Foundations of Business Ethics
Series editors: W. Michael Hoffman and Robert E. Frederick
Written by an assembly of the most distinguished figures in business ethics, the Foundations of Business Ethics series aims to explain and assess the fundamental issues that motivate interest in each of the main subjects of contemporary research. In addition to a general introduction to business ethics, individual volumes cover key ethical issues in management, marketing, finance, accounting, and computing. The books, which are complementary yet complete in themselves, allow instructors maximum flexibility in the design and presentation of course materials without sacrificing either depth of coverage or the discipline-based focus of many business courses. The volumes can be used separately or in combination with anthologies and case studies, depending on the needs and interests of the instructors and students.
This edition first published 2017
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data applied for.
Hardback ISBN: 9781118393444
Paperback ISBN: 9781118393437
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Cover image: Jules Correa / EyeEm/Gettyimages
To my parents, Albert and Eileen Schwartz
First, I want to thank my wife Iris, for her continued support through all of my endeavors.
I want to thank the Wiley-Blackwell production team including Liam Cooper, Allison Kostka, Marissa Koors, Manish Luthra, Aileen Castell, Jane Grisdale, and Anula Griffiths for their greatly appreciated editorial support. Thanks to Elaine Silverstein for her valuable comments on an earlier version of the manuscript, along with the other anonymous reviewers. Thanks to my sister Lisa Bonen for her editing suggestions.
I want to especially thank Professor W. Michael Hoffman, and not just for his careful reviews and very helpful comments on various drafts of the book manuscript. It was Professor Hoffman, who, along with Professor Robert Frederick as the editors of the Foundations of Business Ethics series, gave me the opportunity to write this book, and I couldn't be more grateful and appreciative.
As this book is about business ethics and ethical decision making, I want to thank Professor Emeritus Wesley Cragg, my former PhD supervisor, who helped provide me with the tools to enter the academic world of business ethics and who completely exemplifies in my mind the character trait of “integrity.”
I want to thank all of my students over the years. By bringing their personal ethical dilemmas into the classroom for discussion, we (and particularly myself) have all gained a much greater understanding of the challenges we face in trying to find ethically optimal solutions in the real world.
Finally, I need to thank my parents, Albert and Eileen Schwartz, who have always been my greatest role models (including ethical role models) throughout my entire life.
I would like to thank the Journal of Business Ethics, Business Horizons, and Broadview Press for permission to draw on the following previously published articles or book chapters: