Customer Reviews

Business Ethics, A Teaching and Learning Classroom Edition: Concepts and Cases

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Business Ethics: Concepts and Cases is widely used as an introduction to the study of business ethics. I have seen it used in first and second year philosophy courses; it is also used at the graduate level in business schools. The author, Manuel Velasquez, was trained as a philosopher but has worked in business programs for a good deal of his career. Not surprisingly then the text tends to reflect the preoccupations of business faculties more than those of philosophy departments.

In several key respects the text is philosophically unsophisticated, especially in chapter two, the lengthy chapter devoted to normative ethical theory. Many philosophers would reject Velasquez' characterization of Kantian ethics, especially his explanation of the first formulation. His treatment of the ethic of caring in chapter two is adequate, but in later chapters the core elements of the caring perspective are lost, to be replaced by a generalized concern for the welfare of everyone, even that of total strangers and distant ecosystems.

One of the chief strengths of the text lies in the high quality of the case studies. These have been carefully crafted to bring out the complexity and uncertainties of everyday moral deliberation.

This the sixth edition of the text reflects the general trend in collegiate publishing to appeal to weaker students who find reading a chore and resent being confronted with their own limitations. It is ironic then that one reviewer has complained that the language employed in the text is unduly sophisticated. This is one of the simpler texts in business ethics. Unlike other texts in the Prentice Hall catalog it doesn't expect students to read scholarly work in its original form, but instead offers predigested summaries of important theories and principles found in ethics.

The fifth edition is more detailed than the sixth edition and doesn't see the need for photographs, sidebar summaries, bulleted lists, video CDs of the nightly news and other props which add to the price of an already overpriced textbook.

I have taught business ethics for over ten years. This is the book I use. It is the best introductory business ethics text I know of. I tried Trevino & Nelson's text last year, but found that it didn't present enough in the way of theory to help students actually make ethical decisions. I've come back to using Velasquez's book. I agree with the reviewer that complained about Velasquez's writing style. I wish Velasquez had read The Elements of Style and taken it to heart. But this is a minor quibble, given the superior quality of the content.

The cases are very interesting and informative. The wording and writing style can be very confusing, although Velasquez does provide examples that provide more clarity. The questions for both the chapter review and case studies require critical thinking, but are too elaborate, and most aren't thought-provoking or serve any particular purpose.

I WOULD HAVE TO SAY THAT THIS ITEM WAS WHAT IT WAS EXPLAINED TO BE AND BETTER IT EVEN HAD THE CD THAT COMES WITH THE TEXT BOOK. SO FAR DONT NEED THAT BUT STILL COOL TO HAVE! SO ALL I CAN SAY IS NICCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! THANKS FOR KEEPING UP YOUR BOOK AND BEIGN ON TIME WITH DELIVERY. SOMETHING I LOOK FOR BECAUSE I GET A NEW CLASS EVERY FIVE WEEKS SO FAST IS GOOD.

MARY

This was one of the classes I really enjoyed during my time at Ashford. The book was easy to read and informative about ethics in the workplace. Great introduction to business ethics. I would recommend this book to friends.

The book was in worse condition than stated. I kept the book because I needed it. If arrived in great time.

This book has some of the latest ethical questions facing our new global economy. It is a great resource to have in any office for reference. Ethics are easy (Is it the right thing to do?) but to be technicaly correct you can qoute this book.

This is a good business ethics book. When I purchased the book it was in good shape. I have got to admit that I am happy with the book, because I saved a lot of money buying this book on this site.

This book was very valuable to my Personal and Organizational Ethics class. It also comes with a CD. And the book was delivered very quickly.

Recieved the book quickly, however the book was not what I would consider good condition. Front cover of the book is awful.. but the book is good enough to get me through the class. Thanks for quick shipment!