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Olympic Games over an 80…year period； can prove ethically questionable。
In the first place Coca…Cola； McDonald’s； Samsung and the other Olympics’
sponsors hope for a share of the huge marketing benefits that accrue from
such association。 Secondly； supporting the Games may be the ‘right’ thing
to do； but supporting the 2008 host country； China； a regime with a questionable
human rights track record； may well be ‘wrong’。
Business ethics defines the categories of duty for which we are morally
responsible。 Lists of moral duties and rights can be lengthy and overlapping。
The duty…based theory advanced by a British philosopher； W D Ross （1877–
1971）； provides a short list of duties that he believed reflects our actual
moral convictions：
。 Fidelity： the duty to keep promises。
。 Reparation： the duty to pensate others when we harm them。
。 Gratitude： the duty to thank those who help us。
。 Justice： the duty to recognize merit。
。 Beneficence： the duty to improve the conditions of others。
。 Self…improvement： the duty to improve our virtue and intelligence。
。 Non…maleficence： the duty to not injure others。
Ross recognized that there will be occasions when we must choose between
two conflicting duties。 For example； should your business be involved in
any way with products that facilitate abortions？ On one side of that moral
argument lies beneficence in improving the conditions of women and； on
the other； non…maleficence in not doing injury to the unborn child。 You
can find out more about the theoretical aspects of ethics on The Internet
Encyclopedia of Philosophy （iep。utm。edu/e/ethics。htm） and on
related business issues on the Free Management Library website （
managementhelp/ethics/ethxgde。htm）。
Ethics and Social Responsibility 223
TEACHING ETHICS AND SOCIAL
RESPONSIBILITY IN BUSINESS SCHOOLS
This subject is perhaps the most controversial and disputed in terms of the
teaching methodology and content used in business schools。 A recent survey
on Corporate Social Responsibility Education in Europe found that while
most business schools had some content in this area； only a quarter had
a specific topic； module or elective covering the ground。 In 2008； courses
in corporate social responsibility （CSR）； ethics； sustainability or business
and society are now a requirement for 58 per cent of MBAs； up from 45
per cent in 2003 and 34 per cent in 2001。 Most had the subject embedded in
various other subject areas； for example under titles such as a bination
of ‘Accounting； Corporate Governance； Law and Public Governance’ or
‘Stakeholder Management’。 Others had ethics and social responsibility
covered in the context of specific disciplines – ethical accounting systems
or marketing and ethics。 Georgia Tech College of Management’s MBA set
as a business ethics paper the task ‘Analyze Sarbannes–Oxley from both
conceptual and implementation perspectives’； which is a largely a single
issue of directors’ responsibilities to investors。
There is widespread use of practitioner speakers from business or nongovernmental
organizations （NGOs） as well as case studies from industry；
and these methods dwarf the more academic methods （lectures； tutorials）
used in other subject areas。 Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth； for
example； teaches a ‘brief mini…course’ based on discussions of ethical issues
encountered by its faculty in cases involving their experience ‘particularly
on the functional areas of business as exercised in both the US and the
global marketplace； where different local practices and cultural norms
seem to muddy the ethical water’。 The academics； however； are on the
march！ No。。ingham University Business School has an International Centre
for Corporate Social Responsibility and a Professor of CSR （Corporate
Social Responsibility）。 INSEAD has a chaired professor of Business Ethics
and Corporate Responsibility； though the focus there appears to be very
much around ethical consumerism； deception in marketing and marketing
ethics。 But the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business leads
the field in raising the bar on teaching in this field。 It’s the only business
school anywhere to have a Nobel laureate – Robert Fogel； winner of the
1993 Nobel Prize in economics – teaching ‘A Guide to Business Ethics’。
OWNERS VS DIRECTORS： THE START OF THE
ETHICAL TUG OF WAR
Directors are appointed by the owners of a business to control a business
and look a。。er their interests in their absence。 When enterprises were
224 The Thirty…Day MBA
small and local this was an expediency rarely invoked； as owners more
o。。en than not were the directors and where they were not it was usual to
ensure at least some family oversight。 Now； where nearly two…thirds of all
business activity is conducted by giant global enterprises； this separation
of ownership from control has bee both necessary and monplace。
Also； such businesses have replaced ‘owners’ with ‘shareholders’。 The
difference is subtle but it is the key to understanding the requirement for
including business ethics and social responsibility on the business school
curriculum。
Shareholders only rarely own more than a small fraction of any one
business； they have no special reason to identify with the founders’ vision
or code of behaviour and they are preoccupied with relatively simple
outes such as growth in earnings per share。 If they bee unhappy in
that respect they just swap their holding in that business for a similar stake
in another。 In fact； even if such shareholders are satisfied with financial
performance when a sector is out of ‘favour’； say； as retailers may be during
a recession； they may well sell their holding in any event。 The main holders
of large shareholdings in businesses now are fund managers and pension
funds and arguably these have an even greater imperative to focus their
a。。ention on earnings。 True； they exert pressure from time to time but that
is usually when they see too much control moving into the hands of one
director； say when there is an a。。empt to bine the roles of chairman
and chief executive。 Also； when directors are trying to pay themselves
more than they may be worth or are trying to improve their lot in some
other way at the expense of shareholders； a fund manager may step in。
Fund managers are not always honest brokers with regard to looking a。。er
shareholder interest。 For example； during a takeover there is a good chance
that a fund manager will find themselves with holdings in both buyer and
