Monday, February 16, 2009

Business Communication Activebook or Business Ethics

Business Communication Activebook: Version 2.0

Author: John V Thill

This interactive book will give you the tools you'll need to succeed in today's workplace by developing your essential communication skills. Three easy-to-follow steps (planning, writing, and completing business messages) offer a practical strategy for writing and delivering business messages. Abundant sample documents show how to apply the principles being discussed. This is the only book that offers business communication experience in every chapter through real-world "on-the-job" simulations, featuring actual companies and real-world business documents. These simulations provide a unique opportunity for you to practice and sharpen your business communication problem-solving skills. Topics include: understanding business communication; the three-step writing process; letters, memos, e-mail, and other brief communications; reports and oral presentations; and resumes and interviewing for employment. An essential and useful tool for anyone interested in developing better business communication skills; human resource personnel, managers, and office workers will find interactive book especially helpful.



Book review: Guerilla Data Analysis Using Microsoft Excel or The Art of Computer Programming

Business Ethics: Managing Corporate Citizenship and Sustainability in the Age of Globalization

Author: Andrew Cran

The subject of business ethics addresses what can be considered morally right and wrong in the way businesses make decisions and conduct their activities. Written from a European perspective, Business Ethics is a lively and engaging textbook covering the foundations of business ethics and applying these theories, concepts and tools to each of the corporation's major stakeholders. This second edition has been thoroughly revised and updated and includes new content on personal values and Asian perspectives. It features lots of new cases and vignettes as well as updates of favorites from the first edition.



