Business Law, Public Responsibility, and Ethics Commons^™

Understanding Why Some Whistleblowers Are Venerated And Others Vilified, Christopher D. E. Atkinson, Eric D. Wesselmann, Daniel G. Lannin

Heroism Science

Whistleblowers are individuals who witness a moral infraction committed within their organization and report this infraction publicly to hold the group accountable. Whistleblowers often face ridicule, vilification, and exclusion both within their group and sometimes within broader society. Thus, whistleblowers put themselves at personal risk to adhere to their moral code and protect others; these criteria commonly classify someone as a hero. We argue diverse reactions to whistleblowers are influenced by numerous situational factors that influence perceptions of a whistleblower’s intentions as well as the expected consequences of their whistleblowing. Whether a whistleblower is viewed as a virtuous reformer (i.e., …

Sturm, Ruger & Co And The U.S. Firearms Industry, Eryn Berquist, Julian Cha, Jeffrey S. Harrison, Kelsey Heady, Lindsay Kennedy, Will Macllwiane, Bikram Saini, Natalie Schmidt, Jason Werst

Robins Case Network

Ruger is one of the largest domestic gun and ammunition manufacturers in the United States, and also one of the most successful. Ruger makes very high quality guns at reasonable prices. The company also emphasizes research and development. With no debt and high gross profit margins, one would expect Ruger to be an outstanding investment. However, the U.S. gun industry is extremely volatile and also very competitive. Due to mass shootings, terrorism, and other highly visible events, there is ever increasing pressure for new regulation and restrictions on gun ownership and use. However, the industry has a very powerful friend …

Upstream Corporate Social Responsibility: The Evolution From Contract Responsibility To Full Producer Responsibility, Judith Schrempf-Stirling, Guido Palazzo

Management Faculty Publications

The debate about the appropriate standards for upstream corporate social responsibility (CSR) of multinational corporations (MNCs) has been on the public and academic agenda for some three decades. The debate originally focused narrowly on “contract responsibility” of MNCs for monitoring of upstream contractors for “sweatshop” working conditions violating employee rights. The authors argue that the MNC upstream responsibility debate has shifted qualitatively over time to “full producer responsibility” involving an expansion from “contract responsibility” in three distinct dimensions. First, there is an expansion of scope from working conditions to human rights and social and environmental impacts broadly defined. Second, there …

Slavery Is Bad For Business: Analyzing The Impact Of Slavery On National Economies, Monti Narayan Datta, Kevin Bales

Political Science Faculty Publications

This article, using a novel dataset, demonstrates that slavery is empirically bad for business. Building upon the work of Robert Smith, the authors analysis examines the relationship between the prevalence of slavery in a country (in terms of the proportion of the population enslaved) and several economic measures (the United Nations Human Development Index, growth domestic product in terms of purchasing power parity, access to financial services, and the Gini coefficient). In each instance, controlling for alternative explanations, greater levels of slavery are associated with a decline in economic growth and human development. The findings imply that beyond the morality …

[Introduction To] Leadership Ethics, Joanne B. Ciulla, Mary Uhl-Bien, Patricia H. Werhane

Bookshelf

Research into the topic of leadership ethics has grown and evolved gradually over the past few decades. This timely set arrives at an important moment in the subject's history. In a relatively new field, such a collection offers scholars more than articles on a topic; it also serves to outline the parameters of the field. Carefully structured over three volumes, the material runs through an understanding of the key philosophic and practical questions in leadership ethics along with a wide range of literature - from disciplines including philosophy, business and political science, to name a few- that speaks to these …

The Delimitation Of Corporate Social Responsibility: Upstream, Downstream, And Historic Csr, Judith Schrempf-Stirling

Management Faculty Publications

The dissertation abstract and the reflection commentary present the work of Judith Schrempf. The dissertation examines the latest trends in corporate social responsibility (CSR) and advances a social connection approach to CSR to understand and explain those recent trends. The dissertation abstract provides an overview of the research questions and conclusions of the three-article dissertation. The reflection commentary discusses the author’s views of research process as a junior scholar (see Appendix).

