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What Are Business Ethics & Why Are They Important?

• 27 Jul 2023

From artificial intelligence to facial recognition technology, organizations face an increasing number of ethical dilemmas. While innovation can aid business growth, it can also create opportunities for potential abuse.

“The long-term impacts of a new technology—both positive and negative—may not become apparent until years after it’s introduced,” says Harvard Business School Professor Nien-hê Hsieh in the online course Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability . “For example, the impact of social media on children and teenagers didn’t become evident until we watched it play out over time.”

If you’re a current or prospective leader concerned about navigating difficult situations, here's an overview of business ethics, why they're important, and how to ensure ethical behavior in your organization.

Access your free e-book today.

What Are Business Ethics?

Business ethics are principles that guide decision-making . As a leader, you’ll face many challenges in the workplace because of different interpretations of what's ethical. Situations often require navigating the “gray area,” where it’s unclear what’s right and wrong.

When making decisions, your experiences, opinions, and perspectives can influence what you believe to be ethical, making it vital to:

• Be transparent.
• Invite feedback.
• Consider impacts on employees, stakeholders, and society.
• Reflect on past experiences to learn what you could have done better.

“The way to think about ethics, in my view, is: What are the externalities that your business creates, both positive and negative?” says Harvard Business School Professor Vikram Gandhi in Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability . “And, therefore, how do you actually increase the positive element of externalities? And how do you decrease the negative?”

Related: Why Managers Should Involve Their Team in the Decision-Making Process

Ethical Responsibilities to Society

Promoting ethical conduct can benefit both your company and society long term.

“I'm a strong believer that a long-term focus is what creates long-term value,” Gandhi says in Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability . “So you should get shareholders in your company that have that same perspective.”

Prioritizing the triple bottom line is an effective way for your business to fulfill its environmental responsibilities and create long-term value. It focuses on three factors:

• Profit: The financial return your company generates for shareholders
• People: How your company affects customers, employees, and stakeholders
• Planet: Your company’s impact on the planet and environment

Check out the video below to learn more about the triple bottom line, and subscribe to our YouTube channel for more explainer content!

Ethical and corporate social responsibility (CSR) considerations can go a long way toward creating value, especially since an increasing number of customers, employees, and investors expect organizations to prioritize CSR. According to the Conscious Consumer Spending Index , 67 percent of customers prefer buying from socially responsible companies.

To prevent costly employee turnover and satisfy customers, strive to fulfill your ethical responsibilities to society.

Ethical Responsibilities to Customers

As a leader, you must ensure you don’t mislead your customers. Doing so can backfire, negatively impacting your organization’s credibility and profits.

Actions to avoid include:

• Greenwashing : Taking advantage of customers’ CSR preferences by claiming your business practices are sustainable when they aren't.
• False advertising : Making unverified or untrue claims in advertisements or promotional material.
• Making false promises : Lying to make a sale.

These unethical practices can result in multi-million dollar lawsuits, as well as highly dissatisfied customers.

Ethical Responsibilities to Employees

You also have ethical responsibilities to your employees—from the beginning to the end of their employment.

One area of business ethics that receives a lot of attention is employee termination. According to Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability , letting an employee go requires an individualized approach that ensures fairness.

Not only can wrongful termination cost your company upwards of $100,000 in legal expenses , it can also negatively impact other employees’ morale and how they perceive your leadership.

Ethical business practices have additional benefits, such as attracting and retaining talented employees willing to take a pay cut to work for a socially responsible company. Approximately 40 percent of millennials say they would switch jobs to work for a company that emphasizes sustainability.

Ultimately, it's critical to do your best to treat employees fairly.

“Fairness is not only an ethical response to power asymmetries in the work environment,” Hsieh says in the course. “Fairness—and having a successful organizational culture–can benefit the organization economically and legally.”

Why Are Business Ethics Important?

Failure to understand and apply business ethics can result in moral disengagement .

“Moral disengagement refers to ways in which we convince ourselves that what we’re doing is not wrong,” Hsieh says in Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability . “It can upset the balance of judgment—causing us to prioritize our personal commitments over shared beliefs, rules, and principles—or it can skew our logic to make unethical behaviors appear less harmful or not wrong.”

Moral disengagement can also lead to questionable decisions, such as insider trading .

“In the U.S., insider trading is defined in common, federal, and state laws regulating the opportunity for insiders to benefit from material, non-public information, or MNPI,” Hsieh explains.

