Business Ethics 101

As recently as five years ago, ethics classes were rarely offered at business schools across the United States. With the high-profile corporate scandals at companies such as Enron, WorldCom, and Tyco, awareness about how and where ethics in business is taught and practiced has entered the public consciousness as never before. Today, ethics is quickly becoming a core part of business education.

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The mission of Business Ethics Magazine is to promote ethical business practices, to serve that growing community of professionals and individuals striving to work and invest in responsible ways.

News and Key Trends

(updated 5/9/06)

100 Best Corporate Citizens for 2006

Listen to Good Company, a one hour weekly radio program about responsible business in the 21st century

Career

On the Move: Who's moving where in ethics and social responsibility jobs:

Elliot Hoffman, co-founder and former CEO of Just Desserts, is teaming up with others in the Bay Area to launch a new national business organization, New Voice of Business. It aims to occupy a prominent place in the public arena, speaking for business as a force for high integrity, innovative ideas, and positive change. The founding team includes Walter Link, founder of Global Academy; Eric Leenson, CEO of Progressive Assets Management; and Hunter Lovins, co-author of Natural Capitalism.

Robert Dunn, former chairman and CEO of BSR, has become President of the Synergos Institute, a nonprofit with a staff of 40, dedicated to developing locally based solutions to poverty through philanthropy. Headquartered in New York, Synergos also has staff onsite in Latin America and Southern Africa.

Management consultancy and think tank SustainAbility has announced that Meghan Chapple-Brown has joined the group as a Senior Advisor in its Washington, D.C. office, where she will advise corporate and institutional clients on sustainability challenges. Previously, she managed projects at the World Resources Institute, including the "Beyond Grey Pinstripes" ranking of business schools that excel in teaching social and environmental stewardship.

Additional Resources

Net Impact suggests the following organizations as additional resources related to business ethics:

Center for Ethical Business Cultures
The Center for Ethical Business Cultures (CEBC) assists leaders in creating ethical and profitable business cultures at the enterprise, community and global levels.

CanadianCentre CA
EthicsCentre CA is a registered charity governed by volunteers and supported by organizations and individuals who share a commitment to ethical values. Our mission is to champion the application of ethical values in the decision-making process of business and other organizations.

Ethics Resource Center
The Ethics Resource Center (ERC) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan educational organization whose vision is a world where individuals and organizations act with integrity.

Hong Kong Ethics Development Centre
Mission is to "foster business and related ethics in Hong Kong on a long-term basis" and "to harness support from the business community for this cause."

Transparency International
Transparency International is the leading global non-governmental organisation devoted to combating corruption. Its mission is to create change towards a world free of corruption.