Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

The question of how best to understand the relationship between law and ethics is a perennial one in Western jurisprudence. It is a topic addressed by many leading thinkers in that tradition – Aquinas, Bentham, Holmes, Kelsen, Fuller, Hart, and Dworkin – to name some of the best known. However, my plan is not to examine the issue as an abstract question of jurisprudence, but as a practical matter of crucial importance for executives and managers of business organizations, and for management educators. Certain ways of conceiving the relationship between law and ethics hinder a useful and effective approach to educating managers for responsible business leadership, both in the business school setting and in the corporation. Many of the incidents which have fueled the movement for business ethics education in the USA, and more recently in Europe, have involved unlawful conduct. Examples that come to mind are criminal or tortious insider trading on Wall Street, fraud and bribery in defense contracting, and fraud and breach of fiduciary obligation in the thrift industry. So, one might reasonably ask, “Why have business schools created new courses to teach ethics rather than courses to teach law?” Indeed, speaking directly to this point, many corporations have responded to the call to better ethics by setting up legal compliance programs. While an understanding of law and the legal process ... log in or subscribe to read full text