This type of unethical behavior can carry severe legal consequences and negatively impact your company's bottom line.

“If you create a certain amount of harm to a society, your customers, or employees over a period of time, that’s going to have a negative impact on your economic value,” Gandhi says in the course.

This is reflected in over half of the top 10 largest bankruptcies between 1980 and 2013 that resulted from unethical behavior. As a business leader, strive to make ethical decisions and fulfill your responsibilities to stakeholders.

How to Implement Business Ethics

To become a more ethical leader, it's crucial to have a balanced, long-term focus.

“It's very important to balance the fact that, even if you're focused on the long term, you have to perform in the short term as well and have a very clear, articulated strategy around that,” Gandhi says in Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability .

Making ethical decisions requires reflective leadership.

“Reflecting on complex, gray-area decisions is a key part of what it means to be human, as well as an effective leader,” Hsieh says. “You have agency. You must choose how to act. And with that agency comes responsibility.”

Related: Why Are Ethics Important in Engineering?

Hsieh advises asking the following questions:

• Are you using the “greater good” to justify unethical behavior?
• Are you downplaying your actions to feel better?

“Asking these and similar questions at regular intervals can help you notice when you or others may be approaching the line between making a tough but ethical call and justifying problematic actions,” Hsieh says.

Become a More Ethical Leader

Learning from past successes and mistakes can enable you to improve your ethical decision-making.

“As a leader, when trying to determine what to do, it can be helpful to start by simply asking in any given situation, ‘What can we do?’ and ‘What would be wrong to do?’” Hsieh says.

Many times, the answers come from experience.

Gain insights from others’ ethical decisions, too. One way to do so is by taking an online course, such as Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability , which includes case studies that immerse you in real-world business situations, as well as a reflective leadership model to inform your decision-making.

Ready to become a better leader? Enroll in Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability —one of our online leadership and management courses —and download our free e-book on how to be a more effective leader.

About the Author

Want to adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open practices.

Ethics consists of the standards of behavior to which we hold ourselves in our personal and professional lives. It establishes the levels of honesty, empathy, and trustworthiness and other virtues by which we hope to identify our personal behavior and our public reputation. In our personal lives, our ethics sets norms for the ways in which we interact with family and friends. In our professional lives, ethics guides our interactions with customers, clients, colleagues, employees, and shareholders affected by our business practices ( (Figure) ).

Should we care about ethics in our lives? In our practices in business and the professions? That is the central question we will examine in this chapter and throughout the book. Our goal is to understand why the answer is yes .

Whatever hopes you have for your future, you almost certainly want to be successful in whatever career you choose. But what does success mean to you, and how will you know you have achieved it? Will you measure it in terms of wealth, status, power, or recognition? Before blindly embarking on a quest to achieve these goals, which society considers important, stop and think about what a successful career means to you personally. Does it include a blameless reputation, colleagues whose good opinion you value, and the ability to think well of yourself? How might ethics guide your decision-making and contribute to your achievement of these goals?

Licenses and Attributions

This chapter contains an adaptation of the OpenStax Business Ethics textbook. The original work was licensed under the Attribution 4.0 International — CC BY 4.0 license . The list of prior contributors can be found in the Front Matter of this text.

Business Ethics by the authors & Hillsborough Community College is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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2.1 Understanding Business Ethics

• What philosophies and concepts shape personal ethical standards?

Ethics is a set of moral standards for judging whether something is right or wrong. The first step in understanding business ethics is learning to recognize an ethical issue . An ethical issue is a situation where someone must choose between a set of actions that may be ethical or unethical. For example, Martin Shkreli , former CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals , raised the price of a drug used for newborns and HIV patients by more than 5000 percent, defending the price increase as a “great business decision.” 1 Few people would call that ethical behavior. But consider the actions of the stranded, hungry people in New Orleans who lost everything in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina . They broke into flooded stores, taking food and bottled water without paying for them. Was this unethical behavior? Or what about the small Texas plastics manufacturer that employed over 100 people and specialized in the Latin American market? The president was distraught because he knew the firm would be bankrupt by the end of the year if it didn’t receive more contracts. He knew that he was losing business because he refused to pay bribes. Bribes were part of the culture in his major markets. Closing the firm would put many people out of work. Should he start paying bribes in order to stay in business? Would this be unethical? Let’s look at the next section to obtain some guidance on recognizing unethical situations.

