The Ethics of Business: A Concise Introduction (Elements of Philosophy) - Softcover

Gini, Al

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0742561623 ISBN 13: 9780742561625

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2011

Synopsis

In a field dominated by books that focus exclusively on the perspective of business in large corporations or that assume that business has a moral deficiency in need of reform, Al Gini and Alexei Marcoux offers students and business people alike a concise guide to what everyone ought to do when doing business. Where other books are organized topically, Gini and Marcoux look at the moral features of business that recur across topical areas, stressing the considerations that bear on business people whether they be corporate functionaries, principals in family businesses, or solo entrepreneurs who do it all, end to end. They present to students the essential concepts, ideas, and issues involved in ethics in business and emphasize the individual acting person and what it means to have character and integrity when doing business.

About this title

About the Author

Al Gini is professor of business ethics and chair of the Department of Management in the School of Business Administration at Loyola University Chicago. He is also the co-founder and long time Associate Editor of Business Ethics Quarterly.
Alexei Marcoux is associate professor of business ethics in the School of Business Administration at Loyola University Chicago. He is also senior research fellow in the National Center for Business Ethics at Loyola University New Orleans.

Review

For business majors planning to enter the real world, this is the most useful business ethics textbook available. (Nicholas Capaldi, Chair in Business Ethics, Loyola University of New Orleans)

Gini and Marcoux have written a great short introduction to the ethics of business. By focusing on the elements of business ethics, such as rationality, exchange, trust, competition, impartiality, loyalty, and leadership to name a few, they have given us a book that can be useful from solo practitioners all the way up to CEOs of large corporations. They use plenty of example and quotes to make their case. This book can serve as a foundation for a business ethics course when supplemented by cases and other material. (John W. Dienhart, The Frank Shrontz Chair for Professional Ethics, Seattle University)

This is an unusually clearly-written introduction. Gini and Marcoux are sensitive to the wide range of business ethics opinion. Especially good are their inclusion of entrepreneurial business rather than a preoccupation with large corporations and their emphasis upon achieving the good rather than bemoaning the bad. (Stephen Hicks, Chair, Philosophy Department, Rockford College)

Gini and Marcoux have written an eminently readable and practical book that strikes the perfect balance of philosophical depth with accessibility to the nonphilosopher. The book demonstrates for both students and business practitioners how philosophical concepts have significant real-life implications across a wide range of everyday business situations and practices. (Joseph Desjardins, College of St. Benedict, St. John's University)

This concise introduction to applied business ethics is refreshingly unlike most business ethics textbooks. While others focus primarily on negative examples of moral failure at the C-level (Enron) or blockbuster financial disasters (Bernie Madoff), Gini and Marcoux (both, Loyola Univ. Chicago) speak to the common activities of ordinary businesspeople. Their work addresses the question of what it means to be a person of character and integrity while engaged in entrepreneurial activity: buying, selling, and interacting with others. Traditional ethical philosophies (Mills's utilitarianism, Kant's duty-based and Aristotle's virtue-based ethics) are presented in a practical, nontechnical manner. The essential components of business activities are evaluated in discussions on the ethics of trust, truth, competition, loyalty, leadership, and the global marketplace. The excellent chapter titled "Work-Life Balance" raises the philosophical question of what our work is doing to us. "Even though work gives us our identity, and even if we love our jobs ... we also need an antidote to work in order to work well," it suggests. Extensive quotes and examples add clarity. Useful as primary or supplemental reading for business ethics courses. Summing Up: Recommended. (CHOICE)

The Ethics of Business, by Al Gini and Alexei Marcoux (hereafter, Gini/Marcoux), is . . . spirited and insightful. (Reason Papers)

Edition details

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0742561623
• ISBN 13: 9780742561625
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 164