Business
Business ethics, from first principles to practice.
Pick a topic on the left and work through it: the core ideas first, then the notes, key terms and figures that make them stick.
Why Ethics Matter
The case for ethics
Ethics are the standards of behaviour we hold ourselves to in personal and professional life. In business, they guide how we deal with customers, clients, colleagues, employees and shareholders.
Ethics from Antiquity to the Present
History of ethical thought
How ethical reasoning developed from Athenian and Confucian virtue ethics to utilitarianism, deontology and modern theories of justice.
Defining and Prioritizing Stakeholders
Who counts, and when
Adopting a stakeholder orientation, weighing competing claims, and deciding whose interests take priority when they conflict.
Three Special Stakeholders: Society, the Environment, and Government
Society, planet, state
Corporate law and corporate responsibility, sustainability and the environment, and the relationship between government and the private sector.
The Impact of Culture and Time on Business Ethics
Context shapes norms
The relationship between business ethics and culture, how standards change over time, the influence of geography and religion, and whether core values are universal.
What Employers Owe Employees
Duties of the firm
The workplace environment and working conditions, what constitutes a fair wage, the organised workforce, and privacy at work.
What Employees Owe Employers
Duties of the worker
Loyalty to the company, to the brand and to customers; contributing to a positive work atmosphere; financial integrity; and criticism and whistleblowing.
Recognizing and Respecting the Rights of All
Dignity and inclusion
Diversity and inclusion in the workforce, accommodating different abilities and faiths, sexual identification and orientation, income inequality, and animal rights in business.
Professions under the Microscope
Professional codes
Entrepreneurship and start-up culture, the influence of advertising, the insurance industry, and ethical issues in the provision of health care.
Changing Work Environments and Future Trends
Work is changing
Telecommuting, workplace campuses, alternatives to traditional patterns of work, and robotics and artificial intelligence in the workplace of the future.
Epilogue: Why Ethics Still Matter
Closing argument
Business ethics in an evolving environment, committing to an ethical view, becoming an ethical professional, and making a difference in the business world.
The Lives of Ethical Philosophers
Thinkers behind the theory
Short lives of the philosophers whose arguments still structure business ethics — from Athens and Lu to Königsberg and Harvard.
Profiles in Business Ethics: Contemporary Thought Leaders
Modern voices
Practitioners and scholars defining ethical business now — and the companies whose track records make the argument for them.
A Succinct Theory of Business Ethics
The short version
The whole book compressed into a framework you can carry into any decision at work.