Recognizing Unethical Business Activities

Researchers from Brigham Young University tell us that all unethical business activities will fall into one of the following categories:

• Taking things that don’t belong to you. The unauthorized use of someone else’s property or taking property under false pretenses is taking something that does not belong to you. Even the smallest offense, such as using the postage meter at your office for mailing personal letters or exaggerating your travel expenses, belongs in this category of ethical violations.
• Saying things you know are not true. Often, when trying for a promotion and advancement, fellow employees discredit their coworkers. Falsely assigning blame or inaccurately reporting conversations is lying. Although “This is the way the game is played around here” is a common justification, saying things that are untrue is an ethical violation.
• Giving or allowing false impressions. The salesperson who permits a potential customer to believe that cardboard boxes will hold the customer’s tomatoes for long-distance shipping when the salesperson knows the boxes are not strong enough has given a false impression. A car dealer who fails to disclose that a car has been in an accident is misleading potential customers.
• Buying influence or engaging in a conflict of interest. A conflict of interest occurs when the official responsibilities of an employee or government official are influenced by the potential for personal gain. Suppose a company awards a construction contract to a firm owned by the father of the state attorney general while the state attorney general’s office is investigating that company. If this construction award has the potential to shape the outcome of the investigation, a conflict of interest has occurred.
• Hiding or divulging information. Failing to disclose the results of medical studies that indicate your firm’s new drug has significant side effects is the ethical violation of hiding information that the product could be harmful to purchasers. Taking your firm’s product development or trade secrets to a new place of employment constitutes the ethical violation of divulging proprietary information.
• Taking unfair advantage. Many current consumer protection laws were passed because so many businesses took unfair advantage of people who were not educated or were unable to discern the nuances of complex contracts. Credit disclosure requirements, truth-in-lending provisions, and new regulations on auto leasing all resulted because businesses misled consumers who could not easily follow the jargon of long, complex agreements.
• Committing improper personal behavior. Although the ethical aspects of an employee’s right to privacy are still debated, it has become increasingly clear that personal conduct outside the job can influence performance and company reputation. Thus, a company driver must abstain from substance abuse because of safety issues. Even the traditional company holiday party and summer picnic have come under scrutiny due to the possibility that employees at and following these events might harm others through alcohol-related accidents.
• Abusing power and mistreating individuals. Suppose a manager sexually harasses an employee or subjects employees to humiliating corrections or reprimands in the presence of customers. In some cases, laws protect employees. Many situations, however, are simply interpersonal abuse that constitutes an ethical violation.
• Permitting organizational abuse. Many U.S. firms with operations overseas, such as Apple , Nike , and Levi Strauss , have faced issues of organizational abuse. The unfair treatment of workers in international operations appears in the form of child labor, demeaning wages, and excessive work hours. Although a business cannot change the culture of another country, it can perpetuate—or stop—abuse through its operations there.
• Violating rules. Many organizations use rules and processes to maintain internal controls or respect the authority of managers. Although these rules may seem burdensome to employees trying to serve customers, a violation may be considered an unethical act.
• Condoning unethical actions. What if you witnessed a fellow employee embezzling company funds by forging her signature on a check? Would you report the violation? A winking tolerance of others’ unethical behavior is itself unethical. 2

After recognizing that a situation is unethical, the next question is what do you do? The action that a person takes is partially based upon his or her ethical philosophy. The environment in which we live and work also plays a role in our behavior. This section describes personal philosophies and legal factors that influence the choices we make when confronting an ethical dilemma.

Justice—The Question of Fairness

Another factor influencing individual business ethics is justice , or what is fair according to prevailing standards of society. We all expect life to be reasonably fair. You expect your exams to be fair, the grading to be fair, and your wages to be fair, based on the type of work being done.

Today we take justice to mean an equitable distribution of the burdens and rewards that society has to offer. The distributive process varies from society to society. Those in a democratic society believe in the “equal pay for equal work” doctrine, in which individuals are rewarded based on the value the free market places on their services. Because the market places different values on different occupations, the rewards, such as wages, are not necessarily equal. Nevertheless, many regard the rewards as just. A politician who argued that a supermarket clerk should receive the same pay as a physician, for example, would not receive many votes from the American people. At the other extreme, communist theorists have argued that justice would be served by a society in which burdens and rewards were distributed to individuals according to their abilities and their needs, respectively.

