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Business Ethics
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Business Ethics
Contemporary Issues and Cases



October 2019 | 520 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc

An innovative text that aims to deepen students’ knowledge of business ethics through a multidisciplinary approach grounded in moral philosophy, management principles, business history, and economics. 

The text aims to help students make ethical decisions, demonstrate integrity in the workplace, and advocate for moral business practices. It also features content on further trends and topics that will help students build a deeper understanding of business ethics:

  • A section on Personal Integrity in the workplace, unpacks ethical dilemmas that face employees in the workplace including conflicts of interest, cheating, whistle blowing, and bribery.
  • A section on Corporate Values and Responsibilities delves into ethical issues related to the financial industry, competition, safety, privacy, and intellectual property.
  • A section on Global Capitalism examines the ethical issues related to culture, justice, the internet, and environmental issues around the world.

All content is supported by 40 contemporary case studies that allow students to grapple with a wide range of moral issues and apply ethical frameworks to a variety of situations at real-world organizations, including GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in China, Firestone in Liberia, and the Apple Encryption Controversy.

 

The book is complemented by online resources for instructors and students, including: Test Bank, PowerPoint slides, an Instructor’s Manual with extensive case notes, Exercises and Activities, Multimedia resources, Quizzes, Flashcards, and SAGE Journal Articles.

Suitable reading for undergraduate students on Business Ethics courses.

 
List of Case Studies
 
Preface
 
Acknowledgments
 
About the Author
 
Ethical Decision-Making Framework
 
PART I. THEORIES AND PRINCIPLES
 
Chapter 1. Why Capitalism?
What Is Capitalism?

 
Archetypes of Capitalism

 
Capitalism and Its Critics

 
Government Institutions and Market Failures

 
Moral Culture and Modern Managers

 
Conclusion

 
Key Terms

 
Review Questions

 
Discussion Questions

 
 
Chapter 2. Corporate Moral Agency, Purpose, and Responsibilities
The Corporation and the Triumph of Corporate Rights

 
Corporate Moral Agency

 
Corporate Purpose

 
Corporate Accountability and Economic Mission

 
Conclusion

 
Key Terms

 
Review Questions

 
Discussion Questions

 
 
Chapter 3. Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility
Plato, Aristotle, and Virtue Ethics

 
Consequences and Utilitarianism

 
Ethics as Duty

 
Natural Rights

 
Synthesis and Application

 
Scope of Corporate Social Responsibility

 
Conclusion

 
Key Terms

 
Review Questions

 
Discussion Questions

 
 
PART II. PERSONAL INTEGRITY IN THE WORKPLACE
 
Chapter 4. The Person and the Corporation
An Overview of the Cases

 
CASE STUDY 4.1: Trouble in the Recruiting Office

 
CASE STUDY 4.2: Conscience and the Workplace

 
CASE STUDY 4.3: Karen Preston’s New Boss

 
CASE STUDY 4.4: Confessions of an Appliance Salesman

 
CASE STUDY 4.5: The “Perfect” Job Offer

 
CASE STUDY 4.6: The Product Manager

 
CASE STUDY 4.7: Telling the Truth about the Probable Sale of a Division

 
CASE STUDY 4.8: Should an Engineer Inform the FAA about a Defective Fuselage Design?

 
CASE STUDY 4.9: Who’s Responsible?

 
Conclusion

 
Review Questions

 
Discussion Questions

 
Appendix: How to Analyze a Case

 
 
PART III. CORPORATE VALUES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
 
Chapter 5. The Rights of the Modern Corporation
An Overview of the Cases

 
CASE STUDY 5.1: Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission

 
CASE STUDY 5.2: The Hobby Lobby Case

 
Conclusion

 
Review Questions

 
Discussion Questions

 
 
Chapter 6. Ethics in the Investment and Financial Services Industries
An Overview of the Cases