Table of Contents:
List of figures     xiv
List of boxes     xvi
Preface to the second edition     xviii
Acknowledgements     xxiv
Understanding business ethics
Introducing business ethics     3
What is business ethics?     4
Business ethics and the law     5
Defining morality, ethics, and ethical theory     8
Why is business ethics important?     9
Globalization: a key context for business ethics?     14
What is globalization?     15
The relevance of globalization for business ethics     18
Sustainability: a key goal for business ethics?     20
The triple bottom line     23
Environmental perspectives     25
Economic perspectives     26
Social perspectives     27
Implications of sustainability for business ethics     28
Europe: a key perspective for business ethics?     28
What is Europe?     29
European versus alternative approaches to business ethics     30
Sources of difference between Europe and other regions     32
Globalization and assimilation between Europe and other regions     33
Summary     34
Study Questions     35
Research Exercise     35
Key Readings     36
McEurope: McDonald's Responds to Ethical Criticism in Europe     36
Framing business ethics: Corporate Responsibility, Stakeholders, and Citizenship     41
Towards a framework for business ethics     42
What is a corporation?     42
Key features of a corporation     42
Can a corporation have social responsibilities?     43
Can a corporation be morally responsible for its actions?     44
Corporate social responsibility     45
Why do corporations have social responsibilities?     47
What is the nature of corporate social responsibilities?     49
CSR in an international context     51
CSR and strategy - corporate social responsiveness     53
Outcomes of CSR: corporate social performance     56
Stakeholder theory of the firm     57
Why stakeholders matter     61
A new role for management     62
Stakeholder thinking in a European context     62
Different forms of stakeholder theory     63
Corporate accountability - the firm as a political actor     64
Governmental failure: 'risk society' and the institutional failure of politics     65
Why do governments fail?     65
Corporate power on the rise     66
The problem of democratic accountability     67
Corporate citizenship     70
Defining corporate citizenship: three perspectives     71
Limited view of CC     71
Equivalent view of CC     73
An extended view of CC     74
Assessing corporate citizenship as a framework for business ethics     78
Summary     79
Study Questions     80
Research Exercise     80
Key Readings     80
The 'English Patient' and the Chinese Takeaway: Examining Social Responsibilities in the MG Rover Collapse     81
Evaluating business ethics: Normative Ethical Theories     85
Introduction     86
The role of ethical theory     86
Normative ethical theories     88
Traditional ethical theories     90
Consequentialist theories     91
Non-consequentialist theories     97
Limits of traditional theories     107
Contemporary ethical theories     110
Virtue ethics     110
Feminist ethics     111
Discourse ethics     113
Postmodern perspectives on business ethics     115
Summary: towards a pragmatic use of ethical theory     119
Study Questions     122
Research Exercise     122
Key Readings     123
British Petroleum and the BTC Pipeline: Turkish Delight or Russian Roulette?     123
Making decisions in business ethics: Descriptive Ethical Theories     127
Introduction     128
What is an ethical decision?     129
Models of ethical decision-making     130
Stages in ethical decision-making     130
Relationship with normative theory     131
Influences on ethical decision-making     132
Limitations of ethical decision-making models     133
European perspective on ethical decision-making     135
Individual influences on ethical decision-making     136
Age and gender     136
National and cultural characteristics     138
Education and employment     139
Psychological factors     140
Personal values     144
Personal integrity     145
Moral imagination     148
Situational influences on decision-making     149
Issue-related factors     149
Context-related factors      155
Summary     162
Study Questions     163
Research Exercise     163
Key Readings     163
School for Scandal? Business Schools Turn Their Attention to Ethics Education     164
Managing business ethics: Tools and Techniques of Business ethics Management     169
Introduction     170
What is business ethics management?     170
Components of business ethics management     171
Mission or values statements     171
Evolution of business ethics management     174
Setting standards of ethical behaviour: designing and implementing codes of ethics     175
Prevalence of codes of ethics     176
Content of codes of ethics     177
Effectiveness of codes of ethics     180
Global codes of ethics     181
Managing stakeholder relations     185
Assessing stakeholder importance: an instrumental perspective     186
Types of stakeholder relationship     187
Problems with stakeholder collaboration     191
Assessing ethical performance     194
Defining social accounting     195
Why do organizations engage in social accounting?     197
What makes for 'good' social accounting?     198
Organizing for business ethics management     202
Formal ethics programmes     202
Informal ethics management: ethical culture and climate     204
Business ethics and leadership     205
Summary     207
Study Questions     208
Research Exercise     208
Key Readings     209
Shell Shocked: Is Shell a Case of 'Ethical Epiphany' or 'Lessons Not Learned'?     209
Contextualizing business ethics: The corporate citizen and its stakeholders
Shareholders and business ethics     217
Introduction: reassessing the importance of shareholders as stakeholders     218
Shareholders as stakeholders: understanding corporate governance     218
Corporate governance: a principal-agent relation     220
Shareholders' relations with other stakeholders: different European frameworks of corporate governance     222
Ethical issues in corporate governance     225
Executive accountability and control     228
Executive remuneration     229
Ethical aspects of mergers and acquisitions     230
The role of financial markets and insider trading     232
The role of accountants     237
Reforming governance      239
Shareholders and globalization     240
The Tobin Tax     243
Combating global terrorism and money laundering     244
Shareholders as citizens of the corporation     246
Shareholder democracy     246
Shareholder activism     247
Ethical investment     250
Shareholding for sustainability     254
The Dow Jones Sustainability Group Index     254
Rethinking sustainable corporate ownership: corporation or co-operation?     256
Summary     258
Study Questions     259
Research Exercise     259
Key Readings     259
Corporate Governance of Professional Football Clubs: For Profit or for Glory?     260
Employees and business ethics     263
Introduction     264
Employees as stakeholders     265
Ethical issues in the firm-employee relation     267
Management of human 'resources' - an ethical problem between rights and duties     267
