Gina Vega

Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Business Ethics and Society

• Broschiertes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

The Taking Sides Collection on McGraw-Hill Create(TM) includes current controversial issues in a debate-style format designed to stimulate student interest and develop critical thinking skills. This Collection contains a multitude of current and classic issues to enhance and customize your course. You can browse the entire Taking Sides Collection on Create or you can search by topic, author, or keywords. Each Taking Sides issue is thoughtfully framed with Learning Outcomes, an Issue Summary, an Introduction, and an "Exploring the Issue" section featuring Critical Thinking and Reflection, Is There Common Ground?, Additional Resources, and Internet References. Go to the Taking Sides Collection on McGraw-Hill Create(TM) at http://www.mcgrawhillcreate.com/takingsides and click on "Explore this Collection" to browse the entire Collection. Select individual Taking Sides issues to enhance your course, or access and select the entire Vega, Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Business Ethics and Society, 14/e book here http://create.mheducation.com/createonline/index.html#qlink=search%2Ftext%3Disbn:1259402797 for an easy, pre-built teaching resource. Visit http://create.mheducation.com for more information on other McGraw-Hill titles and special collections.

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Produktdetails

• Taking Sides
• Verlag: Dushkin Publishing
• Seitenzahl: 296
• Altersempfehlung: 18 bis 22 Jahre
• Erscheinungstermin: 20. Oktober 2015
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 274mm x 213mm x 8mm
• Gewicht: 567g
• ISBN-13: 9781259402791
• ISBN-10: 1259402797
• Artikelnr.: 42794564

