Customer Reviews

Managing Business Ethics: Straight Talk About How To Do It Right

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

 

 

This should be mandatory reading for business leaders today. It is one of the leading college textbooks on the subject and for good reason--the stories are incredible.

Having worked at Scott Paper Compnay during the Al Dunlap regime, I know that the stories may be hard to believe but are true.

The chapters do a good job of building on each other and the writing style is readable.

Glad to have the next edition published.

This is my favourite book about ethics! The examples are down-to-earth and the theories are presented in a way that makes it easier to grasp and bring into classrooms!

This was a mandatory book for an MBA program on Business Ethics. It puts ethics in everyday language and examples and is not all theory.

I have long thought other books focused too much on philosophy or large scale ethics problems at corporations. This book gives everyone advice and practical tools to deal with ethics at all levels in a company. I highly recommend it for anyone wanting to find out how to apply ethics in their organization.

This book was used as the primary text, in a Master's Course in Organizational Leadership.

The authors are Linda K. Trevino and Katherine A. Nelson. Both hail from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and it shows in the book. Joe Paterno shows up predictably as a paragon of ethics, on occasion. This would be annoying, if not for the indisputable fact that he is in fact known in this area, so a little consession even for the regional plug is in line. It says something to be coming from the cross-state rival. ;)

This book does a very good job of presenting ethics in a way that can be understood despite the varied religious and social value systems that exist within the business community.

If you are looking for a morals primer that dares to take strong stands on what is right and wrong, you will not find it here. Predictably, as an academic book, there is a fairly significant post-modern bent to the material. It appeals to incorporate personal moral codes to be sure, but most appeals are in the abstract and more often then not come across as something that seems obligatory to say, but no real direction as to what that might mean and when to exercise it is offered. It usually reduces to an appeal to "follow your gut."

The book is divided into 5 sections which build upon each other progressively.

Section 1 focuses on the introductory elements of what Business Ethics are and why they should matter. The primary answers to note are that organizations have to manage ethics in terms of a liability to control costs, preserve reputation and maintain market share.

Section 2 relates to ethics and the individual. Descriptions of fundamental issues such as conflicts of interest, legal issues surrounding discrimination and sexual harassment and then whistleblowing's increasing profile in corporate society are covered. Most important, the basis for ethics and how they are arrived at within a Psychological and Social context are examined.

Not surprisingly, in view of the premises the book rests upon, situational ethics predominate. Different approaches are examining and costing consequences, examining whether a higher sense of duty or obligation exists from which to gauge response and yes, there is a nod of the head toward Virtue-based Ethics but no particular "brand" identified or endorsed, which makes the reference curious in that regard.

Some management tools to follow are provided which should indeed prove practical and helpful which was refreshing to see in what could have simply remained as academic tome.

Then follows a strong portion on the Psychological factors of determining right from wrong which addresses such issues as Moral Awareneess and Moral Judgment. Psychological issues such as Script Processing, the emotions involved in ethical decision making and an in-depth look at the Ford Pinto case round this section out.

Section 3 brings the focus onto Managers and Management. Basic issues such as hiring, firing and discipline are dealt with in addition to the important observation that management creates a workplace environment, not only by what is said but moreso by what is modeled. Therefore there are conclusions drawn in terms of what influence management has to enact ethical change within an organization. Primarily the appeal is to behavioral reinforcement and understanding of certain psychological "truths" that have become evident with organizations. There is lots of good material here including reward systems, peer pressure, assigned roles and communications all addressed in turn. A good section exists as well addressing how responsibility diffuses within an organization and that suggests some methods of how to deliberately instill personal responsibility to combat this trend.

Section 4 focuses on specific ethical problems which are endemic within organizations. In particular the competing interests of all stakeholders including shareholders, employees, management, consumers, and the community at large are examined and some methodology for how to navigate through these seemingly perennial conflicts of interest.

Better yet, the organizational culture is addressed with a multitude of case studies and discussion questions to delve in "the belly of the beast" in terms of all that this involves.

An obligatory chapter on Legal Compliance follows which in my opinion was the weakest portion of the book. This type of material is by nature going to be dull, but it also is continually changing and roots things clearly within US corporate culture.

Section 5 at the end moves the focus from what has been exclusively the US and approaches some of the unique issues of the Global Business Environment. Frankly, this too is pretty weak. It is worthy of its own book to deal with the unique characteristics of all the different

Overall, this is an excellent book. It is packed with great contemporary examples from recent history that speak very strongly to the need for a renewed sense of responsibility and ethics in the corporate world.

As is true with most academic books, it is overpriced and designed to move rapidly through editions to keep it that way. $60 for a soft-cover book is just not reasonable. I'm not adverse to paying a fair price for cutting edge knowledge. I expect quality for that not just in information, but also the physical characteristics of the book.

The average reader will find this likely tiresome when compared with more popular books in this area. Corporate offices and managers would be well advised to pick this up and in addition to reading, finding others to work through it as a team and use the many excellent case studies found within to their benefit.

This is primarily for the classroom. If you'll use it and work with it, however, I can see it being an excellent resource for the corporate manager, ethics officer or human resources leader.

While I found the cases illustrated in the book to provide excellent examples of ethical issues involving modern day businesses, I thought it was written at a very low reading level. The chapter readings were repetative and patronizing. Definately not the required reading that I thought an MBA program would/should utilize (as in the case of my University and the required reading for the core business ethics course).

Perhaps this book would be more useful to someone with little or no business background.

So far so good. It is a good tool. Our instructor is very happy with it too. However, next semester the new edition will be used. It is not boring either. I would recommend this book to any future student.

This book covers all aspects concerning business ethics in a densely written volume (338 pages of quite small print). After an introduction, the topic is covered from the point of view of the individual, the manager and the organization. It discusses the effect of legislation, reward systems, how to set up an ethics program, etc. These different sections basically stand alone, so you can go straight to the section you need. You get a pragmatic approach, it is "all a manager in a US company should know about ethics" and packed with concrete examples (the 1999 edition added some new recent examples). Or: "when in doubt, read the book and you'll know what to do."

It is clearly written as a educational volume, for instance chapters ends with cases and discussion questions.

As inconveniences I would say it is very biased towards the USA (it's packed with references to US law), even if it contains a chapter on global business. Also, the text is quite prescriptive and I lacked some philosophical depth. If you live outside the US, some explanations and examples are too simplistic and not relevant (for instance, to a Belgian it's quite surprising that this book says that you should not write a recommendation letter on your company's letterhead). Therefor, I recommend "Baradacco's "Defining Moments" (1997) as complementary reading. Given its educational aim, I think its price is too high as well.

That said, if you need a pragmatic book on this topic, this is the place to look.

Patrick E.C. Merlevede, MSc -- author of "7 Steps to Emotional Intelligence"

the author lives in a dream world and is not in touch with the business work environment of today. Her advice is old-fashioned and out-of-date. Many better textbooks on Ethics available.

I don't think the authors have ever worked. The book seems very fluffy and theoretical. Look elsewhere for a practical ethics resource.