems do exist, there is considerably more potential for its refinements to be related to topics of uncertainty and dynamics in strategic interactions in International Business. There is more to Game Theory than the Prisoner's Dilemma.     

The compleat executive: The state of international business education and some future directions

This essay examines the current state of International Business education worldwide and comments on evolving trends. The degree of internationalization of curricula at the undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral levels is examined. In a world facing the contrary pulls of global consumerism versus the search for a local identity, what exactly should the manager learn about International Business in order to complete his or her education? The essay also examines alternative methods for organizing International Business studies at universities, as well as in the growing number of off-site and certificate programs. It also ventures opinions on the value of an International Business major in the job market for graduating students, on whether the International Business label confers an advantage on faculty, or whether it confers a stigma, and on academic orthodoxies which have slowed the internationalization of business curricula.     

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.     

Are deontology and teleology mutually exclusive?

Current discussions of business ethics usually only consider deontological and utilitarian approaches. What is missing is a discussion of traditional teleology, often referred to as virtue ethics. While deontology and teleology are useful, they both suffer insufficiencies. Traditional teleology, while deontological in many respects, does not object to utilitarian style calculations as long as they are contained within a moral framework that is not utilitarian in its origin. It contains the best of both approaches and can be used to focus on the individual's role within an organization. More work is needed in exposing students and faculty to traditional teleology and its place in business ethic's discussions.Dr. James E. Macdonald received a Master of Business Administration, a Ph.D in Philosophy, and a J.D. He is a founding member of the Business Ethics section of the Academy of Legal Studies in Business and past-president of the Rocky Mountain Academy of Legal Studies in Business.Professor Caryn L. Beck-Dudley received a Juris Doctorate. She is a member of the Business Ethics sections of the Academy of Legal Studies in Business and the Society of Business Ethics. She has published several articles and in 1993 she received the Holmes-Cardozo award from the Academy of Legal Studies in Business for outstanding paper submitted and presented at the national meeting. She is currently secretary-treasure of the Academy of Legal Studies in Business.     

China-South Asia Expecting Closer Cooperation

On June 5,the 5th China-South Asia Business Forum,sponsored by CCPIT,Yunnan Provincial Government,South Asia Federation of Business Associations(SAFBA),CCPIT Yunnan SubCouncil and China-South Asia Business Forum Secretary,was held in Kunming,Yunnan Province.This forum got support from the business circles of the South Asian countries,and India     

浅议高职高专商务英语综合课改革

本文通过对高职高专商务英语专业商务英语综合课的教学实践探索，发现了一些教学中的问题，并在前人研究的基础上，结合该校学生的实际状况，提出有益于商务英语综合课程改革的意见和建议。     

Urban Living and Business Responsibility

What are the responsibilities of a business towards the city in which it operates? The Professor of Business Ethics at Nijenrode University, the Netherlands Business School suggests three practical ways of identifying them. This article is the substance of a paper which he delivered as Chairman of the European Business Ethics Network at its 1992 Conference in Paris.     

The corporate social responsiveness orientation of board members: Are there differences between inside and outside directors?

Differences and similarities between inside and outside board members with regard to their attitudes toward corporate social responsibility are examined. The results indicate that outside directors exhibit greater concern about the discretionary component of corporate responsibility and a weaker orientation toward economic performance. No significant differences between the two groups were observed with respect to the legal and ethical dimensions of corporate social responsibility. Some explanations as well as limited generalizations and implications are developed.Nabil Ibrahim is the Grover Maxwell Professor of Business Administration at Augusta College, Augusta, Georgia. He teaches courses in Strategic Management and Organizational Behavior. Dr. Ibrahim's articles have appeared in theJournal of Business Ethics, theJournal of Applied Business Research, andHealth Care Management Review as well as various other journals and proceedings.John Angelidis is Assistant Professor of Management at St. John's University, New York, NY. He teaches courses in Strategic Management and International Business. Dr. Angelidis has published articles in theMid-Atlantic Journal of Business, theJournal of Applied Business Research, andBusiness Review, as well as in various other journals and proceedings.     

"义乌商圈":形成机理与发展趋势--三论"义乌模式"

本文是作者研究“义乌模式”的新作,系1999年、2002年发表的“一论”、“再论”的续篇。文章提出,“义乌商圈”是国内外所有与义乌中国小商品城市场或企业有着紧密经济联系的经济主体或区域,以及由此形成的区域经济分工合作与交流网络。目前,“义乌商圈”已具雏形,其今后演进的必然趋势,就是再经过一、二十年的发展,使义乌成为浙江中西部地区的商务中心(即中央商务区),可简称为浙中商务中心。为了促进浙中商务中心的建设和义乌商圈的健康发展,必须采取提高自主创新能力、改善软硬环境等举措,实现“义乌模式”的创新。     

基于游客参与的乡村旅游开发策略研究

乡村旅游是当前全域旅游发展新动能的重要载体。乡村旅游发展的关键在于有效且广泛地吸引游客参与。探究游客的出游行为对明确乡村旅游发展方向、开发乡村旅游市场具有重要意义。从游客的出游意愿出发,通过问卷调查充分挖掘影响乡村旅游参与的影响因素,并以此为基础,结合全域旅游观念,提出创新旅游产品、发力细分市场,创新资源形态、创建全域旅游品牌,创新运营模式、拓展乡村旅游+等乡村旅游开发策略。     

商业伦理的构建——公司治理的一个视角

在经济飞速发展的今天,商业伦理正越来越受到高度重视。商业伦理本身并不具有法律意义上的强制性,但它具有道德意义上的导向性和自我约束性,是一个企业乃至一个商业社会和谐、长远发展的基石。同时,商业伦理也是人们在追求商业利益过程中应当遵循的道德原则。     

The First 50 Years of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Business Economics</Emphasis>

This article traces the history of Business Economics, focusing first on its institutional history—its beginnings, key contributors, debates on its content, and shifts in editorial policy. It then turns to discussion of particular articles that are distinguished either by the judgment of Business Economics’ Editorial Board or whose authors have been honored by the National Association for Business Economics for their outstanding service. The article also presents trends in the sources and content of Business Economics over its 50-year history.     

Business Strategy and Poverty Alleviation

Currently, entrepreneurs and corporations overwhelmingly do not view the alleviation of global poverty as a strategic priority. Yet business activity can have a negative as well as a positive effect on each distinctive form of poverty. In order to reduce poverty, entrepreneurs have to find ways of limiting the negative aspects. This might be achieved by deliberately augmenting strategies so that they can achieve a synthesis, in partnership with governments and NGO’s. Alan E. Singer is a reader in strategy at the university of Canterbury. He was the 2004/5 Aram chair of Business Ethics at Gonzaga. He is author of Strategy as Rationality (Avebury), Co editor (with Pat Werhane) of Business Ethics in Theory and Practice (Kluwer) and editor of Business Ethics and Strategy (Ashgate, forthcoming). He has written journal articles on many aspects of strategy and decision making and has served on the editorial boards of Journal of Business Ethics (to 2003), Human Systems Management, Journal of International Entrepreneurship, African Journal of Business Ethics and the Journal of Economic Development and Business Policy.