Business Commons^™

Navigating The Life Cycle Of Trust In Developing Economies: One-Size Solutions Do Not Fit All, Laura Hartman, Julie Gedro, Courtney Masterson

Laura Hartman

Trust is critical to the development and maintenance of collaborative and cohesive relationships in societies, broadly, and in organizations, specifically. At the same time, trust is highly dependent on the social context in which it occurs. Unfortunately, existing research involving trust remains somewhat limited to a particular set of developed economies, providing a window to explore a culture's stage of economic development as a key contextual determinant of trust within organizations. In this article, we review the state of the scholarship on trust and identify those qualities of trust that are common in organizations at similar stages of economic development, …

Building Partnerships To Create Social And Economic Value At The Base Of The Global Development Pyramid, J Calton, P Werhane, Laura Hartman, D Bevan

Laura Hartman

This paper builds on London & Hart’s critique (2011) that C. K. Prahalad’s best-selling book (2005) prompted a unilateral effort to find a fortune at the bottom of the pyramid (BoP). Prahalad’s instrumental, firm-centered construction suggests, perhaps unintentionally, a buccaneering style of business enterprise devoted to capturing markets rather than enabling new socially entrepreneurial ventures for those otherwise trapped in conditions of extreme poverty. London and Hart reframe Prahalad’s insight to direct global business enterprise toward “creating a fortune with the base of the pyramid” rather than at the bottom of the pyramid. This shift in language requires a recalibration …

False Beliefs, Partial Truths: Personal Myths And Ethical Blind Spots, Crina Archer, Laura Hartman

Laura Hartman

While unethical actions may arise from conscious, deliberate and reflective choices to do ‘wrong,’ many unethical decisions emerge instead from an absence of awareness of ethical responsibility. The metaphor of ‘blind spots’ has been deployed productively to describe mental obstacles that impede ethical responsibility at the individual level, but do not rise to the level of conscious awareness. Blind spots prevent us from attending to relevant data, different points of view, alternative solutions, and foreseeable consequences crucial to forging an ethical response. We identify three common myths that tend to foster ethical blind spots at the individual level by rendering …

Trust After The Global Financial Meltdown, P. Werhane, Laura Hartman, D. Bevan, K. Clark, C. Archer

Laura Hartman

Over the last decade, and culminating in the 2008 global financial meltdown, there has been an erosion of trust and a concomitant rise of distrust in domestic companies, multinational enterprises, and political economies. In response to this attrition, this paper presents three arguments. We propose that the stakes of violating public trust are particularly high in light of the asymmetry between trust and distrust; we identify a constellation of key barriers to overcoming distrust that companies face in the current environment; and we argue that, notwithstanding these challenges, these phenomena are not fatal and can be addressed through a holistic …

The Ethics Of Carbon Neutrality: A Critical Examination Of Voluntary Carbon Offset Providers, K. Kathy Dhanda, Laura Hartman

Laura Hartman

In this paper, we explore the world’s response to the increasing impact of carbon emissions on the sobering threat posed by global warming: the carbon offset market. Though the market is a relatively new one, it has quickly spawned countless offset providers under both regulated and voluntary regimes. Due to the naïveté of some stakeholders who participate in the market surrounding its rather technical aspects, no common quality or certification structure has emerged for providers. In fact, there are claims to the contrary, that a somewhat ‘cowboy’ atmosphere exists, and that there are “widespread instances of people and organizations buying …

Development, Poverty And Business Ethics, Laura Hartman, Patricia Werhane

Laura Hartman

Proposals surrounding poverty alleviation are greatly affected by the ways in which we think about people living in conditions of extreme poverty. The success or failure of those proposals, when operationalized, depends upon our mental models and the ways in which we calibrate and then integrate the narratives we encounter. While others have envisioned a role for multinational enterprises (MNEs) in alleviating global poverty, these schemes lack the catalysts of moral imagination and systems thinking necessary to modify MNE mental models toward sustainable solutions that also create board-based stakeholder value. We will outline the parameters of the challenge, explain the …

