Business Commons^™

Moving Beyond Boycotts: Strategies For Shared Responsibility In The Collegiate Apparel Industry, Scott Kelley

Scott Kelley

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

Scott Kelley

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 …

Subsidiarity: Challenging The Top Down Bias, Scott Kelley

Scott Kelley

Global poverty has received significant attention in the past decade, particularly after the adoption of the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals in 2002. Commentators and ethicists like Peter Singer have long held that the wealthy of the world have an obligation to help the poor. While the sentiments may be positive, there are real harms that have come from this kind of top down thinking. Subsidiarity, to the contrary, is a much more realistic and morally tenable approach to global poverty.

Alleviating Poverty Through Profitable Partnerships: Globalization, Markets And Economic Well-Being, Patricia Werhane, Scott Kelley, Laura Hartman, Dennis Moberg

Scott Kelley

In this book, the authors approach poverty alleviation from an atypical perspective. The thesis is that poverty can be reduced, if not eradicated, both locally and globally, but this will occur only if we change our shared narratives about global free enterprise, and only if we recalibrate our mindsets regarding how poverty issues are most effectively addressed. They argue that poverty amelioration cannot be effected by the traditional means employed during the last century—foreign aid from developed nations and/or from non-profit international organizations. Rather, the authors present evidence which demonstrates that a mindset embracing initiatives developed by global corporations in …

Started As Customer: Confessions Of A Business Ethics Teacher, Scott Kelley

Scott Kelley

No abstract provided.

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

Scott Kelley

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.

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

Scott Kelley

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. …

Started As Customer: Confessions Of A Business Ethics Teacher, Scott Kelley

Scott Kelley

No abstract provided.

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

Scott Kelley

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 …