- ISBN-10: 331933400X
- ISBN-13: 9783319334004
- Author:
- Language: English
This book is an extended argument
for the critical importance which justice and ethical leadership should have in
business ethics education. The book examines the history of ideas and purposes
in education, the contemporary role of business schools, and the social
foundations of moral education to conclude that the pragmatic pursuit of the
good must be a central aim of business strategy. To meet the challenges of
facing society today, the masters of business must be moral craftsmen in a just
and democratic private property economy that serves the common good. The author
grounds this vision for business leadership in the centrality of systems of
exchange in human society, in generating prosperity and providing for the
general welfare. Business ethics education has focused primarily on moral
formation of individual leaders and managers in the context of ethical codes,
organizational culture, and legal compliance. Important as this approach is, it
fails to generate a sufficient level of business responsibility to satisfy
legitimate social concerns regarding the use of natural resources,
environmental sustainability, reasonable limitation of systemic risk in capital
markets, and fair allocation of goods and services. If the social purpose of
business is not intentionally embraced and diligently pursued, the economy may
enrich a few but impoverish the society, its resources, and its democracy.
Hence this book argues for a new vision of business ethics that is
grounded in public accountability of business operations and outcomes for the
common good, as a matter of justice.