Development, Poverty And Business Ethics, Laura Hartman, P. Werhane, K. Clark

Laura Hartman

Proposals surrounding poverty alleviation are greatly affected by the ways in which we think about people living in conditions of extreme poverty. The success or failure of those proposals, when operationalized, depends upon our mental models and the ways in which we calibrate and then integrate the narratives we encounter. While others have envisioned a role for multinational enterprises (MNEs) in alleviating global poverty, these schemes lack the catalysts of moral imagination and systems thinking necessary to modify MNE mental models toward sustainable solutions that also create board-based stakeholder value. We will outline the parameters of the challenge, explain the …

‘Connecting The World Through Games’: Creating Shared Value In The Case Of Zynga’S Corporate Social Strategy, Laura Hartman, E. Mead, D. Christman, P. Werhane

Laura Hartman

When using cases to teach corporate strategy and ethical decision-making, the aim is demonstrate to students that leadership decision-making is at its most effective when all affected stakeholders are considered, from shareholders and employees, to the local, national, and global societies in which the company operates. This paper challenges the obstructive perception of many Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) advocates that the interests of private organizations in the alleviation of social problems should not be vested, but instead should originate from charitable purposes. We evaluate an alternative approach to the role of business in contributing to social progress - Creating Shared …

Stimulating Investments In Haitian Smes, Laura Hartman

Laura Hartman

A Peer-to-Project site to link lenders, donors and investors with SMEs and social projects in Haiti.

Goals: Long-term sustainable operation, Increased access to development capital for entrepreneurs, Spurring large-scale economic development in Haiti.

Stimulating Investments In Haitian Smes (.Pps Version), Laura Hartman

Laura Hartman

[NOTE: This is the .pps version of the same presentation posted as an .xps and listed in this section of this website. For abstract information, please see that duplicate listing.]

Stimulating Investments In Haitian Smes (.Pdf Version), Laura Hartman

Laura Hartman

A Peer-to-Project site to link lenders, donors and investors with SMEs and social projects in Haiti.

Goals: Long-term sustainable operation, Increased access to development capital for entrepreneurs, Spurring large-scale economic development in Haiti

Mental Models That Impede Business’ Role In Global Poverty Alleviation, Dennis Moberg, Laura Hartman, Patricia Werhane, Scott Kelley

Laura Hartman

Six defective mental models that obstruct multinational enterprises from efforts at global poverty alleviation are identified. These include mindsets that define poverty in terms of individual daily earnings, that contend that global poverty is unsolvable, and frame global poverty as a human rights issue. In addition, there are the biased mental models that contend that the poor are incapable, that making money from the poor is unseemly, and that partnerships between multinational enterprises and public organizations are unlikely. It is claimed that such mental models challenge business leaders to be morally imaginative, and specific examples are cited that dispute each …

A Modular Approach To Business Ethics Integration: At The Intersection Of The Stand-Alone And The Integrated Approaches, Laura Hartman, Patricia Werhane

Laura Hartman

With learning objectives designed precisely to measure the student delta based on content, process and engagement in a particular class, those programs that have opted for stand-alone ethics courses may be (though not necessarily are) more prepared to respond to assessment-related inquiries regarding their programs or satisfaction of the standards. The relevance of the AACSB standards modification to the current efforts at ethics integration in business programs is instead a re-examination of how to create a program of integration that is designed to ensure the most effective learning results possible, while responding to the challenges presented by the integrated approach. …

Other Publication-Related Activities, Including Media Interviews, Citations, References, Quotes And Minor Publications, Laura Hartman

Laura Hartman

Other Publication-Related Activities, including Media Interviews, Citations, References, Quotes and Minor Publications (signified where "Hartman" noted as author)

Translating Corporate Culture Around The World: A Cross-Cultural Analysis Of Whistleblowing As An Example Of How To Say And Do The Right Thing, Laura Hartman, Dawn Elm, Tara Radin, Kelly Richmond Pope

Laura Hartman

No abstract provided.

