A Model of Business Ethics

It appears that in the 30 years that business ethics has been a discipline in its own right a model of business ethics has not been proffered. No one appears to have tried to explain the phenomenon known as ‚business ethics’ and the ways that we as a society interact with the concept, therefore, the authors have addressed this gap in the literature by proposing a model of business ethics that the authors hope will stimulate debate. The business ethics model consists of three principal components (i.e. expectations, perceptions and evaluations) that are interconnected by five sub-components (i.e. society expects; organizational values, norms and beliefs; outcomes; society evaluates; and reconnection). The introduced model makes a contribution to the creation of a conceptual framework for business ethics. A few tentative conclusions may be drawn from the introduced model of business ethics. The model aspires to be highly dynamic. The ultimate outcome is dependent upon the evolution of time and contexts. It is also dependent upon and provides reference to the behaviours and perceptions of people. The model proposes business ethics to be a continuous and an iterative process. There is no actual end of the process, but a constant reconnection to the initiation of successive process iterations of the business ethics model. The principals and sub-components of the model construct the dynamics of this continuous process. They provide guidance on what and how to explore our common efforts to understand the phenomenon known as business ethics. The model provides opportunities for further research in the field of business ethics.

[1]  Jacqueline N. Hood,et al.  The Relationship of Leadership Style and CEO Values to Ethical Practices in Organizations , 2003 .

[2]  Stelios C. Zyglidopoulos,et al.  The Social and Environmental Responsibilities of Multinationals: Evidence from the Brent Spar Case , 2002 .

[3]  Greg Wood.  A Partnership Model of Corporate Ethics , 2002 .

[4]  R. Solomon,et al.  Above The Bottom Line: An Introduction to Business Ethics , 1994 .

[5]  C. Grönroos.  The relationship marketing process: communication, interaction, dialogue, value , 2004 .

[6]  Greg Wood,et al.  Communicating the Ethos of Codes of Ethics in Corporate Australia, 1995–2001: Whose Rights, Whose Responsibilities? , 2003 .

[7]  S. Sethi.  Globalization and the Good Corporation: A Need for Proactive Co-existence , 2003 .

[8]  Joseph Heath,et al.  Stakeholder Theory, Corporate Governance and Public Management: What can the History of State-Run Enterprises Teach us in the Post-Enron era? , 2004 .

[9]  E. Brenda,et al.  Evolution and Implementation: A Study of Values , 2002 .

[10]  Peter Hadreas.  Aristotle on the Vices and Virtue of Wealth , 2002 .

[11]  Geoff Moore,et al.  Tinged shareholder theory: or what’s so special about stakeholders? , 1999 .

[12]  C. Metcalfe,et al.  The Stakeholder Corporation , 1998 .

[13]  J. W. Graham.  Leadership, Moral Development, and Citizenship Behavior , 1995, Business Ethics Quarterly.

[14]  Georges Enderle.  What is Business Ethics , 1993 .

[15]  H. Davies.  Ethics in regulation , 2001 .

[16]  R. Warren,et al.  Business Ethics and Business History: Neglected Dimensions in Management Education , 2002 .

[17]  J. Schermerhorn,et al.  Strategic leadership of ethical behavior in business , 2004 .

[18]  Gary A. Richardson.  A Tale of Two Theories: Monopolies and Craft Guilds in Medieval England and Modern Imagination , 2001, Journal of the History of Economic Thought.

[19]  G. Moore,et al.  Corporate Philanthropy in the U.K. 1985–2000 Some Empirical Findings , 2002 .

[20]  Illusions of Corporate Power:Revisiting the Relative Powers of Corporations and Governments , 2004 .

[21]  John Rosthorn.  Business Ethics Auditing — More Than a Stakeholder’s Toy , 2000 .

[22]  W. Hoffman.  Business and Environmental Ethics , 1991, Business Ethics Quarterly.

[23]  Carl Pacini,et al.  The Role of the OECD and EU Conventions in Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials , 2002 .

[24]  Anne T Lawrence,et al.  Business and Society , 2004 .

[25]  L. Paine.  Managing for Organizational Integrity. , 1994 .

[26]  R. Sims,et al.  Enron Ethics (Or: Culture Matters More than Codes) , 2003 .

[27]  R. Sparkes,et al.  Ethical investment: whose ethics, which investment? , 2001 .

[28]  G. Svensson,et al.  A Comparison Between Corporate and Public Sector Business Ethics in Sweden , 2004 .

[29]  N. Asgary,et al.  Toward a Model for International Business Ethics , 2002 .

[30]  Rodger Spiller,et al.  Ethical Business and Investment: A Model for Business and Society , 2000 .

