Business Ethics - A Philosophical and Behavioral Approach

In this textbook we examine the extent to which moral values play a role as productive forces for companies and the economy as a whole, and explores the effect of ethical and unethical behavior at both levels. We show how ethics improves productivity, and provide specific ethics tools for practical application for both students and managers. Stemming from an overall interdisciplinary approach, this textbook fills a gap in the literature on ethics in business. Following a textbook structure, we first derive knowledge from scientific studies that are relevant for students, and then summarize the results. We explain ethical assessment approaches, and then provide an ethical assessment of economic behavior using case studies. Roleplaying and games are used to explain the behavior of people in relation to ethics.

This book is important for students and researchers as well as policymakers and business executives due to its focus on applications.

Table of Contents.- 0. Introduction .- 1. Basic of ethics.- 2. Ethical valuation approaches.- 3. The image of humans.- 4. Ethical problems of the economy: Enron, Subprime & Co. – from crisis to crisis.- 5. Market and morality.- 6. Institutional ethics: the state regulatory framework.- 7. Tools of ethics for management 8. New chapter: Politics and Ethics.- 9. Ethics in business education.      

Prof. Dr. Christian A. Conrad teaches economics and business ethics at Saarland University of Applied Science HTW. He published several books and papers about ethics, business, economics and financial markets. He was previously Senior Key Account Manager in the national and international corporate department of a major German bank.