Inhaltsangabe

UNIT: Capitalism and the Corporation
Issue 1. Is Increasing Profits the Only Social Responsibility of Business?
Yes: Milton Friedman, from "The Social Responsibility of Business Is to
Increase Its Profits", The New York Times Magazine (1970).
No: Joseph Hart, from "The New Capitalists", Utne Reader (2006).
Milton Friedman argues that businesses have neither the right nor the
ability to make social responsibility a priority. Profit making must be the
priority. Businesses serve employees and customers best when they do their
work with maximum efficiency. The only restrictions on the pursuit of
profit that Friedman accepts are the requirements of law and the "rules of
the game" ("open and free competition without deception or fraud"). Joseph
Hart disagrees. He states, "It's no longer enough more and more
corporations are conceding, for capitalism to simply make money. It must
also make a difference." Using logic developed by Alan Greenspan, Hart
avers that business must make room for values other than self-interest.
Issue 2. Can Ethics Codes Build "True" Corporate Ethics?
Yes: Eric Krell, from "How to Conduct an Ethics Audit: An Ethics Audit Can
Reveal Gaps in Your Ethics Policies and Practices", HR Magazine (2010).
No: Greg Young and David S. Hasler, from "Managing Reputational Risks:
Using Risk Management for Business Ethics and Reputational Capital",
Strategic Finance (2010).
Eric Krell finds that one of the major corporate goals of the human
resource office is to build true corporate ethics. He believes this can be
done with a code of ethics, through performance reviews, and with ethics
audits. Through this process, employees' good and corporate good can become
the same. Greg Young and David S. Hasler believe that strengthening the
role of ethical and reputational capital has been given the short shrift
within corporations. It may be that one day ethics audits and ethics codes
could be essential in building capital. However, they state that until
management understands that poor ethics make for poor profits, business
practices will continue to ignore the place of an ethics core within their
organization.
Issue 3. Have the Antitrust Laws Outlived Their Effectiveness vis-à-vis
Technology?
Yes: Craig Timberg, from "FTC: Google Did Not Break Antitrust Law with
Search Practices", The Washington Post (2013).
No: Marvin Ammori, from "The Case for Net Neutrality", Foreign Affairs
(2014).
Craig Timberg claims that "The murky standards for establishing consumer
harm" have gotten in the way of more serious charges of business practices
that hurt competitors and limit consumer choice. Attorney Marvin Ammori
argues that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) should regulate
Internet service providers to assure that some websites are neither given
preferential treatment nor charged arbitrary fees in order to reach end
users.
Issue 4. Are Stock Buybacks the Best Strategy to Drive Corporate Value?
Yes: Justin Pettit, from "Is a Share Buyback Right for Your Company?",
Harvard Business Review (2001).
No: William Lazonick, from "Profits Without Prosperity", Harvard Business
Review (2014).
Justin Pettit has found that managers routinely underestimate how many
shares they need to buy to send a credible signal to the markets, and he
offers a way to calculate that number. He also goes through the iterative
steps involved in working out how many shares must be purchased to reach a
target level of debt. Then he takes a look at the advantages and
disadvantages of the three most common ways that companies make the actual
purchases - open-market purchases, fixed-price tender offers, and
auction-based tender offers. William Lazonick explains that though
corporate profits are high, and the stock market is booming, most Americans
are not sharing in the economic recovery. While the top 0.1% of income
recipients reap almost all the income gains, good jobs keep disappearing,
and new ones tend to be insecure and underpaid. One of the major causes:
Instead of investing their profits in growth opportunities, corporations
are using them for stock repurchases.
Issue 5. Is the Federal Reserve Good for Business?
Yes: Daniel Indiviglio, from "Why We Need the Fed", The Atlantic (2011).
No: Robert Larson, from "Fed Up: The Federal Reserve's Balance Sheet Is
Exploding on Both Sides", Dollars & Sense (2011).
Daniel Indiviglio explains that historically the Federal Reserve was
introduced to stabilize the financial systems throughout the United States.
This organization has numerous powers available to control interest rates
and inflation. Ethically, for Indiviglio, the Federal Reserve is needed to
maintain fairness and stability throughout the monetary system. Robert
Larson argues that the Federal Reserve has outlived its usefulness. He
believes that the organization makes money too easily and inexpensively
available for the marketplace. He believes this creates artificial economic
and ethical problems that could easily be solved if the Federal Reserve no
longer existed.
UNIT: Human Resources: The Corporation and Employment
Issue 6. Is Employer Monitoring of Employee Social Media Justified?
Yes: Brian Elzweig and Donna K. Peeples, from "Using Social Networking Web
Sites in Hiring and Retention Decisions", SAM Advanced Management Journal
(2009).
No: Steven Greenhouse, from "Even if It Enrages Your Boss, Social Net
Speech Is Protected", The New York Times Magazine (2013).
Brian Elzweig and Donna K. Peeples write that although employers do need to
be respectful of their employees' privacy, they also have the
responsibility to avoid negligent hiring and negligent retention. They find
that the monitoring an employee's, or a potential employee's, social media
is a viable way to avoid these potentially serious problems. This is not to
say that an employer's monitoring of social media should be without limits.
Special care should be taken in respect to state privacy laws regarding the
protection of employees outside of company time. Steven Greenhouse explains
that new findings from the National Labor Relations Board state it is
illegal for employers to fire employees based on social media posts. Often
when an employee begins a job, part of the policy discussion revolves
