COMMUNITY, BUSINESS ETHICS, AND GLOBAL CAPITALISM

The absorption of the cultural sphere into the commercial sphere signals a fundamental change in human relationships with troubling consequences for the future of society. From the beginning of civilization to now, culture has always preceded markets. People create communities, construct elaborate codes of social conduct, reproduce shared meanings and values, and build social trust in the form of social capital Only when social trust and social exchange are well developed do communities engage in commerce and trade…. When the commercial sphere begins to devour the cultural sphere … it threatens to destroy the very social foundations that give rise to commercial relations. ¹     

Corporate public affairs: necessary cost or value‐added asset?

This paper examines the valuation tools available to measure the financial contribution that public affairs activities add to the corporate bottom line. The paper begins with a consideration of the state of quantification in public affairs. Next, theoretical frameworks for broad classes of valuation methodologies are presented. Specific models applied by companies are also examined, outlining their advantages and limitations. The paper concludes with recommendations for implementing quantitative financial measures and opportunities for future research. Copyright © 2003 Henry Stewart Publications     

Abortion and the Beginning and End of Human Life

The doctrine that it is wrong to end the existence of something because it is a human life (unless special circumstances obtain) I call "the standard view." I argue that attempts by proponents of abortion choice to avoid the implications of the standard view by suggesting that we don't know when life begins or by suggesting that fetuses are only potential lives fail. Nevertheless, opponents of abortion choice should not base their arguments on the standard view, for the standard view is false. I propose a substitute for the standard view that avoids the difficulties with it, that explains why most people believe that the standard view is true and that also underwrites opposition to abortion choice.