Discrimination     271
Sexual and racial harassment     275
Employee privacy     279
Due process and lay-offs     285
Employee participation and association     287
Working conditions      289
Fair wages     291
Freedom of conscience and freedom of speech in the workplace     293
The right to work     294
Employing people worldwide: the ethical challenges of globalization     296
National culture and moral values     297
Absolutism versus relativism     297
Some yardsticks for ethical decision-making     298
The 'race to the bottom'     298
The corporate citizen and employee relations in a varied European context     299
Towards sustainable employment     301
Re-humanized workplaces     302
Wider employment     302
Work-life balance     303
Summary     304
Study Questions     305
Research Exercise     305
Key Readings     306
Making a Living or Working Yourself to Death? Exploring the Brave New World of Work     306
Consumers and business ethics     311
Introduction     312
Consumers as stakeholders     313
The limits of caveat emptor     314
Ethical issues, marketing, and the consumer     316
Ethical issues in marketing management     316
Ethical issues in marketing strategy      331
Globalization and consumers: the ethical challenges of the global marketplace     335
Reproduction of consumerism     336
Dislocation of production and consumption     337
Cultural homogenization     338
New forms of resistance     338
Consumers and corporate citizenship: consumer sovereignty and the politics of purchasing     339
Consumer sovereignty     339
Ethical consumption     341
Sustainable consumption     346
What is sustainable consumption?     347
The challenge of sustainable consumption     347
Steps towards sustainable consumption     348
Summary     351
Study Questions     352
Research Exercise     353
Key Readings     353
Boycotting the 'Baby Killers'? Nestle and the Ongoing Infant Formula Controversy     353
Suppliers, competitors, and business ethics     357
Introduction     358
Suppliers and competitors as stakeholders     359
Suppliers as stakeholders     359
Competitors as stakeholders     359
Ethical Issues and suppliers     361
Misuse of power     362
The question of loyalty      364
Preferential treatment     365
Conflicts of interest     366
Gifts, bribes, and hospitality     367
Ethics in negotiation     371
Ethical issues and competitors     372
Problems of overly aggressive competition     373
'Dirty tricks'     377
Problems of insufficient competition     378
Globalization, suppliers, and competitors: the ethical challenges of global business networks     379
Different ways of doing business     380
Impacts on indigenous businesses     383
Differing labour and environmental standards     384
Extended chain of responsibility     385
The corporate citizen in the business community: ethical sourcing and fair trade     387
Ethical sourcing     388
Ethical sourcing as business-business regulation     388
Strategies of business-business regulation     389
Fair trade     390
Sustainability and business relationships: towards industrial ecosystems?     393
From supply chains to supply loops     394
Industrial ecosystems     394
Summary     396
Study Questions     397
Research Exercise     397
Key Readings      398
Fair Enough? Big Business Embraces Fair Trade     398
Civil society and business ethics     403
Introduction: what is civil society?     404
Civil society organizations as stakeholders     407
Ethical issues and CSOs     413
Recognizing CSO stakes     413
CSO tactics     415
Boycotts     421
CSO accountability     426
Globalization and civil society organizations     428
Engagement with overseas CSOs     429
Global issues and causes     429
Globalization of CSOs     433
Corporate citizenship and civil society: charity, collaboration, or regulation?     434
Charity and community giving     435
Business-CSO collaboration     436
Civil regulation     441
Civil society, business, and sustainability     444
Balancing competing interests     445
Towards participation and empowerment     446
Summary     447
Study Questions     448
Research Exercise     448
Key Readings     448
From Conflict to Collaboration? Greenpeace's Greenfreeze Campaign     449
Government, regulation, and business ethics     455
Introduction     456
Government as a stakeholder     456
Defining government, laws, and regulation     456
Basic roles of government as a stakeholder     458
Government as an elected representative of citizens' interests     459
Government as an actor (or group of actors) with interests of its own     460
Ethical issues in the relation between business and government     463
Identifying the basic problems and issues: legitimacy, accountability, and modes of influence     463
Lobbying     466
Party financing     470
Overlap of posts between business and government: individual conflicts of interest     471
State capture by business     473
Ethical issues in the context of privatization and deregulation     475
Globalization and business-government relations     477
From the traditional to the global context     477
Shifting roles for business and government in a global context     481
Business as an actor within the traditional context (Westphalian setting)     482
Business as an actor in the global context (post-Westphalian setting)     483
Business-government relations in the European Union     486
Corporate citizenship and regulation: business as key player in the regulatory game     488
Governments as regulators (segment 1)     490
Self-regulation by business (segment 2)     492
Regulation involving business, governmental actors, and CSOs (segments 3, 4, and 5)     493
Governments, business, and sustainability     499
Global climate change legislation and business responses: support versus obstruction     500
Public support versus private pressure: a middle ground?     501
Achieving sustainability: a necessary role for government?     503
Summary     503
Study Questions     504
Research Exercise     504
Key Readings     505
Dispensing 'the Less Orthodox Inducements' - Bae Systems and the Global Defence Industry     505
Conclusions and future perspectives     509
Introduction     510
The nature and scope of business ethics?     510
Globalization as a new context for business ethics     511
Sustainability as a new goal for business ethics     512
Business ethics in a European context     512
Corporate citizenship as a new concept in business ethics     514
The contribution of normative ethical theories to business ethics     515
Influences on ethical decision-making     516
The role of management tools in business ethics     516
The role of different stakeholder constituencies in business ethics     517
Tradeoffs and conflicts between different stakeholder groups     518
Summary     521
Study Questions     521
Research Exercise     522
Key Readings     522
References     523
Subject index     548
Authors index     555
Countries and regions index     561
Companies, organizations, and brands index     563

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