Patricia H. Werhane

This thought-provoking history of corporate responsibility in the USA is a landmark publication documenting the story of corporate power and business behavior from the mid-eighteenth century to the modern day. It shows how the idea of corporate responsibility has evolved over time, with the roles, responsibilities and performance of corporations coming increasingly under the spotlight as new norms of transparency and accountability emerge. Today, it is expected that a corporation will be transparent in its operations; that it will reflect ethical values that are broadly shared by others in society; and that companies will enable society to achieve environmental sustainability as well as a high standard of living. As we enter the second decade of the twenty-first century, the social, political and economic landscape is once again shifting: the need for an informed public conversation about what is expected of the modern corporation has never been greater.

This thought-provoking history of corporate responsibility in the USA is a landmark publication documenting the story of corporate power and business behavior from the mid-eighteenth century to the modern day. It shows how the idea of corporate responsibility has evolved over time, with the roles, responsibilities and performance of corporations coming increasingly under the spotlight as new norms of transparency and accountability emerge. Today, it is expected that a corporation will be transparent in its operations; that it will reflect ethical values that are broadly shared by others in society; and that companies will enable society to achieve environmental sustainability as well as a high standard of living. As we enter the second decade of the twenty-first century, the social, political and economic landscape is once again shifting: the need for an informed public conversation about what is expected of the modern corporation has never been greater.

What role could or should moral imagination play in managerial and corporate decision-making? This book es on three simple questions: why do ordinary, decent managers engage in questionable behavior? Why do successful companies ignore the ethical dimensions of their processes, decisions, and actions? And what motivates a successful company such as McDonald's, which closed its 800 restaurants in Russia, to depart from a large and very profitable market? Working from the assumption that all human experience is socially constructed and incomplete, this book argues that a critical missing element in many instances of alleged managerial or corporate wrongdoing is a simple phenomenon: moral imagination. In this fully updated edition, three new chapters and topical case studies, such as Boeing and Google, allow readers to bring process philosophy and systems insights into organizational and managerial thinking. A valuable resource for scholars, students and corporate decision-makers.

Poverty is an unnecessary form of human degradation and badly conceived economics. Our 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, remind ourselves that poverty is a system, and conceive of poverty alleviation as a "bottom-up" project. There is no "one size fits all" for poverty reduction. Rather, poverty is a system and must be addressed locally. It is our aim, as it is the aim of the United Nations, the World Bank, and many other organizations, to erase it from our vocabulary and from this planet.With a series of case studies that accompany each chapter, this book should assist readers in thinking about poverty alleviation from a number of perspectives, from bottom-up entrepreneurial projects, local-corporate ventures, with public–private partnerships, from focused philanthropy, with education and health care initiatives, and agriculture reforms in rural communities, all with the aim of creating a win-win result for local and partnership individuals, organizations, and communities.The book should be useful in various undergraduate and graduate courses on ethics, applied ethics, developing economic systems, and poverty.

Poverty is an unnecessary form of human degradation and badly conceived economics. Our 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, remind ourselves that poverty is a system, and conceive of poverty alleviation as a "bottom-up" project. There is no "one size fits all" for poverty reduction. Rather, poverty is a system and must be addressed locally. It is our aim, as it is the aim of the United Nations, the World Bank, and many other organizations, to erase it from our vocabulary and from this planet.With a series of case studies that accompany each chapter, this book should assist readers in thinking about poverty alleviation from a number of perspectives, from bottom-up entrepreneurial projects, local-corporate ventures, with public–private partnerships, from focused philanthropy, with education and health care initiatives, and agriculture reforms in rural communities, all with the aim of creating a win-win result for local and partnership individuals, organizations, and communities.The book should be useful in various undergraduate and graduate courses on ethics, applied ethics, developing economic systems, and poverty.

Global Women Leaders transports the reader into the fascinating lives of trailblazers in four very different countries. All were change-makers in their professions, and all of them confronted the challenges women everywhere will recognize as their own. How they succeeded, despite roadblocks, is both inspiring and instructive. Each gives us sound advice on a range of familiar hurdles from those associated with work and family to lack of confidence and sexism. If you want to know how to achieve authentic leadership, this is the book for you.'- Melanne Verveer, Georgetown University, US Global Women Leaders showcases narratives of women in business, nonprofit organizations and the public sector who have achieved leadership positions despite cultural obstacles and gender bias. Featuring leaders from India, Japan, Jordan and the United Kingdom, the book examines how these women have overcome challenges and served as role models in their professions.Regina Wentzel Wolfe and Patricia H. Werhane present stories of these women leaders within their unique cultural contexts. Standout features include models of feminist leadership behaviors and interrogations of the dominant paradigm of male leadership. Challenges for women in the workplace, systems thinking and various female leadership styles are also explored.The successes of the leaders featured in this book will be of interest to those in public, private and nonprofit sector organizations as well as academics and students teaching and studying feminist leadership, MBA students and entrepreneurs.

Global Women Leaders transports the reader into the fascinating lives of trailblazers in four very different countries. All were change-makers in their professions, and all of them confronted the challenges women everywhere will recognize as their own. How they succeeded, despite roadblocks, is both inspiring and instructive. Each gives us sound advice on a range of familiar hurdles from those associated with work and family to lack of confidence and sexism. If you want to know how to achieve authentic leadership, this is the book for you.'- Melanne Verveer, Georgetown University, US Global Women Leaders showcases narratives of women in business, nonprofit organizations and the public sector who have achieved leadership positions despite cultural obstacles and gender bias. Featuring leaders from India, Japan, Jordan and the United Kingdom, the book examines how these women have overcome challenges and served as role models in their professions.Regina Wentzel Wolfe and Patricia H. Werhane present stories of these women leaders within their unique cultural contexts. Standout features include models of feminist leadership behaviors and interrogations of the dominant paradigm of male leadership. Challenges for women in the workplace, systems thinking and various female leadership styles are also explored.The successes of the leaders featured in this book will be of interest to those in public, private and nonprofit sector organizations as well as academics and students teaching and studying feminist leadership, MBA students and entrepreneurs.

In commerce, many moral failures are due to narrow mindsets that preclude taking into account the moral dimensions of a decision or action. In turn, sometimes these mindsets are caused by failing to question managerial decisions from a moral point of view, because of a perceived authority of management. In the 1960s, Stanley Milgram conducted controversial experiments to investigate just how far obedience to an authority figure could subvert his subjects' moral beliefs. In this thought-provoking work, the authors examine the prevalence of narrow mental models and the phenomenon of obedience to an authority to analyse and understand the challenges which business professionals encounter in making ethical decisions. Obstacles to Ethical Decision-Making proposes processes - including collaborative input and critique - by which individuals may reduce or overcome these challenges. It provides decision-makers at all levels in an organisation with the means to place ethical considerations at the heart of managerial decision-making.

In commerce, many moral failures are due to narrow mindsets that preclude taking into account the moral dimensions of a decision or action. In turn, sometimes these mindsets are caused by failing to question managerial decisions from a moral point of view, because of a perceived authority of management. In the 1960s, Stanley Milgram conducted controversial experiments to investigate just how far obedience to an authority figure could subvert his subjects' moral beliefs. In this thought-provoking work, the authors examine the prevalence of narrow mental models and the phenomenon of obedience to an authority to analyse and understand the challenges which business professionals encounter in making ethical decisions. Obstacles to Ethical Decision-Making proposes processes - including collaborative input and critique - by which individuals may reduce or overcome these challenges. It provides decision-makers at all levels in an organisation with the means to place ethical considerations at the heart of managerial decision-making.