When standards for pollution, discrimination, and salary schedules are lower in an offshore host country than they are in the home country, should multinational corporations insist on home country standards? Would using home standards imply a failure to respect cultural diversity and national integrity? What obligations, if any, do multinationals have to the people they affect indirectly? In this study, business ethicist Thomas Donaldson offers three concepts for interpreting international business ethics: a social contract between productive organizations and society, the notion of a fundamental international right, promulgated by ten specific international rights, and a moral "algorithm" to help multinational managers make tradeoffs between conflicting norms in home and host countries. He then employs these concepts in the analysis of specific problems such as the distribution of hazardous technology and South African divestment. A timely and important text for courses in international business or business ethics.
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Editorial Reviews
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"[A] classic in the field....one of the few book-length treatments of moral issues in international business...for the international manager who wants a basic framework for resolving ethical issues, Donaldson provides an in-depth understanding."--Ethical Management
"Very helpful and in-depth look at the complexities of international business."--Scott B. Rae, Talbot School of Theology
"An excellent overview of an area of ethics which is emerging as one of the most vital concerns of our era. It is a welcome addition to the literature."--Albert A. Anderson, Babson College
"Perfectly suitable for my course and the only one that I have found of its kind."--Joseph M. Bearson, Eckerd College
"Maximizes the possibilities of social contract theory to locate corporations in a context of moral discourse....An appropriate blend of analytic and prescriptive moral reasoning."--Ronald Stone, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
"Recommended for all my students and particularly for international business and business policy courses. Students need to integrate business ethics into their management frame of reference, and this book helps to do that!--Louis L. Moon, Eastern Oregon State College
"Accessible to an audience possessing little familiarity with contemporary moral theory, but it is also worth the time of moral philosophers....Provides a valuable opportunity to think about the normative impmlications of relativism."--Ethics
"Very helpful in thinking through the complex world of international business practices and cultures."--Walter D. Scott, Kellogg Graduate School of Management
"Very useful."--Robert S. Inglis, Palm Beach Atlantic College
"Well-written, very good."--Rotgert E. Drive, Houston Baptist University
"Very helpful and in-depth look at the complexities of international business."--Scott B. Rae, Talbot School of Theology
"An excellent overview of an area of ethics which is emerging as one of the most vital concerns of our era. It is a welcome addition to the literature."--Albert A. Anderson, Babson College
"Perfectly suitable for my course and the only one that I have found of its kind."--Joseph M. Bearson, Eckerd College
"Maximizes the possibilities of social contract theory to locate corporations in a context of moral discourse....An appropriate blend of analytic and prescriptive moral reasoning."--Ronald Stone, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
"Recommended for all my students and particularly for international business and business policy courses. Students need to integrate business ethics into their management frame of reference, and this book helps to do that!--Louis L. Moon, Eastern Oregon State College
"Accessible to an audience possessing little familiarity with contemporary moral theory, but it is also worth the time of moral philosophers....Provides a valuable opportunity to think about the normative impmlications of relativism."--Ethics
"Very helpful in thinking through the complex world of international business practices and cultures."--Walter D. Scott, Kellogg Graduate School of Management
"Very useful."--Robert S. Inglis, Palm Beach Atlantic College
"Well-written, very good."--Rotgert E. Drive, Houston Baptist University
About the Author
Thomas Donaldson is at Georgetown University.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Difficult, but rewarding,
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This review is from: The Ethics of International Business (Ruffin Series in Business Ethics) (Paperback)
I use this book in a graduate class in international business. MBA students struggle with it, and I have to teach pretty actively in order to identify the core argument for them. But they eventually understand it, and many find it the most rewarding book they read in the class. The structure of Donaldson's reasoning is beautiful, and the algorithm gives useful guidance toward RESOLVING ethical dilemmas in international business. Donaldson believes businesses have ethical responsibilities in international settings, but what they are isn't always obvious. The context matters, for this author; neither transporting American ethics abroad nor "doing what the Romans do while in Rome" works properly. Besides his ethical algorithm (specific guidance for resolving ethical dilemmas), Donaldson contributes a list of 10 "fundamental international rights" and the duties they imply for multinational corporations. An important book in the field, and very satisfying.
2.0 out of 5 stars
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This review is from: The Ethics of International Business (Ruffin Series in Business Ethics) (Hardcover)
I bought this for an International Business class I am taking and I my grade did not require me to read this book I wouldn't have. Instead of writing a book he should have written a 10-20 page article in the business journal. Most of each chapter is regurgitated a few times and he never really gets to a point. There is something to be said to teach and not write.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
In August of 1987 in Geneva, Switzerland, a group of 3,000 delegates from 141 of the world's developed and developing nations reached a surprising agreement. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
compatibility proviso, extraordinary moral horrors, fundamental international right, business social contract, nonbasic rights, ethical algorithm, social contract for business, derivative duties, multinational decision making, social contract thinking, home country standards, cooperative surplus, multinational managers, petty bribery, correlative duties, stakeholder model, hazardous technology, international rights, risk distribution, productive organizations, minimal duties, moral presuppositions, minimal duty Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
South Africa, United States, Union Carbide, Prisoner's Dilemma, United Nations, World War, Adam Smith, First World, Soviet Union, World Court, Central America, Pareto Optimal, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, West African, West German, General Motors, State Department, Sullivan Principles, Third World, World Bank New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
In August of 1987 in Geneva, Switzerland, a group of 3,000 delegates from 141 of the world's developed and developing nations reached a surprising agreement. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
compatibility proviso, extraordinary moral horrors, fundamental international right, business social contract, nonbasic rights, ethical algorithm, social contract for business, derivative duties, multinational decision making, social contract thinking, home country standards, cooperative surplus, multinational managers, petty bribery, correlative duties, stakeholder model, hazardous technology, international rights, risk distribution, productive organizations, minimal duties, moral presuppositions, minimal duty Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
South Africa, United States, Union Carbide, Prisoner's Dilemma, United Nations, World War, Adam Smith, First World, Soviet Union, World Court, Central America, Pareto Optimal, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, West African, West German, General Motors, State Department, Sullivan Principles, Third World, World Bank New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 74
books:
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72
books
cite this book:
See all 72 books citing this book
- Morals By Agreement by David Gauthier on 11 pages
- Corporations and Morality by Thomas Donaldson on 5 pages
- Business Ethics by Donaldson on 4 pages
- Business Ethics with CD-ROM (6th Edition) by Richard DeGeorge in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- Taking Rights Seriously by Ronald Dworkin in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
See all 74 books this book cites
- Emerging Global Business Ethics by W. Michael Hoffman on 8 pages
- Competing with Integrity in International Business by Richard T. De George on 5 pages
- The Balanced Company: A Corporate Integrity Theory by Muel Kaptein on 4 pages
- Business Ethics: Critical Perspectives on Business and Management by Alan R. Malachowski on 4 pages
- The Balanced Company: A Corporate Integrity Theory by Muel Kaptein on 4 pages
See all 72 books citing this book
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