 
Briefing on Insider Trading

 
CASE STUDY 6.1: Texas Gulf Sulphur

 
CASE STUDY 6.2: All in the Family: The Stewart Insider Trading Case

 
CASE STUDY 6.3: Manipulating the LIBOR

 
CASE STUDY 6.4: Fraud or Shrewd Business? The Case of Goldman Sachs

 
CASE STUDY 6.5: The Wells Fargo Sales Scam

 
Conclusion

 
Key Terms

 
Review Question

 
Discussion Questions

 
 
Chapter 7. Patients, Patents, and the Pharmaceutical Industry
An Overview of the Cases

 
A Note on Patents and Intellectual Property Rights

 
Briefing on Big Pharma and Industry Regulations

 
CASE STUDY 7.1: The New Economics of Drug Pricing: Valeant Pharmaceuticals International

 
CASE STUDY 7.2: Big Pharma Confronts AIDS

 
CASE STUDY 7.3: Myriad Genetics: Patenting the Genome

 
Conclusion

 
Key Terms

 
Review Questions

 
Discussion Questions

 
 
Chapter 8. Protecting the Consumer: Product Safety and Marketing
An Overview of the Cases

 
Briefing: Spotlight on the Tobacco Industry

 
CASE STUDY 8.1: Plain Packaging and the Ongoing Trials of Big Tobacco

 
Briefing on Safety and the U.S. Automotive Industry

 
CASE STUDY 8.2: The Chevy Cobalt Ignition Switch Crisis

 
CASE STUDY 8.3: Takata’s Airbag: Unsafe in Any Car?

 
CASE STUDY 8.4: The Samsung Recall: A Galaxy of Troubles

 
Conclusion

 
Review Questions

 
Discussion Questions

 
 
PART IV. GLOBAL CAPITALISM, CULTURE, AND JUSTICE
 
Chapter 9. Business and the Environment
An Overview of the Cases

 
CASE STUDY 9.1: Poisoned Land: The Tragic History of Love Canal

 
CASE STUDY 9.2: Deepwater Horizon: BP on the Edge

 
CASE STUDY 9.3: Volkswagen’s Dieselgate

 
CASE STUDY 9.4: Chevron in the Amazon: Anatomy of Environmental Degradation and Its Aftermath

 
Conclusion

 
Key Terms

 
Review Question

 
Discussion Questions

 
 
Chapter 10. Informational Privacy and Cybersecurity
An Overview of the Cases

 
Briefing on Privacy Rights and Security

 
CASE STUDY 10.1: Data Breaches at Yahoo

 
CASE STUDY 10.2: Going Dark: Apple versus the FBI

 
Conclusion

 
Key Terms

 
Review Question

 
Discussion Questions

 
 
Chapter 11. Fair Competition in the Era of Informational Capitalism
An Overview of the Cases

 
CASE STUDY 11.1: Microsoft Accused: The Browser Wars and the Antitrust Case

 
CASE STUDY 11.2: Challenging the Google Monopoly

 
Conclusion

 
Key Terms

 
Review Question

 
Discussion Questions

 
 
Chapter 12. Employee Rights and Sexual Harassment
An Overview of the Cases

 
Briefing on Duties to Employees

 
CASE STUDY 12.1: Sexual Harassment or Imprudence?

 
CASE STUDY 12.2: Voluntary Redundancies at PSA Group

 
CASE STUDY 12.3: GPS Monitoring and Employee Privacy Rights: Excerpts from Cunningham v. New York State Department of Labor

 
Conclusion

 
Key Terms

 
Review Question

 
Discussion Questions

 
 
PART V. GLOBALIZATION AND CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY
 
Chapter 13. Global Politics and Disinvestment Strategies
An Overview of the Cases

 
Briefing on the History and Challenges of Globalization

 
CASE STUDY 13.1: ITT in Chile: Corporate Executives and Marxist Presidents

 
CASE STUDY 13.2: Rubber at Any Price: Firestone and the African Strongman

 
Conclusion

 
Key Terms

 
Review Question

 
Discussion Questions

 
 
