Thinking Ethically in Business

This book explores connecting avenues of professional responsibility, management theory and traditional ethics, and encourages an understanding of the reasons for thinking ethically in business contexts. Chapter 1, Professional Responsibilities introduces business concepts like standards of practice, types of commitments and conflict resolution. Chapter 2, Stockholder Management Theory, explains the theory that dominated Western business practice during the latter half of the twentieth century, raising ethical questions about the possible consequences of key concepts like maximisation of stockholder profits. Chapter 3, Stakeholder Management Theory, emphasises the importance of questioning who benefits from (or who is harmed by) business practices, including discussion of the meaning of stakeholder, corporate social responsibility* and transparency. Chapter 4, Critical Thinking in Business, elucidates ways in which grasping the fundamentals of argument encourages better decision making in business, including discussion of types of claims, types of arguments and common fallacies. Chapter 5, Ethics and Business Decisions, argues that an acquaintance with classical ethical theories can sharpen decision making acumen and promote the development of judgment.