Worthy Work And Bowie's Kantian Theory Of Meaningful Work, Joanne B. Ciulla

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

Over the years, Norman E. Bowie has applied Kant’s ethics to several aspects of business ethics, but the one that I find the most compelling is his Kantian theory of meaningful work. He writes about it in his book Business Ethics: A Kantian Perspective (1999) and in an article ‘A Kantian theory of meaningful work’ (1998a). Bowie’s writing in this area demonstrates how Kant, perhaps more than any other philosopher, offers the most stringent and lucid account of what a moral employer/employee relationship should look like. Kantian ethics also provide Bowie with a foundation for explaining his idea of meaningful …

Nokia Siemens Networks: Just Doing Business – Or Supporting An Oppressive Regime?, Judith Schrempf-Stirling

Management Faculty Publications

This case study examines the relevance of taking social and political factors into consideration when a corporation is making a key business decision. In September 2009, Simon Beresford-Wylie, the outgoing CEO of Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN), was reviewing the company’s achievements — while acknowledging the latest public criticism regarding NSN’s business relationship with the Iranian government. In the summer of 2009, NSN was accused of complicity in human rights violations linked to Iran’s presidential election. The company sold network infrastructure and software solutions to the Iranian government, which then used this technology to observe, block, and control domestic communications. Should …

Mixed Agendas And Government Regulation Of Business: Can We Clean Up The Mess?, Tom Arnold, Jerry L. Stevens

Finance Faculty Publications

The history of regulation in the U.S. economy shows a cumulative growth of government involvement in private enterprise that has helped business at times and has been at odds with business at other times. The wavering views on how much regulation is warranted change over time and cut across political and philosophical ideologies. For example, in the first two years of President Barack Obama's administration there was a push for new and large increases in regulation of healthcare and financial markets along with intervention into public markets with massive spending to bailout automakers and financial institutions.

Now, in the second …

Le Développement Durable Comme Mode De Prévention Des Risques Energétiques : Une Approche Par Les Capacités D’Absorption. Le Cas De La Voiture Electrique Chez Renault, Sylvaine Castellano, Adnane Maâlaoui, Judith Schrempf-Stirling

Management Faculty Publications

Sustainability — a way to prevent energy-related risks — is the buzzword of the last decade. This trend demands radical rethinking on how society lives, consumes and produces. Herein, we focus on electric cars, which is the result of sustainable processes and initiatives in the car industry. The case of Renault illustrates how the firm based its sustainable strategy on its absorptive capacities.

[Introduction To] Honest Work: A Business Ethics Reader, Joanne B. Ciulla, Clancy Martin, Robert C. Solomon

Bookshelf

Revised in the aftermath of the worst global financial crisis since the Great Depression, the third edition of Honest Work: A Business Ethics Reader reflects and reinforces the editors' assertion that business ethics is primarily about the ethics of individuals. Featuring 115 brief articles and 89 real-life case studies, this unique anthology covers all aspects of business ethics under the overarching theme of the good life--what it means to students as individuals, what it means for business, and what it means for society. The book also includes an extensive chapter that explores the relationship between leadership and ethical behavior in …

When A Promotion Is Denied: The Effects Of Decision Stage On Perceptions Of Promotion And Price Fairness, Monika Kukar-Kinney, Lan Xia, Kent B. Monroe

Marketing Faculty Publications

Marketers frequently use promotions to enhance sales and increase consumers' perceptions of value. However, most promotions usually come with restrictions, such as time expiration, quantity or product model restriction, etc. In the present research, the effect of the stage in the purchase process when the consumer finds out about the restriction is investigated. The findings indicate that the later in the purchase process the consumer discovers the restriction, the greater is the perception that the effort invested into the purchase is wasted, consequently resulting in lower promotion and price fairness. This effect is mediated through the feeling of entitlement to …

Government Must Make Consequences Clear, Porcher L. Taylor Iii

School of Professional and Continuing Studies Faculty Publications

With false-profits mania reigning supreme on Wall Street, Congress needs to establish an academy of corporate responsibility and integrity under the Securities and Exchange Commission. This executive training center would have as students the chief executives and financial officers and boards of directors of the nation’s publicly held companies. Senior partners at accounting companies need to be included in this back-to-school group, too. The enforcement-savvy teachers for this two-week academy would be lawyers and accountants from the commission and Justice Department.

Business Leadership And Moral Imagination In The Twenty-First Century, Joanne B. Ciulla

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

My assignment in this year's series on "Moral Values: The Challenge of the Twenty-First Century" is to talk about moral values in a free society and the challenge for business leaders in the twenty-first century. My perspective on this topic is as a philosopher and educator. I also speak as a consultant who has developed corporate programs on ethics and leadership, primarily in the financial services industry. The focus of my presentation is on the issues that need to be addressed in order to educate the next generation of leaders.

The Effect Of Government Deficits On Consumption And Interest Rates: A Two Equation Approach, Dean D. Croushore

Economics Faculty Publications

Single-equation estimation of the consumption function often is used in testing the Ricardian equivalence theorem. This approach may be misleading, as effects on interest rates usually are ignored. This paper proposes simultaneous estimation of consumption and investment equations, with the interest rate serving to equilibrate the market. Five existing studies are replicated and subjected to sensitivity tests. The results show that the interest rate is important in the consumption function. The Ricardian equivalence theorem is tested, but the results are mixed.