Chapter 14. Bribery and Corruption in Foreign Markets
An Overview of the Cases

 
Briefing on Bribery and the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

 
CASE STUDY 14.1: GlaxoSmithKline in China

 
CASE STUDY 14.2: Seeds of Scandal at Monsanto

 
CASE STUDY 14.3: The Resource Curse and Equatorial Guinea

 
Conclusion

 
Key Terms

 
Review Question

 
Discussion Questions

 
 
Chapter 15. Responsible Outsourcing: Fair Wages and Worker Safety
An Overview of the Cases

 
CASE STUDY 15.1: Worker Abuses in the Supply Chain: The Disturbing Case of Apple in China

 
CASE STUDY 15.2: Sweatshops and Deathtraps: The Garment Industry in Bangladesh

 
Conclusion

 
Review Question

 
Discussion Questions

 
 
Glossary
 
Notes
 
Selected Bibliography
 
Index

Supplements

Instructor Teaching Site

edge.sagepub.com/spinello 

Instructor Teaching Site (Password Protected) 

SAGE edge for Instructors, supports your teaching by making it easy to integrate quality content and create a rich learning environment for students. 

  • Test banks provide a diverse range of pre-written options as well as the opportunity to edit any question and/or insert your own personalized questions to effectively assess students’ progress and understanding.       
  • Editable, chapter-specific PowerPoint® slides offer complete flexibility for creating a multimedia presentation for your course. 
  • Multimedia Resources that include meaningful web links to facilitate further exploration of topics covered in the reading.
  • Instructor Manual containing lecture notes, teaching tips, answers to text questions, and additional activities.
Student Study Site

Student Study Site (Open Access)  
  
SAGE edge for Students
provides a personalized approach to help students accomplish their coursework goals in an easy-to-use learning environment. 

  • Mobile-friendly eFlashcards strengthen understanding of key terms and concepts.   
  • Mobile-friendly practice quizzes allow for independent assessment by students of their mastery of course material.       
  • Chapter summaries with learning objectives reinforce the most important material. 
  • Multimedia Resources that include meaningful web links to facilitate further exploration of topics covered in the reading.

“A text with strong case studies and ‘to-the-point’ content.”

Rochelle Brooks
Viterbo University

“Fresh new look at business ethics using the most up-to-date, relevant cases, to make it easy for our students and business leaders to improve our world, one ethical dilemma at a time.”

Lisa M. Sticca Conrod
Fairfield University

“Finally, a textbook that allows students to understand contemporary ethical considerations. This textbook offers thought provoking case studies that allow students to determine their personal ethics and how they arrived at those decisions.”

Joni A. Koegel
Cazenovia College

“Finally, a textbook that allows students to understand contemporary ethical considerations. This textbook offers thought provoking case studies that allow students to determine their personal ethics and how they arrived at those decisions.”

Joni A. Koegel
Cazenovia College

“The textbook is a refreshing take on business ethics from professors with a vast amount of experience in the field.”

Travis Dalton
Columbia College

“This book truly highlights contemporary issues in the field of business ethics. The cases are timely and relevant examples of the new frontiers in the field, and the emphasis on a rights-based personal ethics approach is fresh and unique.”

William S. Brown
Marist College

“A well rounded ethics case book.”

Gail O’Connor

“Dr. Spinello brings a fresh, new approach to ethical considerations on very contemporary topics to a text that can provide insight and understanding to today’s undergraduate student.”

Troy D. Irick
Huntington University

“This is a comprehensive text that brings today’s ethics into focus for the student.”

Mark M. Alexander
Fontbonne University

Offers excellent case studies that help students understand and put into perspective the concept of ethics in business.

Dean Evelyn Castillo Sorrentini
Management, Inter American University of Puerto Rico
November 29, 2020

For instructors

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ISBN: 9781506368054
£143.00

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