Ethics in the transnational corporation; the “moral buck” stops where?

This paper addresses two issues. The first issue relates directly to transnational corporations, while the second issue is broader and relates to all diversely held companies. To address the first issue I cite three representative instances where wanton environmental damage has signalled a lack of m...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Dobson, John (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Springer Science + Business Media B. V 1992
In: Journal of business ethics
Year: 1992, Volume: 11, Issue: 1, Pages: 21-27
Further subjects:B Investment Decision
B Moral Judgment
B Ethical Decision
B Ethical Consideration
B Economic Growth
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Description
Summary:This paper addresses two issues. The first issue relates directly to transnational corporations, while the second issue is broader and relates to all diversely held companies. To address the first issue I cite three representative instances where wanton environmental damage has signalled a lack of moral judgment on the part of a transnational corporation. I conclude from these instances that ethical considerations are not given adequate weight in corporate investment decisions., This leads to the second issue. Who should be making ethical decisions within the corporate milieu? I conclude that neither management nor the typical shareholder should be expected to exercise moral judgment because they are not free agents. They have fiduciary responsibilities that must override personal moral suasion.
ISSN:1573-0697
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of business ethics
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1007/BF00871988