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In Values, Nature, and Culture in the American Corporation, distinguished ethicist William Frederick explores issues of fundamental importance to all who aspire to conduct their business affairs ethically. He begins with an examination of the three value systems in business that are basically incompatible, and therefore in constant tension. The first is the need for managers to efficiently allocate resources for maximum profits. The second is the natural tendency for managers, in pursuit of the first goal, to accumulate power for its own sake. The third is the desire for people in the community to create relationships that will perpetuate these communities. Frederick brings in a range of ideas and concepts from the social sciences as well as the natural sciences to illuminate his discussion. In the final section of the book he explores a range of issues of current concern to managers, including corporate culture and technology.
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Values, Nature, and Culture in the American Corporation This page intentionally left blank Values, Nature, and Culture in the American Corporation QQQ WILLIAM C. FREDERICK New York Oxford OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS 1995 Oxford University Press Oxford New York Athens Auckland Bangok Bombay Calcutta Cape Town Dar es Salaam Delhi Florence Hong Kong Instanbul Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madras Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi Paris Singapore Taipei Tokyo Toronto and associated companies in Berlin Ibadan Copyright © 1995 by Oxford University Press, Inc. Published by Oxford University Press, Inc., 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data Frederick, William Crittenden, 1925Values, nature, and culture in the American corporadon / William C. Frederick. p. cm.—(Ruffin series in business ethics) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-19-509411-5.—ISBN 0-19-509674-6 (pbk.) 1. Corporate culture—United States. 2. Business ethics—United States. 3. Social responsibility of business—United States I. Title. II. Series. HD58.7.F735 1995 94-38396 302.3'5—dc20 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO WALTER C. WAGNER TEACHER, MENTOR, COLLEAGUE, FRIEND This page intentionally left blank Foreword The landscape of business and business theory is populated by change. Analyses of global competition, restructuring, total quality management, and other issues are full of advice for how businesses should understand themselves and what lies ahead. Bill Frederick has a very simple answer to these theorists and executives. Business is about values, and understanding values is the most critical task for business thinkers and for business doers. Bill Frederick has written an important book that will repay many times over the managers and scholars who study it. The executives who take up his challenge will be able to situate themselves and their businesses in the broader social and historical milieu and they will gain a deeper appreciation of the normative power of values that will go far beyond the usual facile statement of corporate values. The management theorists who read this book will begin to see how a whole stream of research on business ethics can be more readily understood as standing at the center of business theory rather than at the margin. The business ethicists who read this book will fin