The Responsibilities and Role of Business in Relation to Society: Back to Basics?
本文提出一种“回归基础”的方法，从普通道德原则、市场与企业的基本价值以及制度背景三个层面，构建一个尊重价值多元主义且切合实际的经理人决策框架。
ABSTRACT: In this address, I outline a “back to basics” approach to specifying the responsibilities and role of business in relation to society. Three “basics” comprise the approach. The first is arguing that basic principles of ordinary morality, such as a duty not to harm, provide an adequate basis for specifying the responsibilities of business managers. The second is framing the role of business in society by looking to the values realized by the basic building blocks of contemporary economic activity, i.e., markets and firms. The third is making explicit the basic institutions that structure the background against which business operates. The aim is to develop a plausible framework for managerial decision making that respects the fact of value pluralism in a global economy and that fosters meaningful criticism of current business practices while remaining sufficiently grounded in contemporary circumstances so as to be relevant for managers.