around social media use. In the majority of cases, the employee is told not
to post materials that make the firm, the employer, and other employees
appear in a bad light. It appears that many firms should begin rewriting
their policy manuals based on the findings from the National Labor
Relations Board as well as state law.
Issue 7. Is CEO Compensation Justified?
Yes: Ira T. Kay, from "Don't Mess with CEO Pay", Across the Board (2006).
No: Edgar Woolard, Jr., from "CEOs Are Being Paid Too Much", Across the
Board (2006).
Ira T. Kay, a consultant on executive compensation for Watson Wyatt
Worldwide, argues that in general the pay of the CEO tracks the company's
performance, so in general CEOs are simply paid to do what they were hired
to do-bring up the price of the stock to increase shareholder wealth. Edgar
Woolard, Jr., a former CEO himself, holds that the methods by which CEO
compensation is determined are fundamentally flawed, and he suggests some
significant changes.
Issue 8. Will Robots Help the American Worker?
Yes: Jeffrey R. Young, from "The New Industrial Revolution: A Coming Wave
of Robots Could Redefine Our Jobs. Will That Redefine Us?", The Chronicle
Review (2013).
No: Mark Kingwell, from "The Barbed Gift of Leisure", The Chronicle Review
(2013).
Jeffrey R. Young explains that automation is cheap and efficient. Although
technology's increasing versatility may take some jobs away from humans,
robots primarily will absorb the drudgery that humans may be glad to be rid
of. He foresees a future of increased leisure and creativity for us. Mark
Kingwell focuses on what it means to be human rather than machine and to
live in a culture and community with other human beings. He argues that we
are used to deriving much of the meaning of our lives from our work and
wonders what individuals might do with their leisure time.
Issue 9. Should You Associate Yourself with an Organization That Has a
History of Scandal?
Yes: Taylor Branch, from "The Shame of College Sports", The Atlantic
(2011).
No: David A. Jones, Chelsea R. Willness, and Sarah Madey, from "Why Are Job
Seekers Attracted by Corporate Social Performance? Experimental and Field
Tests of Three Signal-Based Mechanisms", Academy of Management Journal
(2014).
Taylor Branch writes about the NCAA, "We profess outrage each time we learn
that yet another student-athlete has been taking money under the table. But
the real scandal is the very structure of college sports, wherein
student-athletes generate billions of dollars for universities and private
companies while earning nothing for themselves." He asserts that it is not
the fault of the athletes and they should not be blamed. Jones, Willness,
and Madey's study shows that potential job seekers consider corporate
social performance important to the overall assessmen t of a company at all
stages of the job search. They use signal theory to assert the importance
of community involvement, environmental practices, prestige and anticipated
pride of belonging, and perceived values fit and expected treatment to make
a decision about the desirability of associating oneself with a specific
company.
Issue 10. Is Minimum Wage Justified?
Yes: Steve Coll, from "Higher Calling", The New Yorker (2013).
No: Mark Wilson, from "The Negative Effects of Minimum Wage Laws", Policy
Analysis (2012).
Steve Coll, dean of the Columbia School of Journalism, believes that the
case for a strong minimum wage has always been, in part, civic and moral.
He details cities and industries that have voluntarily raised wages above
the suggested minimum wage to demonstrate that pride in jobs and community
make for a better economy. Minimum wages are intended to raise the dignity
of work as well as strengthen individual economic independence. Minimum
wages are not about welfare, entitlement programs, or the value of
government. They are about the value of an individual, community, and
workforce. Mark Wilson, who is a former deputy assistant secretary of the
U.S. Department of Labor, argues that minimum wage harms workers and the
broader economy by forcing higher wage payments on employers. Businesses
respond by cutting employment as well as making other decisions to keep
their net income at the levels needed for profitability. This article
argues that minimum wage is not necessary for entry-level employees because
the majority of employees who are employed for a year often reach the
minimum wage level as part of their employment experience. This experience
gives the worker the opportunity to find another job at a wage above
minimum wage. Additionally, when minimum wage is required, employers
generally cut back on hiring or lay off employees to maintain their
profitability standards.
UNIT: Consumer Issues
Issue 11. Should Big Pharma Be Permitted to Discourage Access to Generic
Drugs?
Yes: Agnes Shanley, from "Legitimate Concerns over Patent Protection,
Profits and Shareholder Value Are Being Balanced by Ethics and Humanism",
PharmaManufacturing.com (2005).
No: Arthur Caplan and Zachary Caplan, from "How Big Pharma Rips You Off",
CNN Opinion (2013).
Agnes Shanley argues that the enormous cost of developing a new drug
justifies attempts to protect its exclusive access to the market after the
patent has expired. Arthur Caplan and Zachary Caplan are skeptical of the
"staggering cost" claims and argue that consumers should have access to the
generic version of the drug as soon as possible.
Issue 12. Should Advertising Directed at Children Be Restricted?
Yes: Stephanie Clifford, from "A Fine Line When Ads and Children Mix", The
New York Times (2010).
No: Patrick Basham and John Luik, from "A Happy Meal Ban Is Nothing to
Smile About", cato.org (2010).
Stephanie Clifford cites studies that show that advertising for children is
often barely distinguishable from regular programming. She cites harm that
can come to children through advertising that seems more promotion than
fact to the child. Patrick Basham and John Luik find no credence in studies
linking harms to child-directed advertising. They cite research that
contends that advertising has little effect on the market associated with
children.
Issue 13. Should We Require Labeling of Genetically Modified Food?
