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Society is a nexus of individual perceptions. The world is as we each see it, no more and no less. To hope that we shall all agree on what is good or bad is to hope in vain. This is not solipsism transferred to moral philosophy; it is realism born of observation. This book tries to remind its readers that you can be responsible only if you understand the basis of your responsibility; that you can exercise responsibility only if you have the power to do so; that you cannot lay down a conceptual framework of behavior in business if you have no framework of life; that every facet of your conduct as a manager and employee involves a delicate balance between rebellion and absolute conformity. Indeed, it may be that the hardest lesson is that of learning that compliance and silence and obedience are frequently more desirable than protest when all stands to be lost. To gamble on a poor card hand is the act of either an excessively foolish or a supremely clever man; since the proper judgment of risk is an uncommon facility, poor hands are normally lost. There is no such thing as a corporate attitude, just as there is no such thing as the will of the people.
List of contents
1 The Problem of Social Responsibility.- The Individual and the Corporate Enterprise.- Management Ethics: The Scope of the Book.- Ethical Duality.- The Language of Business Responsibility.- The Nature of the Business Enterprise: A Historical Overview.- Business and Ethics.- Business in a Multinational Environment.- Dilemmas: Some Examples.- Summary.- Notes.- 2 Symbiosis and Conflict: Political and Ethical Contrasts.- The Shrinking Universe.- Political-Economic Conflict.- Social-Ethical Contrasts.- Conclusion.- Notes.- 3 Philosophical Antecedents to Modern Thought.- The Four Perspectives of the Individual.- Pre-Christian Thought.- The Christian Ethic.- Medieval Scholasticism.- Machiavelli and Misunderstanding.- Social Philosophy.- Twentieth-Century Materialism.- Conclusion.- Notes.- 4 Ethical Management: Problems in Decision Making.- The Harsh Reality of Conscience.- Concorde: An Ethical Cul-de-Sac.- A Problem Taxonomy.- Extraorganizational Issues.- Intraorganizational Issues.- Conclusion.- Notes.- 5 Power, Authority, and Accountability.- The Scope of the Chapter.- The Structure of Power.- Power and Authority in the Firm.- Authority and Responsibility.- Accountability and the Social Audit.- Corporate Strategy and Business Responsibility.- Conclusion.- Notes.- 6 A Guide to Management Ethics.- Ethical Model Building.- Education for Business Responsibility.- Social Marketing.- Conclusion.- Notes.- 7 Individual Behavior in Business.- Career Options and Motivations.- Motivation: A Survey of Management Attitudes.- Career Conduct: Ethical Conflict and Compromise.- Organizational Behavior: Some Experiments.- Mind and Matter: Inclination and Reality.- Culture, History, and Modern Behavior.- Conclusion.- Notes.- Citation Index.
