Managing Business Ethics: Straight Talk about How to Do It Right, 6th Edition

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCING STRAIGHT TALK ABOUT MANAGING BUSINESS ETHICS: WHERE WE'RE GOING AND WHY

INTRODUCTION

Back in 1993, when we sat down to write the first edition of this book, people wondered if business ethics was just a fad. At that point, companies were just beginning to introduce ethics into new-hire orientations and management training programs. In academia, business ethics was just beginning to gain traction as a subject for serious academic study, and some business schools were going so far as to require a business ethics course to graduate.

Back then there was still the feeling among many experts that business ethics—like time management, quality circles, and other management buzzwords of the day—would soon become a footnote in texts that described business fads of the late twentieth century. Despite multiple waves of scandal over the years, these have often been portrayed as temporary blips. For example, one prominent business writer for Fortune Magazine wrote an article in 2007 entitled “Business is Back!” Here's a choice excerpt: “It must be said: The shaming is over. The 5½ year humiliation of American business following the tech bubble's burst and the Lay-Skilling-Fastow-Ebbers-Kozlowski-Scrushy perp walks that will forever define an era has run its course. After the pounding and the ridicule, penance has finally been done. No longer despised by the public, increasingly speaking up and taking stands, beloved again by investors, chastened and much changed—business ...