Business Ethics - A Philosophical and Behavioural Approach

In this textbook, we examine the extent to which moral values play a role as productive forces for companies and the economy as a whole, and explore the effect of ethical and unethical behavior at both levels. We show how ethics improves productivity and provide specific ethics tools for practical application for both students and managers. Stemming from an overall interdisciplinary approach, this textbook fills a gap in the literature on ethics in business. Following a textbook structure, we first derive knowledge from scientific studies that are relevant for students and then summarize the results. We explain ethical assessment approaches and then provide an ethical assessment of economic behavior using case studies. Role-playing and games are used to explain the behavior of people in relation to ethics. The second edition has been completely revised and expanded to include new findings from the behavioral sciences, including psychology, social psychology, sociology, and behavioral economics. In particular, the research on emotions, motivation, and group behavior has given rise to many new impulses in business ethics. In addition, new case studies and new chapters were included, such as Politics and Morality, Theories of Justice, Global Ethics, and Institutions as Solutions to Specific Game Situations (game theory). This book is important for students and researchers, as well as policymakers and business executives, due to its focus on applications.