Yes: Gary Hirshberg, from "Why Labeling Makes Sense", Just Label It
(2013).
No: Cameron English, from "GMO Foods: Why We Shouldn't Label (Or Worry
About) Genetically Modified Products", Policymic.com (2012).
Gary Hirshberg claims that the consumers' interests in knowing where their
food comes from does not necessarily have to do with the chemical and
nutritional properties of the food. Kosher pastrami, for instance, is
identical to the nonkosher product, and dolphin-safe tuna is still tuna.
But we have an ethical and personal interest in knowing the processes by
which our foods arrive on the table. He argues that the demand for a label
for bioengineered foods is entirely legitimate. Cameron English points out
that as far as the law is concerned, only the nutritional traits and
characteristics of foods are subject to safety assessment. Labeling has
been required only where health risks exist, or where there is danger that
a product's marketing claims may mislead the consumer as to the food's
characteristics. Breeding techniques have never been subject to labeling,
nor should genetic engineering techniques, English claims.
Issue 14. Is the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) a Necessary
Regulatory Agency?
Yes: Arthur E. Wilmarth, Jr., from "The Financial Services Industry's
Misguided Quest to Undermine the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau",
Review of Banking & Financial Law (2012).
No: Todd J. Zywicki, from "The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Savior
or Menace?", George Mason University Law and Economics Research Paper
Series (2013).
Arthur Wilmarth, a professor of law at George Washington University's
College of Law, argues that the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer
Protection Act (CFPB) was created to protect consumers from fraudulent
activities within the financial services industry. It was established with
autonomy in order to insulate it from political and lobbying pressures that
have been evident in the current federal regulatory agencies. The effects
of the catastrophic crash of 2008 on Wall Street are still felt by many
consumers. Many of the problems were caused by the mortgage industry, the
investment banking industry, and the insurance industry. After extensive
bailout from the American taxpayers, the bureau was put in place to
maintain financial protection and safety for consumers. Todd Zywicki, a
professor of law at George Mason University School of Law, claims that the
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is not necessary because
several federal agencies are already doing the work of the CFPB. The Bureau
has extensive autonomy, which can endanger the financial industry's
progress and profits through excessive regulation and reform. He argues
that the 2010 Dodd-Frank Consumer Financial Protection Act can function
well with the existing federal agencies.
UNIT: Global Objectives
Issue 15. Should Hydrofracking Be Permitted?
Yes: Danny Hakim, from "Gas Drilling Is Called Safe in New York", The New
York Times Magazine (2013).
No: Ben Goldfarb, from "Hydrofracking Poses Serious Risks to Human Health",
Policymic.com (2012).
Danny Hakim reports that the New York Health Department will be issuing a
report claiming that the practice of hydrofracking is safe as it is
practiced in the state of New York; after significant pressure from the
drilling industry and landowners, the moratorium on hydrofracking was
lifted for the Southern Tier of the state in the summer of 2012. Ben
Goldfarb disagrees, citing a recently released Environmental Protection
Agency report that links hydraulic fracturing to contaminated well-water in
Wyoming. He also points out that an abundance of clean water is needed for
the process-a commodity which is scarce in the western United States.
Issue 16. Should the World Continue to Rely on Oil as a Major Source of
Energy?
Yes: Red Cavaney, from "Global Oil Production about to Peak? A Recurring
Myth", World Watch (2006).
No: James Howard Kunstler, from "The Long Emergency", Grove/Atlantic
(2005).
Red Cavaney, president and chief executive officer of the American
Petroleum Institute, argues that recent revolutionary advances in
technology will yield sufficient quantities of available oil for the
foreseeable future. James Howard Kunstler contends that the peak of oil
production, Hubbert's Peak, was itself the important turning point in our
species' relationship to petroleum. Unless strong conservation measures are
put in place, the new scarcity will destroy much that we have come to
expect in our lives.
Issue 17. Is the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Obsolete?
Yes: Joseph W. Yockey, from "Choosing Governance in the FCPA Reform
Debate", Journal of Corporation Law (2013).
No: Peter J. Henning, from "Taking Aim at the Foreign Corrupt Practices
Act", The New York Times (2012).
Joseph Yockey claims that ambiguity in the statute creates perpetual
uncertainty about what constitutes an FCPA violation and that reform is
needed urgently. New governance can replace the existing concerns about
implementation of the FCPA. Peter Henning states that "business leaders
have long contended that the law is overly broad and too aggressively
enforced," but believes that "it does little good to charge someone when
there is not a realistic prospect that the person can be brought to the
United States."
Issue 18. Should U.S. Companies Take Primary Responsibility for Working
Conditions in Their International Suppliers' Factories?
Yes: Denis G. Arnold and Norman E. Bowie, from "Sweatshops and Respect for
Persons ", Business Ethics Quarterly (2003).
No: Charles Duhigg and David Barboza, from "In China, Human Costs Are Built
into an iPad", The New York Times (2012).
Arnold and Bowie claim that multinational corporations are responsible for
the actions of their suppliers based on the Kantian doctrine of respect for
persons. Corporations must ensure minimum safety standards are met, along
with living wage and local labor laws. Duhigg and Barboza report that Apple
contends that their industry behavior is governed by market desire for
cheaper and more advanced technology. Until market desire changes, factory
conditions are secondary.