Business Ethics From The 19th Century To Today: An Economist’s View 3030371689, 9783030371685, 9783030371692

This book combines elements of economic and business history to study business ethics from the nineteenth century to tod

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Table of contents :
Acknowledgments......Page 5
Contents......Page 7
Introduction......Page 12
Chapter 1: Labor Resists......Page 13
Worker Productivity and Malfeasance......Page 14
Workers and Compensation......Page 15
Discontented Workers......Page 16
An Unholy Alliance......Page 18
The Perils and Discontents of Coal Mining......Page 19
Unionization in Coal Mining......Page 22
Aspects of the Coal Mining Industry......Page 23
Exploitation or Not......Page 26
Employer Welfare Capitalism......Page 29
Workers Unite......Page 32
Conflicts Within Unions Over Hours......Page 34
Safety Legislation......Page 36
More Leisure at Work......Page 38
Minimum Wage......Page 39
Women in the Labor Force......Page 44
Conclusion......Page 47
Bibliography......Page 49
Chapter 2: Early Nineteenth-Century Changes......Page 54
Is Technology Good?......Page 55
Importance of Information......Page 56
Early Nineteenth-Century Views of Business Morality......Page 57
Low Status of Businessmen......Page 60
Success Manuals......Page 62
American Get-Ahead Attitude......Page 65
Forms of Business Organizations......Page 70
Types of Corruption......Page 73
Conclusion......Page 76
Bibliography......Page 77
Chapter 3: Examples of Mid-Nineteenth-Century Business Ethics in America......Page 81
Perpetual Hope, Frequent Failure on the American Frontier......Page 82
Profiting from Bankruptcy......Page 84
Identifying Bankrupts......Page 85
Conclusion......Page 87
Adulterating Food and Drugs......Page 88
Ethical Quandary of Third-Party Sellers......Page 91
Calls for Regulation......Page 92
Regulations’ Limitations......Page 94
Wartime Ethics......Page 95
Business Ethics Aspects......Page 96
Antecedents of Corruption......Page 97
Early Days of Chaos......Page 98
Financing the War......Page 100
Trade Between the Belligerents......Page 101
Conclusion......Page 104
Bibliography......Page 106
Chapter 4: Rise of Industrialization......Page 110
Origins of the “Robber Baron” Concept......Page 111
The Industrialists and Their Critics......Page 114
Precursors to Mass Markets......Page 120
To Mass Produce or Not to Mass Produce......Page 121
Telegraphs......Page 122
Railroads in America......Page 124
Railroad Rates......Page 127
Conclusion......Page 130
Bibliography......Page 131
Chapter 5: Ethics of the Firm and Strategic Behavior......Page 134
Unfair Competition......Page 135
Sources of Monopoly Power......Page 137
Predatory Pricing......Page 140
Bribery and Government-Provided Services......Page 141
Corruption During Industrialization......Page 144
Financing Large-Scale Industry......Page 150
Counterexamples......Page 152
Surprising Effects on Labor......Page 157
Other Nations React Differently......Page 158
Conclusion......Page 161
Bibliography......Page 163
Chapter 6: John D. Rockefeller and Standard Oil......Page 167
The Animus Toward Rockefeller and Standard Oil......Page 168
Rockefeller’s Early Days......Page 170
Standard Oil’s Goals......Page 171
Eradicating Competition......Page 175
Standard Oil’s Organization......Page 177
Standard Oil Meets Texans......Page 179
Supreme Court Breaks Up Standard Oil......Page 180
Conclusion......Page 181
Bibliography......Page 183
Chapter 7: Rise of the Big Retail Merchants......Page 185
Caveat Emptor......Page 186
Drummers and Traveling Salesmen......Page 187
Retail Experience, Circa 1840s......Page 189
Early American Retailers......Page 191
Creating a New Shopping Experience......Page 193
Mail-Order Retailing......Page 194
Catering to the Lower-Income Groups......Page 200
Resistance to Large Retailers......Page 203
Working Conditions......Page 204
Forming a Better Class of Retail Workers......Page 206
Women and Retailing......Page 207
Consumer Malfeasance and Shoplifting......Page 208
Modern-Day Shoplifting......Page 211
Sources of Scandals......Page 213
Conclusion......Page 214
Bibliography......Page 217
Chapter 8: Early Twentieth-Century Aspects......Page 220
Softening Attitudes to Big Business......Page 221
Perceived State of Business Ethics in the Early 1900s......Page 222
Early Proponents of Prosperity Gospel......Page 226
Christian Moralists During the Progressive Era......Page 228
Corporate Social Responsibility and Stewardship......Page 230
Secular Approaches......Page 231
Progressive Era Regulation......Page 233
New Forms of Policing Unethical Behavior......Page 234
Advertising......Page 238
Executives Begin Using Public Relations Campaigns......Page 241
Early Twentieth-Century Buccaneers......Page 244
Alleged Stock Market Manipulations......Page 247
Conclusion......Page 253
Bibliography......Page 255
Consumer Activism......Page 259
Value of Life......Page 260
Auto Safety......Page 263
Safety Sells?......Page 266
Ford Pinto Case......Page 268
Ford’s Culpability......Page 270
The Pinto Goes to Court......Page 273
Conclusion......Page 275
Bibliography......Page 277
History of Scammers......Page 280
State-Run Lotteries......Page 282
Ponzi Schemes and Investor Gullibility......Page 288
Social Security as Ponzi Scheme......Page 292
Government Versus Business Ethics......Page 295
Conclusion......Page 298
Bibliography......Page 299
Ancient Views Concerning the Poor......Page 303
The Church’s Example......Page 308
John Wesley and the Problem of Wealth......Page 310
Theories of Just Income and Wealth Distributions......Page 311
As Economists See It......Page 314
Modern-Day Disparities in Income and Wealth......Page 317
CEO Pay......Page 319
High Price of Being Poor......Page 320
Ethics of Charity......Page 321
Industrialists and Philanthropy......Page 325
Conclusion......Page 327
Bibliography......Page 329
Chapter 12: What About the Children?......Page 334
The Precarious Lives of Children......Page 335
Children in the Labor Market......Page 337
Treatment of Child Labor......Page 340
A Childhood Experiment Gone Awry......Page 342
Children and Consumerism......Page 344
Do You Know What Your Children Are Watching?......Page 346
The Horror, the Horror—Crime and Horror Comics......Page 348
Rock’n’Roll and Payola......Page 351
Children’s Television......Page 355
Conclusion......Page 357
Bibliography......Page 360
The Sad Collapses of Enron and Arthur Andersen......Page 364
Conclusion......Page 367
Bibliography......Page 368
Index......Page 369

Business Ethics From The 19th Century To Today: An Economist’s View
 3030371689,  9783030371685,  9783030371692

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