Utilitarianism—Seeking the Best for the Majority

One of the philosophies that may influence choices between right and wrong is utilitarianism , which focuses on the consequences of an action taken by a person or organization. The notion that people should act so as to generate the greatest good for the greatest number is derived from utilitarianism. When an action affects the majority adversely, it is morally wrong. One problem with this philosophy is that it is nearly impossible to accurately determine how a decision will affect a large number of people.

Another problem is that utilitarianism always involves both winners and losers. If sales are slowing and a manager decides to fire five people rather than putting everyone on a 30-hour workweek, the 20 people who keep their full-time jobs are winners, but the other five are losers.

A final criticism of utilitarianism is that some “costs,” although small relative to the potential good, are so negative that some segments of society find them unacceptable. What if scientists deliberately killed animals by breaking their backs to conduct spinal cord research that someday could lead to a cure for spinal cord injuries? To a number of people, the “costs” of killing these animals are simply too horrible for this type of research to continue.

Following Our Obligations and Duties

The philosophy that says people should meet their obligations and duties when analyzing an ethical dilemma is called deontology . This means that a person will follow his or her obligations to another individual or society because upholding one’s duty is what is considered ethically correct. For instance, people who follow this philosophy will always keep their promises to a friend and will follow the law. They will produce very consistent decisions, because they will be based on the individual’s set duties. Note that this theory is not necessarily concerned with the welfare of others. Say, for example, a technician for Orkin Pest Control has decided that it’s his ethical duty (and is very practical) to always be on time to meetings with homeowners. Today he is running late. How is he supposed to drive? Is the technician supposed to speed, breaking his duty to society to uphold the law, or is he supposed to arrive at the client’s home late, breaking his duty to be on time? This scenario of conflicting obligations does not lead us to a clear ethically correct resolution, nor does it protect the welfare of others from the technician’s decision.

Individual Rights

In our society, individuals and groups have certain rights that exist under certain conditions regardless of any external circumstances. These rights serve as guides when making individual ethical decisions. The term human rights implies that certain rights—to life, to freedom, to the pursuit of happiness—are bestowed at birth and cannot be arbitrarily taken away. Denying the rights of an individual or group is considered to be unethical and illegal in most, though not all, parts of the world. Certain rights are guaranteed by the government and its laws, and these are considered legal rights. The U.S. Constitution and its amendments, as well as state and federal statutes, define the rights of American citizens. Those rights can be disregarded only in extreme circumstances, such as during wartime. Legal rights include the freedom of religion, speech, and assembly; protection from improper arrest and searches and seizures; and proper access to counsel, confrontation of witnesses, and cross-examination in criminal prosecutions. Also held to be fundamental is the right to privacy in many matters. Legal rights are to be applied without regard to race, color, creed, gender, or ability.

Concept Check

• How are individual business ethics formed?
• What is utilitarianism?
• How can you recognize unethical activities?

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• Authors: Lawrence J. Gitman, Carl McDaniel, Amit Shah, Monique Reece, Linda Koffel, Bethann Talsma, James C. Hyatt
• Publisher/website: OpenStax
• Book title: Introduction to Business
• Publication date: Sep 19, 2018
• Location: Houston, Texas
• Book URL: https://openstax.org/books/introduction-business/pages/1-introduction
• Section URL: https://openstax.org/books/introduction-business/pages/2-1-understanding-business-ethics

© Apr 5, 2023 OpenStax. Textbook content produced by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License . The OpenStax name, OpenStax logo, OpenStax book covers, OpenStax CNX name, and OpenStax CNX logo are not subject to the Creative Commons license and may not be reproduced without the prior and express written consent of Rice University.

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The Oxford Handbook of Business Ethics

George G. Brenkert is Professor in the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University.

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The Oxford Handbook of Business Ethics provides a comprehensive treatment of the field of business ethics as seen from a philosophical approach. Business ethics raises many important philosophical issues. A first set of issues concerns the methodology of business ethics. What is the role of ethical theory in business ethics? To what extent, if at all, can thinking in business ethics be enhanced by philosophy, so as to provide real moral guidance? Another set of issues involves questions regarding markets, capitalism, and economic justice. There are related concerns about the nature of business organizations and the responsibilities they have to their members, owners, and society. This Handbook consists of twenty-four articles that survey the field of business ethics, covering all major topics about the relationship between ethical theory and business ethics. The articles are written by philosophers who offer a systematic interpretation of their topics and discuss various moral controversies and dilemmas that plague business relationships and government-business relationships.

