The topic of ethics surfaces again and again in the world of business as business leaders continually navigate new technology, emerging economic conditions, and shifting social and political realities. Although many of the same ethical situations occur again and again throughout time—preventing fraud, dealing with relations between employees and employers, and avoiding deceptive marketing practices, for example—ethical principles can be applied to new situations and emerging issues to determine ethical courses of action in modern business.
Business leaders are faced with choices that have the potential to affect employees, customers, shareholders, and their company as a whole, for better or for worse. These decisions may be even more far-reaching—setting examples for other companies in the industry, improving or worsening the environment of the communities that a company operates in, and influencing the overall well-being of society. For this reason, it is critical for future business leaders to learn to identify and evaluate ethical problems, consider ethical principles, and make good choices.
Business Ethics: A Practical Approach by Dr. Bryce Gessell offers students a comprehensive guide for ethical decision-making in business. It introduces foundational concepts in business ethics and applies them through a series of case studies that reflect real-world challenges.
The text is structured around a practical methodology that emphasizes reasoning and applying ethical principles to complex scenarios, such as corporate responsibility, employee relations, marketing ethics, and environmental issues. With a blend of theoretical perspectives and practical guidance, this resource prepares students to recognize and address ethical dilemmas in their future careers.
The Nature of Business Ethics
On the surface, ethics may seem to be a simple determination between right and wrong. Business leaders may ask ethical questions on a daily basis: Should I accept a gift from a client? Does this financial statement accurately reflect business operations? Is it acceptable to make a change in manufacturing processes if it negatively affects product quality? Am I paying a given employee fairly, or have I inadvertently discriminated against them based on their race or ethnicity?
In practice, the details of the questions and the resulting decisions may be more complex than you might think. Conflicts over what is right and wrong, and who gets to determine what is right and wrong, lead to ethical problems. The study of ethics goes beyond simply considering what is right and what is wrong to consider how to think about right and wrong.
In Business Ethics: A Practical Approach, the study of business ethics begins with a solid foundation in reasoning through ethical dilemmas and reasoning about ethics itself. This process provides guidance for real-world ethical situations that students will find themselves in throughout their careers.
A Practical Approach: What Skills Will Students Learn in This Resource?
Here are some specific, practical skills students will gain as a result of working through this learning resource:
Students will get better at noticing when ethical problems arise in business environments, either in their own actions or in those of others.
- Students will get better at understanding what information is relevant to ethical problems, and why.
- Students will get better at reasoning through ethical problems, discovering the principles they involve, and justifying and refining those principles.
- Students will get better at creating, strengthening, criticizing, and evaluating arguments.
- Students will get better at presenting those arguments to other people.
Developing a Toolbox of Ethical Theories
As part of a practical approach to ethics, it is helpful to understand common ethical theories that have long guided leaders of business and society. Because no one theory is sufficient for every situation, students learn about a variety of ethical theories as tools to add to their ethical toolbox, including the following:
- Utilitarianism
- Duty-based ethical theories
- Rights-based ethical theories
- Virtue theories
- Feminist theories
Each theory a different use and emphasizes different aspects of a situation. The more tools a business professional has available, the better prepared they will be to identify and work toward resolving ethical problems. As business professionals become sensitive to the ethical dimensions and dilemmas in their company, in their industry, and within their network of professional relationships, they will become proficient at addressing ethical problems using the tools they have developed.
Learning Through Case Studies
Business Ethics: A Practical Approach includes case studies throughout each chapter to provide engaging examples of ethical problems in business, both real and hypothetical. This gives students the opportunity to see how the ethical concepts and principles they are learning apply in the real world. Each case study includes thoughtful questions for reflection and discussion.
Case studies involve a variety of real-world business situations, such as the following:
- Napster’s music-sharing service that was accused of violating copyright
- Employees of Coca-Cola sharing company secrets
- Unfortunate PR mishaps by an executive of a media company
- The struggle for unionization at Amazon
- Legal liability for a construction accident at the Hyatt Regency Kansas City Hotel
- And of course, accounting fraud at Enron and WorldCom
These case studies help students apply different ethical theories and reflect on the implications of corporate and individual actions.
Modern Ethical Issues
Today’s business leaders are dealing with more than just accounting fraud or compliance with safety and occupational health laws. They are engaged in corporate responsibility, sustainability efforts, and improving diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Future business leaders—your students included—need a guide to solving ethical problems in business. Check out Business Ethics: A Practical Approach to see how ethical reasoning and applied case studies can help your students make ethical decisions throughout their careers!
