JANE DIAZ

MR. PAJO

BS-IM

ITETHICS

BOOKREVIEW #8

CURRENT ISSUES IN BUSINESS ETHICS

By: Peter W.F Davies

HF 5387 C87

Chapter I– BUSINESS PHILOSOPHY: SEARCHING FOR AN AUTHETIC ROLE

“only a major crisis for business survival will actually provide a basis for genuine

challenge to this world view.”

According to Peter Davies that to get out the heart of various perspectives the

meaning and the purpose of business activity should be in the first place, of course

ethics includes in such business and the true meaning of business relation to each

perspectives.

“Much of the debate about the various issues in business ethics is fuelled by

implicit and differing philosophies of business. Clearly, if you believe that the basic role

of business is to maximize profit then your analysis of business ethics issues will differ

considerably from that of those who assume that the basis role of business is to provide

meaningful employment.”(p.15)

Let’s define what’s business philosophy is. Business Philosophy considers the

fundamental principles that underlie the formation and operation of a business

enterprise; the nature and purpose of a business, for example, is it primarily property or

a social institution; its role in society; and the moral obligations that pertain to it. The

subject is important to business and management, and is closely related to business

ethics and political economy. It is influenced significantly by philosophy, ethics, and

economic theory.( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_of_business)

For business this influence of the past cannot be fully understood without due

appreciation of developments in technology. So what is the purpose? This question via

the examination of five differing ethical perspective of modern business. First is A

Western Christian Theological Perspective second is the An (Industrial) Democracy

Perspective third is the An (Eco) System Perspective fourth is A Friedmanite, ‘The

Business is Business’ Perspective and the fifth is A Virtue Perspective.

“The five preceding perspectives have, in turn, pointed towards the meaning and

purpose of business as essentially being a God ordained vocation, a crucial element

democracy, a key element in the planetary ecosystem, a financial wealth creator, and a

forum to develop people.”(p.24)These perspectives are not mutually exclusive because

one of the perspectives can see the elements of the business.

Chapter II– WHOSE BUSINESS IS IT ANYWAY? THE QUESTION OF

SUSTAINABILITY

“true role and legitimacy of business, real changes happening .”

Capable of being sustained in the business, ethics are to significant extent

shaped by a country’s history and culture. In this chapter it argues the case for the

legitimacy of business that being assessed in terms of track records.

“The international project of development, proclaimed at the inaugural address of

President Truman as a bold new program for making the benefits of our scientific

advances and industrial progress available for the improvement and growth of the

underdeveloped areas. By way of describing its ethical basis and cultural effects, it has

been branded the new colonialism and the project of western patriarchy”.(p.27,

R.Carmen & M.Lubelski) .

Sustainable development will be a difficult state to attain for the world community.

To meet the three conditions of equity, legacy, and continuity will require political

decisions on a scale rarely seen to date. Sustainable development is a direction toward

which the world community moves, not a goal in itself but more like the concepts of

freedom and justice. There seems to be little recourse than the movement toward

sustainable development for the planet. The views of Earth from space showed the

global nature of the continents, atmosphere, and oceans and the extent to which

humanity and its activities are distributed over the globe. These human activities both

contribute to and are affected by global environmental change. We are part of the

ecosphere and as members we cannot continue to plunder the very system that

maintains us. We must husband, nurture, and respect that system and cultivate a world

in which we can live together in a mutually beneficial way.

(http://www.iitap.iastate.edu/gcp/issues/agri/sustainable/ackenzie.html)

Chapter III– CORPORATE GOVERNANCE ANG ETHICS

“all strategies can be assessed or interpreted in a way that links them to an apparent

ethical framework”

As this chapter concludes that “the conduct of the company and the system by

which they are controlled and regulated are just the central of investigation for business

ethics. In terms in relationship between organization and society, there appears to be

growing recognition of the importance of stakeholders.”(p.48)

A typical list of board roles and responsibilities are formulating strategy,

developing policy, supervising executive management and maintaining accountability.

Formulating strategy is the process of identifying which is fit or appropriate in the given

problem, lots of analysis and reviews in this case.

Developing policy that every changes being updated it also help to rebuild what

made in the past. Supervising executive management where the tactics and strategic

options are being contributed. Last is the Maintaining accountability is important part of

the process it is regular field condition surveys conducted on the highway system.