seller。
The board of directors has in effect replaced the ‘owner’ as the custodian
of the moral tone and in se。。ing standards of behaviour towards everyone
the business has dealings with。 They are in some ways encouraged by legal
constraints placed on them to take a narrow view of those responsibilities。
They are required ‘to act in good faith in the interests of the pany’； ‘not
to deceive shareholders and to appoint auditors to oversee the accounting
records’； ‘not to carry on the business of the pany with intent to defraud
creditors or for any fraudulent purpose’； and ‘to have regard for the interests
of employees in general’。 （See Chapter 4 for more on the responsibilities of
directors。）
Directors and managers also have responsibilities to protect their customers
when using their products or services or when visiting pany
premises and to follow rules inhibiting pollution in the operating processes。
But it is only relatively recently that panies have been required
to take a wider view of their responsibilities to other ‘stakeholder’ groups。
Ethics and Social Responsibility 225
Enlightened managers； or those that are particularly astute； depending on
your level of cynicism； have o。。en taken on broader responsibilities； sponsoring
charities； funding social amenities such as play areas or providing
low…cost housing。 These initiatives are o。。en spurred on by enlightened selfinterest；
say to help with recruiting and retaining employees； with ge。。ing
favourable PR； or in the case of low…cost housing； providing amenities is a
usual requirement in ge。。ing planning consent for a property development
or a site for； say； a supermarket。
UNILEVER – EMBEDDING ETHICS
In 1887； William Hesketh Lever； already a highly successful soap manufacturer；
was looking for a new site for his factory to allow him to expand。
The site also needed to be near a river for importing raw materials； and
near a railway line for transporting the finished products。 The 56 acres
of unused marshy land at the site that became Port Sunlight； named
after his soap； was far more than he needed simply for manufacturing
purposes。 Lever had something more all…embracing in mind。 His stated
aims were to create an environment that allowed his workers ‘to
socialize and Christianize business relations and get back to that close
family brotherhood that existed in the good old days of hand labour’。
His intention was to extend his responsibilities beyond making money for
himself and to share that； albeit on his own terms； with everyone who
worked for him。 Between 1899 and 1914 Lever built some 800 houses；
taking an active part himself in the design。 The munity’s population
of 3；500 shared allotments； public buildings； including the Lady Lever Art
Gallery； schools； a concert hall； open air swimming pool； church； and a
temperance hotel。 His cottage hospital； built in 1907； continued until the
introduction of the National Health Service in 1948。 He also introduced
schemes for welfare； education and the entertainment of his workers；
and encouraged recreation and organizations which promoted art；
literature； science or music。
Unilever； as the pany is now known； has carried the Lever values
and vision on into corporate life。 The pany’s behaviour in all affairs
is governed by a set of clear； stated and municated guidelines。
Starting with its core value； ‘As a multi…local multinational we aim to
play our part in addressing global environmental and social concerns
through our own actions； and working in partnership with stakeholders
at local； national and international levels’； the pany has developed
a prehensive set of principles to guide its behaviour in all aspects of
its work。 The guidelines it expects employees to work to include always
working with integrity with ‘the highest standards of corporate behaviour
towards everyone we work with； the munities we touch； and the
environment on which we have an impact’。 The full value statement
can be seen on its website at this link （unilever/ourvalues）。
226 The Thirty…Day MBA
UNDERSTANDING STAKEHOLDERS
So we can see that directors and by extension the managers of an organization
first saw that their primary； o。。en their only； responsibility was to
look a。。er the shareholders’ interests。 Measures were； and still are； taken
to a。。empt to ally their interests； for example linking bonuses to share
price or profits。 For the most part these a。。empts have failed； as the case
of Enron showed； where shareholders were systematically deceived。 Also；
in the whole sub…prime debacle bankers were rewarded for systematically
repackaging toxic loans and spreading them in near…undetectable layers
around the globe； to the eventual detriment of their shareholders and the
taxpaying public at large who had to pick up the bill。 But even where it is
possible to ally directors’ interests with those of shareholders； that leaves a
myriad of other interested parties effectively disenfranchised； except in so
far as they are expressly protected by laws。
The idea that businesses had a responsibility other than to shareholders
was brought to popular a。。ention in Howard R Bowen’s book Social Responsibilities
of the Businessman （1953； New York： Harper and Brothers）； but it
was a decade later before the term ‘stakeholder’ was coined in an internal
memorandum at the Stanford Research Institute in 1963。 Over the next
two decades the term stakeholder was debated and defined until Edward
Freeman； a professor at the Darden School of Business （darden。
virginia。edu）； University of Virginia； in his book Strategic Management： A
Stakeholder Approach （1984； United States： Pitman Bowen）； set out simple
guidelines that anyone in an organization could understand and follow。
Freeman’s stakeholders were defined as ‘any group or individual who can
affect or is affected by the achievement of the organization’s objectives’。
MAPPING OUT THE STAKEHOLDERS
Freeman （see above） divided stakeholders into six distinct categories； owners；
employees； customers； suppliers； munities and governments； with
which an organization has varying responsibilities or ‘social contracts’。 The
first step in the process of developing an ethical strategy is to identify all the
people； institutions and agencies that your organization is likely to impinge
on in the normal course of its activities。
Figure 9。1 gives an example of a stakeholder map。 It shows how stakeholders
move outwards from the individual at the centre； to internal groups
including their immediate work environmen