Abstract

This dissertation addresses a contemporary business ethics query regarding moral accountability of the large business corporation: Can the corporation be held morally responsible for its untoward actions? Also, the question is raised as to whether the large business corporation is a moral person. For if the corporation is a moral person, then it can be held morally responsible for its actions. On the other hand, if the corporation is not a moral person, then opposing arguments regarding legal and human moral agency will be explored to develop a dual scheme of corporate responsibility. ;It is an observable fact that large corporations are held morally responsible for their activities. But do moral judgments about corporate behavior indicate that corporations are moral persons, or do people make moral judgments about corporate activities in order to elicit corporate acceptance of causal or legal/compensatory responsibility? Or could moral responsibility be meant for the corporation's human members who make the decisions? Furthermore, could responsibility be meant for both the corporation as a legal entity and its decision-making members as moral persons? These questions direct the search for a viable concept of corporate responsibility. ;I present an in-depth examination of Peter A. French's moral person view, with an extensive evaluation of his argument in the light of challengers such as Thomas Donaldson, Manuel G. Velasquez, and John Ladd. Counter-arguments to the moral person view are assessed, including notions of corporate responsibility as explained by the moral projectionists Christopher D. Stone, Kenneth E. Goodpaster, and John B. Matthews, Jr. Ultimately, French's moral person view and the projectionists are refuted. ;Findings of the investigation indicate that the corporation cannot qualify as a moral person, but that the corporation is merely a legal entity separate from its human members, who are moral persons. The corporate setting sustains two types of responsibility--legal and moral. Thus, corporate responsibility has two dimensions: legal responsibility of the corporate entity and moral/legal responsibility of corporate decision makers