Ethics and the Conduct of Business

In This Section:

I. Author Bio

II. Author Letter

John R. Boatright, the Raymond C. Baumhart, S.J., Professor of Business Ethics at Loyola University Chicago, is a past president and past executive director of the Society for Business Ethics.  He serves on the editorial boards of Business Ethics Quarterly, Journal of Business Ethics, and Business and Society Review,  he is the author of Ethics in Finance and editor of Finance Ethics.

Dear Colleague,

I am writing to introduce you to the seventh edition of Ethics and the Conduct of Business, or if you are familiar with previous editions, to explain the improvements.

I have discovered that teaching business ethics is a very personal matter. We all have our own ideas about what should be covered and how the subject should be taught. My own ideas have evolved over the years as events in business and thinking in the field have developed. I find that my students have changed as well. In preparing successive editions of Ethics and the Conduct of Business, I have aimed not only to stay up to date but also to maintain flexibility so that instructors can combine the textbook material and cases with their own preferences in approach and coverage.

The first decision in adopting a textbook in business ethics is between single-author works and anthologies. I have tried to combine the best of both by including a wide range of positions and arguments that typify an anthology along with a unifying focus in which the different voices are engaged in a common discussion. In writing the book, I have avoided presenting a distinctive view of my own but have attempted, instead, to be an informative guide through the many debates that occur over the issues considered. The format of most chapters is to identify the most important issues—posed by privacy, say, or advertising or employee rights—describe the major positions that have been taken on these issues, and then explain and evaluate the arguments for and against each of these positions. This issue-positions-arguments organization has the advantages of presenting ongoing debates in a comprehensive, balanced, and rigorous manner that allows students to think for themselves and discover where they stand. The ultimate benefit of this approach is to facilitate exciting and constructive classroom discussion.

The most substantial change in the new edition is in the presentation of applied ethical reasoning. Although Ethics and the Conduct of Business still has a chapter on major ethical theories, it is preceded by the presentation of a novel framework that I have developed in my own teaching. It begins with an examination of the ethics of market trades or exchanges. What rules apply to buyers and sellers in purely voluntary, arm’s-length transactions? I then show that much business activity occurs when people take themselves out of the market by agreeing to assume certain roles and relationships with new responsibilities. Thus, much of business activity occurs among economic agents who are not engaging in simple economic exchanges but have chosen to organize their productive activity in roles and relationships, including firms. Please take a look at the treatment of applied ethical reasoning in the new edition, and I believe you and your students will find it very helpful.

Rare is the instructor who is completely happy with any of the business ethics textbooks on the market. Hence, the number that keeps increasing. I began writing this one twenty years ago because I was dissatisfied with the textbooks available at the time, and you may think that only you could write the ideal textbook for your own use. Short of doing that, please let me know how Ethics and the Conduct of Business could be revised to better fit your needs. Every previous new edition has benefited from the sage advice of users. Write to me at jboatri@luc.edu, and I will respond to your comments.

Please examine this new seventh edition carefully, and I hope you will join the many instructors worldwide who have found that the approach and content of this textbook best fit their own ideas about teaching business ethics.

With all best wishes,

Loyola University of Chicago

Preface 
        Acknowledgments
Chapter 1    Ethics in the World of Business

Chapter 2    Ethical Decision Making
Chapter 3    Ethical Theories
Chapter 4    Whistle-Blowing
Chapter 5    Trade Secrets and Conflict of Interest
Chapter 6    Privacy
Chapter 7    Discrimination and Affirmative Action
Chapter 8    Employment Rights
Chapter 9    Occupational Health and Safety  

Chapter 10    Marketing, Advertising, and Product Safety

Chapter 11    Ethics in Finance

Chapter 12    Corporate Social Responsibility

Chapter 13    Corporate Governance and Accountability

Chapter 14    International Business Ethics 
        Index

2. COMPREHENSIVE

Preface 
        Acknowledgments

Chapter 1    Ethics in the World of Business
CASE 1.1 Merck and the Marketing Vioxx
INTRODUCTION
BUSINESS DECISION MAKING
CASE 1.2 The Ethics of Hardball
ETHICS, ECONOMICS, AND LAW
ETHICS AND MANAGEMENT
ETHICS IN ORGANIZATIONS
CASE 1.3 Beech-Nut’s Bogus Apple Juice
CASE 1.4 KPMG’s Tax Shelter Business

Chapter 2    Ethical Decision Making
CASE 2.1 HP and the Smart Chip
INTRODUCTION
MARKET ETHICS    
ROLES, RELATIONSHIPS AND FIRMS
ETHICAL REASONING
CASE 2.2 Lavish Pay at Harvard
CASE 2.3 Fraud at WorldCom
CASE 2.4 Broken Trust at Bankers Trust
 