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Business Ethics

(9 reviews)

OpenStax College

Copyright Year: 2018

ISBN 13: 9781947172579

Publisher: OpenStax

Language: English

Formats Available

Conditions of use.

Learn more about reviews.

Reviewed by Ingrid Greene, Clinical Assistant Professor, Loyola Marymount University on 6/6/23

I think that the subjects that are covered are thorough and they use great examples. But, I also feel that the textbook is missing a lot of key topics such as the role of technology and a deeper dive into the role of governments and non-profits. I... read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

I think that the subjects that are covered are thorough and they use great examples. But, I also feel that the textbook is missing a lot of key topics such as the role of technology and a deeper dive into the role of governments and non-profits. I understand that it is important to include a lot about philosophy, but I think that there is a lot of room for improvement with a deeper dive of some other key parts of the curriculum. The philosophy part has many sources outside of a traditional textbook since this topic is has been studied for thousands of years, and doesn't need to be covered as thoroughly here. More time could be spend on other topics like non-profits and governance. I think that it is missing key parts about the role of a Board of Directors, how they are elected, and their responsibilities.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Everything looked accurate and detailed properly.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

Yes, updates will be possible, and they link to relevant articles or cases that are very up-to-date. Again, I would just add more about technology and the role of non-profits.

Clarity rating: 4

I like the book, but the slides could be more clear and complete. Many of the slides have only a small photo and very limited text. They do not include much of the text material. I needed to create my own slides, and/or skip much of the material.

Consistency rating: 5

The book is very professional, and easy to read. There are key diagrams, and highlighting of key ideas. The slides, again, could use some help to coordinate better with the book.

Modularity rating: 5

It is very easy to read. I assigned the book to an 8th grader, and she was able to move through it easily and it engaged her interest. I took this as a good sign that it is good as an introduction to ethics for someone who is not familiar with the topic.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The topics are well organized, but I would add a lot more about the world of non-profits. The external references to HBR cases is great. The frequent cases are also great.

Interface rating: 5

This is great. No problem with viewing it on multiple devices and computers.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

Since this book centers a lot around culture, it would be hard to not give it a 5.

As I mentioned, it is important to have slides that really include much of the text, and I found the teacher resources for this very weak. I am hopeful that this could be improved. I did not have a chance to test the integration with our CMS, but I am hopeful that it could be helpful. I like that they include quizzes since this too can be time consuming for students. Lastly, I very much recommend that they include the work of non-profits in the discussion with business since this is a key player when we talk about doing things ethically, and getting input from key stakeholders.

Reviewed by Alysa D Lambert, Professor of HRM, Indiana University - Southeast (New Albany) on 2/21/23

The text covers a wide breadth of ethics and addresses all major and then some secondary topics in ethics. It also provides some of the history of ethical frameworks and their origins. It provides brief cases and critical thinking questions for... read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The text covers a wide breadth of ethics and addresses all major and then some secondary topics in ethics. It also provides some of the history of ethical frameworks and their origins. It provides brief cases and critical thinking questions for students to deepen their knowledge.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

I saw very few errors. The tone of the book reads as unbiased and covers all major theories of ethics.

Updates will be required but only as related to current ethical issues in business. As technology and business change, globalization continues to grow then the ethical issues will change and need to be updated. The ethical frameworks and the history of ethics will not change very much.

The book was clearly written with understandable examples. The resources are clear, relevant and recent.

Consistency rating: 4

The framework, format and vocabulary used were consistent and did not require extra explanation. For example, the "Link to Learning" boxes were great for giving students the chance to learn more about a topic. These will have to be checked frequently to ensure they are still live links which relates to the how relevant the book is in the future.

Modularity rating: 3

This could be improved. More headings, more sub-headings and more short case examples would increase the modularity of the text. Have short ethical dilemmas as conversation starters would also be a great addition.

I saw no issues with the organization of the material. My only suggestion would be to consider changing the "epilogue" chapter. It is titled, "Why ethics still matters?" I would hope after reading some much about ethics that much of this discussion would be obvious so breaking these points out and including them throughout may be one way to keep the relevance of studying ethics at the forefront of the course.

I did not see anything of concern here.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

Culture has a prominent place in the book. I selected a 4 rating because there is always room for growth, but I believe the text does a really good job of reminding students of the cultural implications related to ethics. More examples could be added on LGBTQ+ issues, in particular the ethical implications related to inclusion and protecting those in the workplace who are in transition or who have transitioned.

