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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 4 page paper that begins with this statement: Management decisions involve considerations of economic realism and the demands of business. They are not exercises in ethics or moral philosophy. The writer discusses that premise, citing Friedman and Smith and others. The writer concludes ethical companies are always more successful in the long run. Bibliography lists 5 sources.
Page Count:
4 pages (~225 words per page)
File: MM12_PGetbsa.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
todays global marketplace. Think Enron, WorldCom, Arthur Anderson and others. Barry (2000) asked the same question: Do corporations have any responsibility beyond making profit? Barry (2000) cites Milton Friedman who
denied stated that the only moral duty corporate executives had was to make a profit. In fact, Friedman said executives had a "strict contractual duty to act for owners of
the company (Barry, 2000). They should not use any resources to promote social justice or advance social goals (Barry, 2000). We are here generalizing that ethical decision-making does indeed promote
both of these. Those who support the thesis would go so far as to suggest using resources in such a way would be nothing less than theft (Barry, 2000). Friedman
argued: Few trends could so thoroughly undermine the very foundations of our free society than the acceptance by corporate officials of a social responsibility other than to make as much
money for their stockholders as possible. This is a fundamentally subversive doctrine. If businessmen do have a social responsibility other than making maximum profits for stockholders, how are they to
know what it is? Can self-selected private individuals decide what the social interest is (Owen, 2002). In many cases, courts have supported actions by corporations that promote stockholder interest (Barry,
2000). That would suggest ethical decision-making is not as important as making decisions that support and promote the business. Adam Smith promoted the idea that "rational self-interest in a free-market
economy leads to economic well-being" (Henderson, 2002). Smith argued that that self-love could be virtuous, in fact, he said life would be difficult if ones interests did not affect ones
behavior (Henderson, 2002). Smith said: "It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we can expect our dinner, but from their regard to
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