Chapter 3    Ethical Theories
CASE 3.1 Big Brother at Procter & Gamble
INTRODUCTION
UTILITARIANISM
KANTIAN ETHICS
VIRTUE ETHICS
RIGHTS AND JUSTICE
CASE 3.2 Exporting Pollution
CASE 3.3 Clean Hands in a Dirty Business
CASE 3.4 A Sticky Situation
CASE 3.5 An Auditor's Dilemma

Chapter 4     Whistle-Blowing
CASE 4.1 Time’s Persons of the Year
INTRODUCTION
WHAT IS WHISTLE-BLOWING?
THE JUSTIFICATION OF WHISTLE-BLOWING
IS THERE A RIGHT TO BLOW THE WHISTLE?
DEVELOPING A WHISTLE-BLOWING POLICY
CASE 4.2 A Whistle-Blower Accepts a “Deal”
CASE 4.3 A Whistle-Blower’s Quandary

Chapter 5    Trade Secrets and Conflict of Interest
CASE 5.1 The Aggressive Ad Agency
INTRODUCTION
TRADE SECRET PROTECTION
COMPETITOR INTELLIGENCE GATHERING
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
CASE 5.2 The Conflict of an Insurance Broker
CASE 5.3 Procter & Gamble Goes Dumpster Diving

Chapter 6    Privacy
CASE 6.1 Psychological Testing at Dayton Hudson
INTRODUCTION
CHALLENGES TO PRIVACY
THE MEANING AND VALUE OF PRIVACY
THE PRIVACY OF EMPLOYEE RECORDS
PRIVACY ON THE INTERNET
CASE 6.2 Information Handling at ChoicePoint
CASE 6.3 Plugging Leaks at HP

Chapter 7    Discrimination and Affirmative Action
CASE 7.1 Race Discrimination at Texaco
INTRODUCTION
WHAT IS DISCRIMINATION?
SEXUAL HARASSMENT
ARGUMENTS AGAINST DISCRIMINATION
AVOIDING DISCRIMINATION AND HARASSMENT
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
CASE 7.2 Jacksonville Shipyards
CASE 7.3 Sex Discrimination at Wal-Mart

Chapter 8    Employment Rights
CASE 8.1 The Firing of Robert Greeley
INTRODUCTION
UNJUST DISMISSAL
EXPRESSION AND PARTICIPATION
JUST COMPENSATION
CASE 8.2 Worker Participation at Saturn
CASE 8.3 Health Benefits at Wal-Mart

Chapter 9    Occupational Health and Safety
CASE 9.1 When Is an Accident a Crime?
INTRODUCTION
THE SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM
CASE 9.2 Whirlpool Corporation 2
THE RIGHT TO KNOW ABOUT AND REFUSE HAZARDOUS WORK
CASE 9.3 Johnson Controls, Inc.
THE PROBLEM OF REPRODUCTIVE HAZARDS
CASE 9.4 Genetic Testing at Burlington Northern

Chapter 10    Marketing, Advertising, and Product Safety
CASE 10.1 Selling Hope
INTRODUCTION
MARKETING
ADVERTISING
PRODUCT SAFETY
CASE 10.2 Volvo’s “Bear Foot” Misstep
CASE 10.3 The Ford–Firestone Brawl

Chapter 11    Ethics in Finance
CASE 11.1 Merrill Lynch and the Nigerian Barge Deal
INTRODUCTION
FINANCIAL SERVICES
FINANCIAL MARKETS
INSIDER TRADING
HOSTILE TAKEOVERS
CASE 11.2 Strong Capital Management Mutual Funds
CASE 11.3 Martha Stewart: Inside Trader?
CASE 11.4 Oracle’s Hostile Bid for PeopleSoft

Chapter 12    Corporate Social Responsibility 347
CASE 12.1 Competing Visions at Malden Mills
INTRODUCTION
THE DEBATE OVER CSR
THE BUSINESS CASE FOR CSR
IMPLEMENTING CSR
CASE 12.2 Starbucks and Fair Trade Coffee
CASE 12.3 Timberland and Community Service

Chapter 13    Corporate Governance and Accountability
CASE 13.1 Shareholder Rights at Cracker Barrel
INTRODUCTION
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
CASE 13.2 Bath Iron Works
CORPORATE ETHICS
CORPORATE ACCOUNTABILITY
CASE 13.3 Sears Auto Centers
CASE 13.4 The Sale of Transunion

Chapter 14    International Business Ethics
CASE 14.1 Mattel’s Toy Woes
INTRODUCTION
DIFFERENT STANDARDS
GUIDELINES FOR MULTINATIONALS
WAGES AND WORKING CONDITIONS
FOREIGN BRIBERY
HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES
CASE 14.2 H. B. Fuller in Honduras
CASE 14.3 Bribery at Siemens
CASE 14.4 Google in China 
        Index

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