[31]  C. Grönroos.  Keynote paper From marketing mix to relationship marketing ‐ towards a paradigm shift in marketing , 1994 .

[32]  Roy Serpa.  Creating a candid corporate culture , 1985 .

[33]  T. Carson,et al.  Self–Interest and Business Ethics: Some Lessons of the Recent Corporate Scandals , 2003 .

[34]  Dirk Matten,et al.  Stakeholders as Citizens? Rethinking Rights, Participation, and Democracy , 2004 .

[35]  D. Rondinelli.  Transnational Corporations: International Citizens or New Sovereigns? , 2003 .

[36]  P. Maclagan.  Management development and business ethics: A view from the U.K. , 1992 .

[37]  Michael R. Czinkota,et al.  Marketing: Best Practices , 1999 .

[38]  John Milton-Smith.  Ethics as excellence: A strategic management perspective , 1995 .

[39]  A. Lovell.  Ethics as a Dependent Variable in Individual and Organisational Decision Making , 2002 .

[40]  G. C. Benson,et al.  Codes of ethics , 1989 .

[41]  Marie McKendall,et al.  Ethical Compliance Programs and Corporate Illegality: Testing the Assumptions of the Corporate Sentencing Guidelines , 2002 .

[42]  M. Friedman,et al.  Capitalism and Freedom , 1963 .

[43]  E. Gummesson.  Return on relationships (ROR): the value of relationship marketing and CRM in business‐to‐business contexts , 2004 .

[44]  D. Payne,et al.  Evolution and Implementation: A Study of Values, Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility , 2002 .

[45]  W. Hoffman,et al.  What is business ethics? A reply to peter drucker , 1982 .

[46]  A. Boni,et al.  The Impact of the Multinational in the Development: An Ethical Challenge , 2002 .

[47]  Tracey A. Swift,et al.  Trust, reputation and corporate accountability to stakeholders , 2001 .

[48]  S. Drew.  Downsizing to Improve Strategic Position , 1994 .

[49]  W. Litzinger,et al.  Business ethics bogeyman: the perpetual paradox , 1987 .

[50]  John Mahoney.  An international look at business ethics: Britain , 1990 .

[52]  A. Carroll.  A Three-Dimensional Conceptual Model of Corporate Performance , 1979 .

[53]  M. Piety.  The Long Term: Capitalism and Culture in the New Millennium , 2004 .

[54]  Stephen J. Arnold,et al.  The Role of Marketing Actions with a Social Dimension: Appeals to the Institutional Environment , 1999 .

[55]  J. Olsen.  Environmental problems and ethical jurisdiction: the case concerning Texaco in Ecuador , 2001 .

[56]  E. Gummesson.  Making Relationship Marketing Operational , 1994 .

[57]  Leadership and Ethics: Corporate Accountability to Whom, for What and by What Means? , 2002 .

[58]  H. Spotts,et al.  Developments in marketing science , 2000 .

[59]  The Frankenstein Syndrome: The Creation of Mega-Media Conglomerates and Ethical Modeling in Journalism , 2002 .

[60]  D. Wheeler,et al.  Paradoxes and Dilemmas for Stakeholder Responsive Firms in the Extractive Sector: Lessons from the Case of Shell and the Ogoni , 2002 .

[61]  John Alan Cohan,et al.  "I Didn't Know" and "I Was Only Doing My Job": Has Corporate Governance Careened Out of Control? A Case Study of Enron's Information Myopia , 2002 .

[62]  Donald P. Robin,et al.  Social Responsibility, Ethics, and Marketing Strategy: Closing the Gap between Concept and Application , 1987 .

[63]  S. Prakash Sethi,et al.  Globalization and the Good Corporation , 2009 .

[64]  Ira Shor.  Critical Teaching And Everyday Life , 1980 .

[65]  W. Cragg.  Human Rights and Business Ethics: Fashioning a New Social Contract , 2000 .

[66]  D. Wood.  Corporate Social Performance Revisited , 1991 .

[67]  Adrian Cadbury.  2 – Ethical Managers Make Their Own Rules1 , 1994 .

[68]  J. Collier.  Editorial: Globalization and Ethical Global Business , 2000 .

[69]  K. Grit.  Corporate Citizenship: How to Strengthen the Social Responsibility of Managers? , 2004 .

[70]  M. Menestrel.  Economic rationality and ethical behaviour: ethical business between venality and sacrifice , 2002 .

[71]  Waymond Rodgers,et al.  Stakeholder influence on corporate strategies over time , 2004 .

[72]  R. Freeman.  Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach , 2010 .

[73]  J. McMurtry.  Why the Protestors are AgainstCorporate Globalization , 2002 .

[74]  Thomas A. Hemphill.  Antitrust, Dynamic Competition, and Business Ethics , 2004 .