Reviewed by Elizabeth Collier, Christopher Chair in Business Ethics, Dominican University on 5/2/22

This book includes the standard theories covered in most business ethics textbooks, along with a few additional frameworks that include cross-cultural opportunities for discussion and a broadening of what students may consider as they develop... read more

This book includes the standard theories covered in most business ethics textbooks, along with a few additional frameworks that include cross-cultural opportunities for discussion and a broadening of what students may consider as they develop their understanding of ethics. It covers a wide range of topics and cases and could be used in a general undergraduate course to cover a lot of ground. The many opportunities for critical thinking and the deeper discussion questions allow for this to be used at a general graduate level MBA course as well. If used in an MBA course, additional materials or lectures would need to be added because book moves at a quick clip and has just the basics on each topic, while covering many different topics.

The materials are accurate and there are many critical thinking questions provided that allow for deeper engagement with the frameworks and cases through assignments and discussions.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The content includes traditional cases that all students should be aware of and also many recent cases that explore issues not covered in the past. The ability for sections of these types of books to be updated semi-regularly means that the book should not be obsolete any time soon and could be augmented/updated very easily in the future with new cases that have arisen.

Clarity rating: 5

The book is well written, clear, very concise, and includes references and a glossary for each chapter.

The book maintains consistency throughout in format, cases, questions, glossary, photos, videos and opportunities for engagement.

In addition to the book being easily broken up by week into a quarter or semester, there are optional Canvas and Blackboard downloads that are comprehensive, along with resources for assignments aiding an instructor in maintaining the modularity, clarity and organization.

The book has a clear organization that it maintains throughout.

Interface rating: 4

There is an "errata" function on the OpenStax site that explains all issues related to this category and the book seems to be updated every spring to address issues with links, quiz questions and other minor corrections.

I did not find any grammatical errors.

This book does make use of examples that are inclusive of a variety of races, ethnicities and other aspects of diversity in the workplace.

This is an excellent option for those looking to include OER materials into the business classroom. Many people from a wide range of academic disciplines contributed to or reviewed the text. There are very few resources for OER business ethics texts, so the comprehensiveness of this text, along with the many supplemental resources for faculty, are really a great resource at this time.

Reviewed by Rebeca Book, Professor, Pittsburg State University on 4/19/22

The textbook is very comprehensive and covers many areas. Good background in providing the foundation and history of ethics and the different perspectives. Thought the different links to current stories and interviews also was beneficial. Was... read more

The textbook is very comprehensive and covers many areas. Good background in providing the foundation and history of ethics and the different perspectives. Thought the different links to current stories and interviews also was beneficial. Was very comprehensive in that with the OpenStax and this particular textbook, the instructor has access to importing information (to me it was the Canvas Learning Management System) such as tests, powerpoints, etc. This additional information could also be downloaded and separate from a Learning Management System if needed.

Content was accurate and did not find any errors. Felt some areas might be a little biased, but in ethics this can easily happen and information was discussed in a relevant and thoughtful manner.

Interesting to think if it would become obsolete because I could relate to some of the interviews and stories, but later in a few years they might become obsolete but not the actual content or purpose of the information. Student might not relate as well to the stories later if they don't recognize the names or companies. Since the textbook is OpenStax I would think that the authors and audiences that use the textbook might update or bring in discussions to bring more current stories to the textbook.

The text is very lucid and easy to understand and read. Information is clearly explained and there are even portions of each area with key terms, summary and assessment. The textbook even has outlined expected outcomes for each chapter.

The text is consistent in terminology and framework.

The text can be divided into different reading sections easily. For my own purposes I do not devote a whole semester to ethics, so because there is so much good content and thought provoking insights, it will be hard to decide what to assign or use. But if the textbook were to be used entirely for a course, everything is well laid out.

I do believe the text is laid out in a logical and clear fashion.

I did not find the text itself to have interface problems. Was pleasantly surprised that I could even download the textbook onto my Kindle! The only problems that I had were using it with Canvas, but the problems were on my end and not with the textbook itself. I wonder in the future if there could be problems with links if they are discontinued or websites change, but hopefully there won't be any issues.. I didn't have any problems with the links when I used them in going through and reading the textbook.

The book, being on ethics, is very careful of cultures. It attempts in a very thoughtful way to help navigate and be sensitive to different races, ethnicities, and backgrounds.