Integrating Ethics Across Disciplines: The Mcdonald’S Case And Poverty Alleviation, Laura Hartman, Regina Wolfe, Patricia Werhane

Laura Hartman

The question of whether ethical issues should be integrated throughout an undergraduate or graduate business curriculum is no longer relevant. To the contrary, it is instead the urgency of how those challenges are most effectively addressed and where to find models of positive corporate performance that occupies our current attention. While no single organization exemplifies the entirety of “ethical” behavior, it is vital to consider models of conduct that have generated value through ethical means, both domestically and on a global scale. The purpose of this discussion is to introduce McDonald’s practice of promotion from within an example of a …

Alleviating Global Poverty Through Profitable Partnerships: Moral Imagination & Economic Well-Being, Laura Hartman, P. Werhane, D. Moberg, S. Kelley

Laura Hartman

While at least one out of six in the global human population cannot meet the basic demands of survival and they have little ability to buy goods and services, this situation also presents potential new markets for multinational enterprises seeking long-term sustainability. If economic growth is a continuing and positive goal for the planet and for global companies, then, as markets in developed economies become saturated, these new markets provide fresh opportunities to satisfy this objective.

Business, Profit, Partnership And The Global Common Good, Scott Kelley, Patricia Werhane, Laura Hartman

Laura Hartman

The chapter considers the reduction of poverty through for-profit initiatives, with a critique of global corporations that take goods and services out of the "bottom of the pyramid" rather than developing new markets that provide new jobs as well as export products and services. Thus, the common good is served through economic empowerment without having to appeal to global philanthropy. An inversion of intuitive thinking is proposed whereby models for for-profit initiatives are considered that will contribute to the common good rather than using a notion of the common good to inspire global companies.

Interpreting Ethical Polyphony, David Bevan, Laura Hartman

Laura Hartman

The second part of the polyphonic conversation introduced by the article immediately preceding it, above. In this segment, we interpret the responses proffered and offer summative analysis. The authors do pragmatically agree upon a provisional closing. However, given the scope to argue endlessly in a trite pseudo intellectual either/either argument (Gershwin & Gershwin, 1936), our accord convenes artificially on the metaphor of a woven tapestry. The opening promise of interpretation is something that is left, in deconstruction, with individual readers.

Saint Vincent De Paul And The Mission Of The Institute For Business & Professional Ethics: Why Companies Should Care About Poverty, Patricia Werhane, Laura Hartman, Scott Kelley

Laura Hartman

In 2006, following St. Vincent of DePaul’s commitment to serving the poor, the IBPE aligned its mission with that of DePaul University’s: “serving first-generation and underserved student populations and …addressing social issues.” This initiative was further promoted by DePaul’s new strategic plan, Vision Twenty12. As a result, IBPE enhanced its mission to include becoming a catalyst aimed to inspire companies to address the reduction of poverty both globally and locally through for-profit initiatives. There are many dimensions to the achievement of this mission, including teaching, research, and community outreach; and the Institute is just beginning this lifetime set of projects. …

Exploring The Global Reporting Initiative Guidelines As A Model For Triple Bottom-Line Reporting, Laura Hartman, Mollie Painter-Morland

Laura Hartman

The paper is aimed at analyzing the contribution that the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) makes to the field of sustainability reporting. It provides an overview of the multitude of initiatives aimed at standardizing corporate social responsibility efforts on a global scale and highlights the ways in which the GRI can be distinguished from other international initiatives. By evaluating GRI’s goals and its claims, the paper provides an overview of the strengths and weaknesses of this critical initiative. It includes a discussion of changes and new strategies that the GRI proposes as part of its recently introduced G3 Guidelines. The authors …

Unresolved Issues And Further Questions: Meir, Potts, And Hendry, Laura Hartman

Laura Hartman

No abstract provided.

The Communication Of Corporate Social Responsibility: United States And European Union Multinational Corporations, Laura Hartman, Robert Rubin, Kathy Dhanda

Laura Hartman

This study explores corporate social responsibility (CSR) by conducting a cross-cultural analysis of communication of CSR activities in a total of 16 U.S. and European corporations. Drawing on previous research contrasting two major approaches to CSR initiatives, it was proposed that U.S. companies would tend to communicate about and justify CSR using economic or bottom-line terms and arguments whereas European companies would rely more heavily on language or theories of citizenship, corporate accountability or moral commitment. Results supported this expectation of difference, with some modification. Specifically, results indicated that EU companies do not value sustainability to the exclusion of financial …

European Perspectives On Business Ethics: A Polyphonic Challenge, David Bevan, Laura Hartman

Laura Hartman

An analysis of the special issue of this volume introducing a project seeking to present some distinctly European perspectives on business ethics and corporate social responsibility. The discussion contextualizes the original papers, anticipates the responses to these papers that will appear in an issue of BE:ER scheduled to immediately follow publication of this issue of Business & Society Review (de George, 2008; Phillips, 2008; Thompson, 2008). The discussion explores and presents the European perspective on corporate social responsibility, serving as an effective polyphony that is revelatory rather than deterministic and exists in common with another work including this notion in …

