BACKGROUNDTHE HISTORY OF BUSINESS ETHICS AND STAKEHOLDER THEORY IN AMERICA

Module 1 – BackgroundThe History of Business Ethics and Stakeholder Theory in America

The Evolution of Business Ethics

One thing nice about this course is that you will find your background reading page rather short… but there will still be a respectable amount of reading to do. The reason for this is because will be using a text book for your case assignments. Well, it’s actually more of a narrative of the history of Lockheed Martin’s (LM) ethics program than an actual text book.

The first part of the text provides a general history of the company and also provides the setting for the creation of the company’s ethics program. Military contractors like LM tend to find themselves in the unique position of manufacturing weapons of war which they sell for a profit. But those weapons also provide a military superiority that helps to protect our troops in the field.

With this said, please read pages 1-48 for this module of the following book in our e-library.

Terris, Daniel. (2005) Ethics at Work: Creating Virtue at an American Corporation. Brandeis University Press. Waltham, MA. Retrieved from ProQuest ebrary.

For your SLP assignment you will be asked to spend some time reviewing an article on stakeholder management. Stakeholder management is foundational to the practice of business ethics. This is because typically when a company player does something unethical, stakeholders are the ones impacted. As always, some stakeholders may benefit and others may lose, but stakeholders will always be involved. Balancing stakeholder concerns is subsequently an important aspect of ethical decision making. This article provides a good overview of stakeholder management.

Howitt, M., & McManus, J. (2012). Stakeholder management: An instrument for decision making. Management Services, 56(3), 29-34. Retrieved from Trident University Library (ProQuest).

Harrison, J. S., & Wicks, A. C. (2013). Stakeholder Theory, Value, and Firm Performance. Business Ethics Quarterly, 23(1), 97-124. Retrieved from the Trident Online Library.

The following Pearson learning tools should be reviewed to help you prepare for your discussion board postings:

Pearson MyCourse Tools, (2015) Ethics and Emotions.  Interactive Tutorial.  Retrieved from:http://www.pearsoncustom.com/mct-comprehensive/asset.php?isbn=1269879944&id=22558

Pearson MyCourse Tools, (2015).  Ethics and Emotions. Podcast.  Retrieved from:http://www.pearsoncustom.com/mct-comprehensive/asset.php?isbn=1269879944&id=22560

 

Module 1 – CaseThe History of Business Ethics and Stakeholder Theory in AmericaAssignment Overview

The first part of your reading in Daniel Terris’ book will include an overview of Lockheed Martin’s organization and will lay out the research plan that Terris used to obtain information necessary for his work. This will be followed by a general overview of the evolution of business ethics in America.

Case Assignment

1. Based on your readings, describe what you consider to be the responsibility of top leadership in a large organization with respect to reaching a balance between profits and stakeholder concerns.  Please support your position by giving some examples from the text or from other sources where CEOs did a good or poor job of finding this balance.
2. Terris discusses the history of business ethics in America since the late 1800s with respect to anti-competitive practices, seeking unfair advantage through immoral arrangements with suppliers and public officials, failing to adhere to laws and regulations, and lack of transparency.  Discuss to what extent you believe things to be better or worse in the present day for businesses in general.
3. Describe welfare capitalism and its role as a forerunner of the contemporary business ethics movement.
4. On page 41, Terris discusses the ideas of Howard Bowen regarding the evolution of social responsibility of businesses.  To what extent do you think his predictions held true since 1953?

Assignment Expectations

Your paper should be double-spaced and in 12-point type size.

Your paper should have a separate cover page and a separate reference page containing the full citations corresponding to the in-text citations you choose to use in the body of your paper. So in addition to the 4- to 5-page body of your paper you will have a title page and a reference page. So overall, you will be submitting a 6- to 7-page document.

 

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