Reviewed by Elissa Magnant, Visiting Instructor, University of Massachusetts Lowell on 6/29/20

This textbook is comprehensive. In fact, it provides more than enough information for either an undergraduate course in Business Ethics or a more in-depth analysis for seminar or graduate students if the video case studies are utilized fully. ... read more

This textbook is comprehensive. In fact, it provides more than enough information for either an undergraduate course in Business Ethics or a more in-depth analysis for seminar or graduate students if the video case studies are utilized fully. Because of the depth of content, for undergraduates the text might be best assigned by specific page numbers to cover specific topics, instead of full chapters all at once.

The text is well researched by astute world renown faculty who use peer reviewed materials.

One reason to use this book is that it is up to date. It covers more recent business ethics dilemmas than print or print/digital texts because by virtue of being open source and fully digital, it is kept more up to date than other textbooks I have used.

This book is well written and easy for the student to comprehend. It also provides instructor support material of a test bank which is also well designed.

This book is compatible with the humanistic ethics framework, including a focus on dignity, fairness and collaboration.

This textbook implements short case studies called "Cases from the Real World," opportunities for students to think and reflect on ethics questions as well as multiple headings/sub-headings for ease of division and assignment.

I like the organization of this textbook as it starts with the basic philosophical frameworks and moves to modern day real business ethics challenges so that the student progresses through stages, understanding how topics build upon each other as the book evolves.

Students really enjoy the option of buying a paper version of this book, which is made available on our campus for under $20. They also enjoyed the easily downloadable version of the text with clickable links, especially because they can download it or view it from any device. It makes it very easy to ask them to read and then evaluate their ethical considerations of the material in class or online.

I am unaware of any grammatical errors in this text.

This text does an exceptional job of providing students with a balanced understanding of ethical globalization. It is liberal toward US government ethics and could perhaps provide more balanced nuances when addressing those topics.

I used two other popular Business Ethics textbooks prior to making the change to this textbook. I am so happy I did. It provides a no-cost option to those who use it digitally, a low-cost option to those who want to also have access to a professionally printed version, and it covers more up-to-date business ethics topics than either of the previous texts I used. I look forward to the updates as they help to keep the class relevant and challenging for all.

Reviewed by Kerry Dolan, Accounting/Business Department Chair, TRAILS on 11/22/19

The content is of the book is more than enough to support a full semester 200-level business ethics course and it does a good job of covering the basic ethics principles as well as specific examples that are relevant to the contemporary business... read more

The content is of the book is more than enough to support a full semester 200-level business ethics course and it does a good job of covering the basic ethics principles as well as specific examples that are relevant to the contemporary business world.

I'm not an expert in the field of business ethics, but given my background in general business and accounting, I did not encounter any information in the textbook that appeared to be inaccurate.

Relevance is always an issue with business-related textbooks because real-world examples quickly become outdated. However, this issue does not appear to be more pervasive with this text, nor would it be difficult to update or supplement any outdated examples. The basic concepts presented are not subject to obsolescence.

The text is very clear and understandable for lower-level college students that are encountering the basics of business ethics for the first time.

Text appeared to be consistent throughout. Clear organization and presentation.

I really liked how the book was organized with chapters and sections making it easy to assign partial chapters and/or specific sections and a manageable number of chapters and sections.

The text starts with broad concepts and moves to specific applications in business. The organization makes the presentation of the information clear to those who are being exposed to this discipline for the first time with this textbook.

Interface rating: 3

When reading this on a Kindle device, there were some areas where it was hard to decipher a picture caption from the string of text as as a result of digital page breaks and adjusted text sized, but once you got through the first chapter and were more familiar with the organization of each chapter it was not a distracting issue.

I didn't notice any grammatical errors.

The textbook did not appear to go out of its way to make sure that all races, ethnicities, and backgrounds were included, but there was a range of diverse images and examples. I did not see any culturally insensitive or offensive examples or images from my perspective.

