Moral Issues in Business [Paperback]

William H. Shaw (Author), Vincent Barry (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0495604690 | ISBN-13: 978-0495604693 | Publication Date: February 4, 2009 | Edition: 11

One of the most popular business ethics texts available, MORAL ISSUES IN BUSINESS, Eleventh Edition, guides students in thinking deeply about important moral issues that frequently arise in business situations and helps them develop the reasoning and analytical skills to resolve those issues. Combining insightful and accessible textbook chapters by the authors, cases that highlight the real-world importance of key ethical concepts, and reading selections from the most influential voices in contemporary ethical debates, this book provides a comprehensive, flexible, and pedagogically proven course of study exploring the intersections of commerce and ethics. William H. Shaw and Vincent Barry offer a uniquely thorough and practical guide to the nature of morality, individual integrity and responsibility, economic justice, concepts of capitalism, and the role of corporations in our society (including their responsibilities to consumers and to the environment), and the real-life moral issues that arise in the workplace.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

The author and editor of numerous books in the areas of ethics and social and political philosophy, William H. Shaw obtained a Ph.D. in Political Philosophy from the London School of Economics and currently teaches at San Jose State University. He was selected by SJSU's President Robert Caret as the 1998-99 President's scholar and is the author of several other successful books with Wadsworth.

Vincent Barry has been professor of philosophy at Bakersfield College for over thirty years. In addition to co-authoring MORAL ISSUES IN BUSINESS, he is the co-author of two other widely read Wadsworth publications?APPLYING ETHICS and INVITATION TO CRITICAL THINKING. His latest Wadsworth publication: THINKING PHILOSOPHICALLY ABOUT DEATH AND DYING will be published in 2006. Currently, he lives in Santa Barbara with his wife Jeannine and his young daughter Jen-Li Rose, whom he and his wife adopted in China in 1997. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 686 pages
• Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing; 11 edition (February 4, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0495604690
• ISBN-13: 978-0495604693
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 8 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,390 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars As a response to comments by "ssaber", May 11, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Moral Issues in Business (7th ed) (Paperback)

Well, I happen to disagree with previous comment. Not only did I like the course, I also liked the book. It wasn't an easy reading, I got to tell you. Sometimes it took more than one reading and several minutes or reflecting to figure out what the authors were talking about. But in the end it all made sense. And as a bonus the book went into great detail on philosophy, psychology, political science, and economics which I found quite helpful, since as a business major I didn't have a chance to take courses in first three subjects mentioned. The best thing, however, was, that almost a year later in packed Helsinki bar, I was able for about 15 minutes to talk about greatest German and French philosophers - all about them I learned from this book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Needs condensing, October 24, 2010

By 

Sarge1 - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Moral Issues in Business (Paperback)

Its a great book, however, Rome was not built in a day. The book needs to be more focus and condense.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Medicore review of reviews, April 30, 2007

By 

Comder "NVS" (USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Moral Issues in Business (Paperback)

4 stars= some good arguments to consider, and issues it provokes. Being a philisopher student, some of these arguments are strong.

Nuntius said: "Keynes, Hayek, and Friedman" were skipped in discussion. I know that Friedman was well included, in the case studies and in some chapters. Look at 4.3 for a real focus.

He also said that "Like ssaber, I was disappointed to find a three page "defense" of capitalism and a ten page attack of it in Chapter 4, "The Nature of Capitalism.""

I noticed a sentence stating that we can't dismiss a capitalist society because of the fact of where it brought us, where as the other systems didn't do so well. Therefore, I wouldn't really consider this a dismiss on capitalism.
For example, in page 158, they say "The debate over capitalism is a large and important one; the presentation that follows should be viewed as a stimulus to further discussion and not as the last word on th pros and cons of capitalism." Furthermore, "complete coverage of capitalism's features has filled many books" (154). This clearly states what the authors intend, as a mere stimulus. In fact, having a whole chapter seems to be sufficient to their intent.


Maybe they can expand the subject to add more back and forth criticisms, but we know that debate can be long. As long as they made that statement of it merely being a stimulus, I'm ok with it.

After all, capitalism is a very new concept with the foundation of the industrial revolution. Of course debate should ensue. But I guess they should end the chapter stating the "nonetheless, a capitalist framework has got us great heights."

God Bless.
-NVS