Business Ethics

Business Ethics: An Ethical Decision-Making Approach presents a practical decision-making framework to aid in the identification, understanding, and resolution of complex ethical dilemmas in the workplace.

• Focuses exclusively on three basic aspects of ethical decision making and behavior—how it actually takes place, how it should take place, and how it can be improved
• Uses real-life examples of moral temptations and personal ethical dilemmas faced by employees and managers
• Discusses the biases, psychological tendencies, moral rationalizations, and impact of self-interest as impediments to proper ethical decision making
• Includes relevant examples of ethical misconduct and scandals appearing in the news media

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction to Ethical Decision Making 1

Part One Descriptive Theory 21

1 What Determines Ethical Behavior? 23

2 The Ethical Decision-Making Process 59

3 Impediments to Proper Ethical Decision Making 93

Part Two Normative Framework 127

4 Distinguishing Right from Wrong 129

5 The Decision to Report Misconduct 159

Part Three Practical Application 189

6 Developing and Sustaining an Ethical Corporate Culture 191

7 What Would You Do? Common Workplace Dilemmas 231

Conclusion: Navigating the Moral High Road 259

Appendix A: Factors Affecting Moral Character 271

Appendix B: Descriptive Ethical Decision-Making Models 277

Appendix C: Normative Ethical Decision-Making Models 287

Appendix D: Business Ethics in Hollywood Movies 293

Index 299

"Schwartz presents many, many examples of both ethical and unethical behavior found in the marketplace, and the entire book is a delight to read for that reason alone.... Mark Schwartz is one of philosophy's most informed, relevant, and interesting commentators about ethical and unethical issues in the corporate world."
—William C. Frederick

Mark S. Schwartz, MBA, JD, PhD, is Associate Professor of Business Ethics at York University's School of Administrative Studies in Toronto, Canada. An award-winning teacher and researcher, Dr. Schwartz has contributed to such journals as Business Ethics Quarterly, Journal of Business Ethics, Business & Society, Business and Society Review, Corporate Governance: An International Review, and Business Horizons. His most recent books include Corporate Social Responsibility: An Ethical Approach (2011) and, as co-editor, Business Ethics: Readings and Cases in Corporate Morality (2014).

"Mark Schwartz has produced a wonderfully comprehensive and approachable treatise on the subject of business ethics, replete with engaging insights from the most recent research. I consider it to be a masterpiece!"

Bradley R. Agle, The Marriott School, Brigham Young University

"In Business Ethics: An Ethical Decision-Making Approach, Professor Schwartz illustrates how a few simple and insightful principles can help readers navigate between the financial, legal and moral pressures from employees, shareholders, and customers. This book's ingenuity is matched only by Schwartz's decades-long experience in guiding acting and prospective managers."

Thomas Donaldson, The Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania

Business Ethics: An Ethical Decision-Making Approach presents a practical decision-making framework to aid in the identification, understanding, and resolution of the complex ethical dilemmas that arise in today's workplace. Early chapters explore a variety of corporate scandals and ethical crises that have transpired over the years—vivid reminders of the individual, organizational, and societal cost of failing to act ethically. An ethical decision-making framework is then put forth, with practical steps to help determine a proper ethical course of action when confronted with difficult choices in the workplace. Chapters then present powerful examples of situations taken from real-life business experiences faced by MBA students from around the world—from individual conflicts of interest, expense account padding, insider trading, and whistle-blowing to defective products, misleading financial statements, corporate espionage, bribery, and more. Concluding chapters offer practical guidance on how firms can establish formal ethical programs and, more importantly, instill and encourage a healthy and ethical corporate culture.

Compelling, lucid, and timely, Business Ethics: An Ethical Decision-Making Approach illustrates how best to deal with the increasingly intricate ethical dilemmas that shape the 21st-century workplace. 'In Business Ethics: An Ethical Decision-Making Approach, Professor Schwartz illustrates how a few simple and insightful principles can help readers navigate between the financial, legal and moral pressures from employees, shareholders, and customers. This book's ingenuity is matched only by Schwartz's decades-long experience in guiding acting and prospective managers.'

-Thomas Donaldson, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

'Mark Schwartz has produced a wonderfully comprehensive and approachable treatise on the subject of business ethics, replete with engaging insights from the most recent research. I consider it to be a masterpiece!'

- Bradley R. Agle, The Marriott School, Brigham Young University