The Global Corporation: Sustainable, Effective and Ethical Practices: A Case Book

This text brings together case studies focusing on specific instances of corporate best practices. All too often, we showcase cases based on questionable or unethical corporate behavior. Instead, the editors bring together in this book examples of how some firms got it right. Certainly, there is no claim that the companies in these case are perfect; some of them may have histories that include questionable practices. But, these are companies that work to foster trust, both internally and in their relationships with customers, suppliers, shareholders, and the communities in which they operate.
The book is not, however, merely a descriptive iteration of effective corporate conduct. The editors conclude with an analysis of frameworks for corporate and managerial ethical decision-making - frameworks that help to establish models for best practices. These frameworks then can be generalized and applied to other corporate situations, and replicated by other companies in their search for excellence and the resulting avoidance of misconduct.

Laura P. Hartman is a Professor of Business Ethics and Legal Studies in the Management Department at DePaul University’s College of Commerce and also serves as Research Director of DePaul’s Institute for Business and Professional Ethics. She has served as the Gourlay Professor at the Melbourne Business School/Trinity College at the University of Melbourne (2007-2008), as an invited professor at INSEAD (France), HEC (France), the Université Paul Cezanne Aix Marseille III and at the Grenoble Graduate School of Business, among other European universities.
Patricia H. Werhane is the Peter and Adeline Ruffin Chair of Business Ethics and Senior Fellow at the Olsson Center for Applied Ethics in the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Virginia and also hold a joint appointment as the Callista Wicklander Chair of Business Ethics and Director, Institute for Business and Professional Ethics, at DePaul University. She has been a Rockefeller Fellow at Dartmouth College, an Arthur Andersen Fellow at the Judge Institute, Cambridge University, and Erskine Visiting Fellow at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. She is the founding editor of Business Ethics Quarterly.

1. Introduction 2. Seminal/Paradigm Cases 2.1 Johnson & Johnson’s Tylenol Controversies 2.2 Merck Co., Inc. (A) 3. Pharmaceutical: Contemporary Cases 3.1 Abbott and the AIDS Crisis 3.2 HealthReach and Habla 3.3 The Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development: Tackling HIV/AIDS and Poverty in South Africa 4. Energy: Contemporary Cases 4.1 Eskom and the South African Electrification Program 4.2 ExxonMobil and the Chad and Cameroon Pipeline 5. Global Poverty: Contemporary Cases 5.1 Hindustan Lever Limited (HLL)and Project Sting 5.2 Enabling the Poor to Build Housing: Pursuing Profit and Social Development Together: Cemex and Patrimonio Hoy 5.3 Manila Water Company 5.4 Proctor and Gamble: Children’s Safe Drinking Water 5.5 Islamic Banking and Finance: Moral Beliefs and Business Practices at Work 5.6 BHP Billiton and Mozal 6. Employment: Contemporary Cases 6.1 First Impressions, Inc. 6.2 Nike, Inc. 6.3 Started as Crew: McDonald’s Strategy for Corporate Success and Poverty Reduction 6.4 The Marriott Corporation’s Human Resources Department: Managing a Low-Wage Workforce 7. Operating in Corrupt Environments: Contemporary Cases 7.1 Econet Wireless Zimbabwe 7.2 Infosys Technologies: Powered by Intellect, Driven by Values 7.3 Resisting Bureaucratic Corruption: Alacrity Housing Chennai 8. Sustaining the Environment: Contemporary Cases 8.1 Unilever: Corporate Venturing and Environmental Sustainability 8.2 DesignTex, Incorporated 8.3 Rohner Textil AG 9. Leadership: Contemporary Cases 9.1 Developing Responsible Leaders as Agents of World Benefit: Learnings from Project Ulysses The Female Health Company 9.2 The Female Health Company 10. Conclusion - Framing the Narratives: Future Directions for Ethics and Corporate Responsibility