Across the management, social science, and business ethics literatures, and in much of the philosophy literature, trust is characterized as a disposition to act given epistemic states—beliefs and/or expectations about others and about the risks involved. This characterization of trust is best thought of as epistemological because epistemic states distinguish trust from other dispositions. The epistemological characterization of trust is the amoral one referred to in the title of this paper, and we argue that this characterization is conceptually inadequate. We (...) outline and defend an alternative conception of trust as a moral phenomenon: when A trusts B to do something, A invites B to acknowledge and accept an obligation; when B accepts the invitation, B takes on an obligation; in that way trust creates an obligation. We conclude with an application, drawing out the difference between the epistemological conception of trust and our own in the context of Ghoshal et al.'s (Sloan Management Review 40:9—20, 1995, Academy of Management Learning & Education 4:75—91, 2005) critique of transaction cost theories of the firm. (shrink)

Business, Institutions, and Ethics: A Text with Cases and Readings is the first text to use the analysis of social institutions to examine business ethics. It explains fundamental concepts in ethics and how to apply them to business and economics. The author shows how social institutions are constituted by an integrated set of ethical, economic, and legal principles, and then uses these principles to study the ethics of commerce at the individual, organizational, and market levels. This unique work features thirty-four (...) cases and articles that are organized into economic categories, providing a conceptual unity and flexibility not found in similar texts. The first half of the text focuses on theory, beginning with a case study that illustrates and unifies the theoretical discussions that follow. It examines market institutions, organizational structure, and individual decision making; interprets moral development as a process within institutional settings; and explains egoism, care, utilitarianism, right, and pluralistic ethical theories. It also discusses how economic analyses of markets and firms incorporate ethical principles, and argues that law reinforces ethical and economic aspects of social institutions important to the continued existence and well-being of society. The second half of the text consists of cases and articles organized by the economic categories of property, risk-reward relationships, information, and competition. Topics covered include corporate control, workplace dangers, marketing, and manufacturing relocation. Applicable in both business schools and philosophy departments, Business, Institutions, and Ethics shows how ethical principles can help us gather, sort, and interpret information necessary for making sound business decisions. Ideal for courses in business ethics and business and society, it is also a valuable reference for business professionals and philosophers. (shrink)

The purpose of this paper is to formulate and defend a set of moral principles applicable to management. Our motivation is twofold: 1) to increase the coherence and utility of Integrative Social Contracts Theory (ISCT); and 2) to initiate an alternative stream of business ethics research. To those ends, we specify what counts as adequate guidance in navigating the ethical terrain of business. In doing so, a key element of ISCT, Substantive Hypernorms, is found to be flawed beyond repair. So (...) we propose and defend a remedy: prima facie moral principles. After delineating the appropriate criteria and format for such principles, we formulate, explain, and defend five of them. We conclude with a brief comment on future research possibilities. (shrink)

EDITOR’S NOTE: Business Ethics Quarterly invited a number of scholars involved with BEQ over its first twenty years (especially in its early years, as editors or editorial board members) to offer their reflections on the past, present, and future of business ethics. The resulting comments, which appear below, are as diverse and eclectic as the group of scholars who have given their energies to BEQ over the years.

Is business intimately related to ethics or can the two be separated? I argue that examining this question by focusing on how the two areas might be separated is logically flawed. Examining how business and ethics are connected, however, can bear fruit. This examination shows that business is a proper subset of ethics. Understanding this intimate connection has two practical benefits. It removes the seemingly incommensurable conflict between financial and ethical responsibilities of managers and it gives us new and positive (...) insights into Milton Friedman’s view that the social responsibility of business is to increase its profits. (shrink)

This 2001 Presidential Address critically examines the mission of SBE and how it can be fulfilled. I begin with Brother Leo Ryan’s1994 Presidential Address, in which he asked how the SBE mission can be accomplished given the growing number of organizations that focus on business ethics. I take up his challenge by focusing on one objective of our stated mission: To help develop ethical business organizations. I examine two ways we might promote this objective: the Moral Market Model advocated by (...) John Boatright in his 1998 Presidential Address and the Market of Morality model advocated by Thomas Dunfee in his 1996 Presidential Address. I argue both views are limited because they focus only on market institutions. I conclude with an example of how breast cancer awareness among African-American women was increased by relying on a multi-institutional approach: organizations (beauty parlors), individuals (hairdressers, who distributed the information), personal relationships, culture, and educational and health care institutions. The question remains: Who are our hairdressers? (shrink)

Firms are beginning to evaluate requests for donations as they would investments. Critics argue that a strategy of charitable investing is conceptually inconsistent, disguised self-interest, and violates the dignity of those who receive charity. This paper argues that charity and investment are consistent (and even complementary in some cases), can preserve the virtue and the dignity of the giver and receiver, and may result in a wider distribution of charitable funds. The paper also discusses how a policy of charitable investing (...) could be implemented within a firm so as to avoid it being used merely as a public relations tool. Finally, it is suggested that charitable investments can help maintain the conditions necessary for a free market economy. (shrink)

This workshop complemented a Professional Development Workshop offered at the 2012 Academy of Management meeting on “Effective online teaching for social and environmental topics.” This workshop provided new perspectives on how to adapt and enhance Business & Society/Business Ethics undergraduate courses with the adult learner in mind. This workshop was led by conference participants who have experience teaching B&S/BE courses for adult learners.

I begin by recounting the market demands that created an opportunity for me to teach business ethics in the College of Business at St. Cloud State University. The AACSB and my educational institution focused amorphous social demands for better business practices into a specific demand for a philosophy Ph.D. to teach business ethics. I felt frustrated teaching business ethics because of my inexperience and the eclectic nature of the field. I, and many others, searched for something to unify the many (...) topics of the field. This search was one of the factors that led to BEQ’s appearance in 1991. The first issue marked a milestone in the continuing search fortheory and the legitimization of the field. It focused previous discussions and was remarkably prescient. While it is unlikely that we will reach a consensus about how to understand the field, if consensus ever comes close to occurring, I argue that it will not coalesce over stakeholder theory. I examine two theories that could be used as a grand unified theory (GUT) of business ethics: Integrated Social Contracts Theory and my own institutional theory that expands on the work of Douglass North’s view of economic institutions. I usethe discussion of these GUTs to develop criteria of what a successful GUT might look like. Based on these criteria, I argue that theinstitutional theory has a better chance of succeeding, but recognize that business ethics GUTs are primarily heuristic; many different types of theories can be helpful. Lastly, I discuss whether it is pretentious and overbearing to argue for a GUT. I argue that it need not be. (shrink)

This workshop complemented a Professional Development Workshop offered at the 2012 Academy of Management meeting on “Effective online teaching for social and environmental topics.” This workshop provided new perspectives on how to adapt and enhance Business & Society/Business Ethics undergraduate courses with the adult learner in mind. This workshop was led by conference participants who have experience teaching B&S/BE courses for adult learners.