Business Ethics
Business Ethics: Concepts and Cases is founded on a compre- hensive explanation of ethical theory and its relationship to business practices. Its fundamental perspective is the view that ethical behavior is the best long-term business strategy for a company. By this, I do not mean that ethical behavior is never costly. Nor do I mean that ethical behavior is always rewarded or that unethical behavior is always pun- ished. It is obvious, in fact, that unethical behavior some- times pays off, and that ethical behavior can impose serious losses on a company. When I argue that ethical behavior is the best long-range business strategy, I mean merely that over the long run, and for the most part, ethical behavior can give a company important competitive advantages over companies that are not ethical.
The primary aims of this text remain the same as in earlier versions. They are as follows:
To introduce the reader to the ethical concepts that are relevant to resolving moral issues in business
To impart the reasoning and analytical skills needed to apply ethical concepts to business decisions
To identify the moral issues involved in the manage- ment of specific problem areas in business
To provide an understanding of the social, technologi- cal, and natural environments within which moral issues in business arise
To explore case studies of moral dilemmas faced by businesses and business people