The End Of Foreign Aid As We Know It: The Profitable Alleviation Of Poverty In A Globalized Economy, Scott Kelley, Patricia Werhane, Laura Hartman

Laura Hartman

This chapter defends the following thesis: Poverty can be alleviated, if not eradicated, both locally and globally, but only if we change our narratives about global free enterprise and only if we rethink our mindsets regarding how poverty issues are is most effectively addressed. The chapter begins with an overview of the current state of the economic landscape with particular focus on – and criticism of –the failures of strategies employed since the middle of the last century. We then explore how a transfer of roles and responsibilities for global poverty from these traditional development practices to innovative, private, for-profit …

Worker Rights And Low Wage Industrialization: How To Avoid Sweatshops, Denis Arnold, Laura Hartman

Laura Hartman

Disputes concerning global labor practices are at the core of contemporary debates regarding globalization. Critics have charged multinational enterprises with the unjust exploitation of workers in the developing world. In response, some economists and “classical liberals” have argued that these criticisms are grounded in a naïve understanding of global economics. They contend instead that sweatshops constitute an inevitable and essential feature of economic development. To the contrary, we argue that there are persuasive theoretical and empirical reasons for rejecting the arguments of these defenders of sweatshops. In particular, we argue that respecting workers entail an obligation to adhere to local …

An Analysis Of Ethics, Csr, And Sustainability Education In The Financial Times Top 50 Global Business Schools: Baseline Data And Future Research Directions, Lisa Jones Christenson, Ellen Peirce, Laura Hartman, Michael Hoffman, Jamie Carrier

Laura Hartman

This paper investigates how deans and directors at the top 50 global MBA programs (as rated by the Financial Times in their 2006 Global MBA rankings) respond to questions about the inclusion and coverage of the topics of ethics, corporate social responsibility, and sustainability at their respective institutions. This work purposely investigates each of the three topics separately. Our findings reveal that 1) a majority of the schools require that one or more of these topics be covered in their MBA curriculum and one-third of the schools require coverage of all three topics as part of the MBA curriculum, 2) …

Positive Ethical Deviance Inspired By Moral Imagination: The Entrepreneur As Deviant, Laura Hartman, Fiona Wilson, Denis Arnold

Laura Hartman

The purpose of this paper is to extend the concept of positive ethical deviancy and moral imagination to the entrepreneurial environment. We specifically explore the connection between moral imagination and positive ethical deviance in firms that, from their inception, display positive deviance from established ethical industry norms. Our analysis identifies firms that do not deviate positively under pressure, or for other externally imposed reasons, but instead those that make a conscious and deliberate choice to adopt new and often radical approaches to ethical issues from the ground up, distinguishing them from standard entrepreneurs in the same industry. This exploration uncovers …

« Les Multinationales Et L’Avenir Des Sweatshops » (“Multinational Corporations And The Future Of Sweatshops”), Laura Hartman, Denis Arnold

Laura Hartman

The purpose of this paper is threefold. First, we explore the tension between the perspective of the free-trade economists and that of the labor advocates with regard to voluntary responses to the sweatshop dilemma. Second, we introduce and define the concept of positive deviancy and relate it to the apparel and footwear global labor markets. Third, we explain how moral imagination is one possible rationalization for this deviancy and then demonstrate how moral imagination may lead to the enhancement of norms in the area of global labor challenges. In order words, what are the root causes behind mistreatment of workers? …

Moral Imagination And The Future Of Sweatshops, Laura Hartman, Denis Arnold

Laura Hartman

Disputes concerning global labor practices are at the core of contemporary debates regarding globalization. In this essay we explore two multinational corporations’ global labor programs in an effort to illustrate the positive impact of moral imagination at the individual, organizational, and systems levels on the “sweatshop” problem. The intent is to identify the factors that have allowed particular multinational corporations (MNCs) to respect at least some of the basic rights of workers and thereby exhibit positive deviancy from historical norms in the apparel and footwear manufacturing industry. The labor initiatives discussed in this paper were trailblazing at their inception. However, …