This is a weekly round up of some of the best business ethics articles, reports and blogs that I’ve seen. Feel free to click on the links provided, take a look and offer comments here. The discussion that follows is useful to those who routinely come here for business ethics news and reports.
Business Schools put Ethics high on MBA agendas
This article plays an interesting theme that I am focusing in on as a business ethics speaker and blogger. What role does the business school take when it comes to business ethics education? Is business ethics a topic or course description or are ethics larger and part of a comprehensive education that is woven into the fabric of business disciplines taught in both graduate and undergraduate education? The article is an interesting read. My question, however, focuses on why just advanced degrees. It seems to me to assume that business leaders must have advanced degrees in order to become leaders. I’m not sure I agree with that, but take a look and feel free to offer comments.
Should business ethics be more than a course offered to business students?
Another link to a business ethics university related posting can be seen here.
Now one might wonder what tourism bookings information might have to do with a business ethics blog? Consider Haiti. Many have criticized cruise ship companies when they continue to offer vacation bookings to Haiti and their neighbor – the Dominican Republic. Chris MacDonald, a business ethics professor at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, said travellers to either nation on the island of Hispaniola should not be deterred from their plans — unless logistics make scheduled trips impossible — because these struggling nations need tourism dollars. Perhaps the luxury and opulence that folks think about when it comes to the cruise industry is, in fact, a positive ethical behavior when it comes to pumping money into the area and providing sustenance for folks who need an economic foundation.
What do you think?
Finders Fee or a Bribe? A Case Study in Blogger Ethics:
It is incredible what innovations the internet has created. One is the blog. It wasn’t that long ago that I didn’t have a clue what a blog was, but less the power it wielded. Of course, as a business ethics blogger and speaker, I am aware of the simple, yet powerful, use of the pen and open publishing that blogging provides. This article is cool, in that, it expands the discussion of blogging and ‘financial affiliations’ in the open world of the internet.
Here’s a quote: On Jan. 14, Katherine Rothman, CEO of KMR Communications, sent a mass email to bloggers and other editors who cover beauty, fashion, health and fitness. “I would like to make an offer to you that could be mutually beneficial in the event that this is of interest,” Rothman wrote. Writers, she continued, often find themselves covering “smaller or emerging companies” that lack PR representation. “My offer is this: if you recommend a prospective client to our firm and they sign a contract with us, I would in turn provide you with a generous finder’s fee.”
The discussion is interesting and this is worth a read!
Your comments, of course, are welcome.
CLOSING COMMENTS – Thanks for being a reader of the business ethics blog. If you run across stories of either business ethics at work (doing well) or business ethics run amuck…feel free to give me a shout. You can reach me outside of this blog at chuck@gallagher.pcgdev.com