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    Management Ethics

     
    What would Kant do?
    1/17/2005

    The German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) never had to opine about the labor practices of Wal-Mart and Circuit City, nor the pricing decisions of the Coca-Cola Company in Brazil. But it's fair to say he knew a thing or two about ethics. This book serves as a challenging yet worthwhile guide that draws to a great extent on Kant's teachings as a way to help managers navigate modern-day ethical dilemmas.

    One overriding theme here is Kant's principle of respect for persons. Kant wrote, "So act that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in that of another, always as an end and never as a means only." Today, we might simplify that statement and say, "The ends never justify the means." But of course, it is not easy to make decisions as a manager on issues of ends and means. Management Ethics examines myriad examples of ethical dilemmas, looking at theory as well as practicalities in everything from supply chain practices to customer service. Also covered are sweatshops, vulnerable customers (the poor and/or elderly), the Tylenol recall, the Ford Explorer rollovers, and many other potentially hazardous ethical situations.

    In conclusion, the authors write, "The key to ethical management is to respect persons and to value their autonomy as voluntary participants in the business enterprise." Not unlike what Kant might have said.

    Table of Contents:

    1. My Station and Its Duties: The Function of Being a Manager
    2. Stockholder Management or Stakeholder Management
    3. The Ethical Treatment of Employees
    4. The Ethical Treatment of Customers
    5. Supply Chain Management and Other Issues
    6. Corporate Social Responsibility
    7. Moral Imagination, Stakeholder Theory, and Systems Thinking: One Approach to Management Decision-Making
    8. Leadership
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