Reviewed by Lou Cartier, Adjunct Instructor, Business and Management, Aims Community College on 8/1/19

At 367 pages, with 10 integrated, substantive chapters, constructive “end notes” and assessments on the evolution of ethical reasoning, leadership, and the challenges of “becoming an ethical professional” and “making a difference in the business... read more

At 367 pages, with 10 integrated, substantive chapters, constructive “end notes” and assessments on the evolution of ethical reasoning, leadership, and the challenges of “becoming an ethical professional” and “making a difference in the business world,” this is a comprehensive text, suitable for undergraduate business students and instructors not necessarily trained in philosophy. It is a great fit for single semester course, whether offered in conventional blocks of 15 weeks, 10 or eight. Topical case studies, video links, “what would you do” scenarios and assessments, chapter glossaries, and a helpful index reflect a breadth of industry, organizational, and cultural perspectives. The Preface, outlining the book’s purpose, architecture, contributing authors and student and instructor resources (i.e., “Getting Started” guide, test bank and PPts) appears responsive to both a student’s critical eye and an instructor’s operational check list. Moreover, the test banks (10) appear solid, with multiple choice and short essay answer questions linked to the Bloom’s Taxonomy grid (plus instructor’s answer guide). Power Point slides (15-25 per unit) offer critical thinking and discussion prompts. Collectively, these components illuminate the principles, practices, and historical seeds of business ethics and corporate social responsibility in a compelling presentation.

I encountered no obvious error or mischaracterization. The authors evidently have taken pains to document their content, including graphic and video links. In citations, I appreciate both the hard information and informal context provided. In Ch. 6, for example, minimum wages in every state rely upon 2017 data from “the National Conference of State Legislatures, U.S. Dept. of Labor and state websites” (Fig. 6.9), while in the next (Fig. 6.10), under the colorful graphic, we have this: “Right-to-work states have typically been clustered in the South and Southeast, where unions have been traditionally less prevalent.” That attribution references “Copyright Rice University, Open Stax, under CC BY 4.0 license,” sufficient for “educational use,” it would seem. Faculty also will appreciate the ease of flagging and correcting three kinds of errata: factual, typo, broken links.

As other reviewers have noted, this text – like most in “applied ethics” – relies on contemporary examples of business practice, including articles and video segments drawn from the business press and government oversight venues that may grow less compelling in another five years or so (think Enron and its accounting partner, Arthur Andersen, 2000-era exemplars of white collar crime not referenced here). Yet this text does a serviceable job of setting cases as old as Ford Motor Company’s fraught introduction of the Edsel (1958) and the “Chicago Tylenol Murders (1982) and as fresh as United Airlines forced removable of a ticketed passenger from a seat needed by an airlines employee (2017) amid sufficient historical, theoretical, and organizational context to grasp the key lessons of Unit 3.2: “Weighing Stakeholder Claims.” There is little danger of obsolescence, particularly since the open textbook network makes it so easy to correct errors and substitute current examples for the somewhat dated.

The clarity and quality of writing is superb, likely a reflection of lead collaborators Stephen Byars, who teaches “oral and written communication” as well as business ethics, and Kurt Stanberry, whose “legal and leadership” credentials are exercised in his continuing education seminars with CPA’s, attorneys, and business execs … nice fits for this subject. Students still ln high school, or in the growing cadre of “co-enrolled” in community college may struggle with this text, yet the publisher’s clear attention to content “building blocks” may comfort even the less mature and experienced student. For example, in any given chapter, readers 1) begin with an outline, learning objectives, and 500 – 1,000 word introduction, 2) encounter “cases from the real world” and “what would you do” tests of comprehension, and 3) close with a narrative summary, glossary of key terms, and short set of “assessment” questions. “Links to learning” include such clever questions as whether Coca-Cola’s soft pedaling of its huge demands for water in arid climates amounts to “greenwashing” (Ch. 3) or whether certain animals ought to be off limits for human consumption because of “sentience,” their ability to think and/or feel pain, (Peter Singer, Ch. 8). In addition “key terms” for every chapter are short and clear, i.e. “Integrity … because there is unity between what we say and what we do.”

Like two previous reviewers, I found the prose and organization to be coherent and consistent. Depth, attention to detail, terminology, and overall framework are consistent, linked by “key terms” and succinct introductions and summary reviews of each chapter. In the main cases, scenarios, and references to events are compelling, current or sufficiently grounded in context to be evergreen. Videos, on the other hand, come in all types, lengths, and flavors, from five minutes to more than an hour, from sit-down interview to taped panel discussion to challenging presentation in front of a group. The resourceful or determined instructor might guide students to a time code? This is not necessarily a weakness, though uneven production values should be expected.

Yes, this material lends itself to modularity, this despite a carefully constructed progression from “why this subject matters” to “how our forebears have grappled with responsibility” to “who has a stake in these decisions” to “what we owe each other” in specific manifestations of corporate and professional enterprise. It appears that in every chapter, its major units could be assigned separately, within an instructor’s unique unifying paradigm. Individual “features” could backstop of enrich discussions in class or online. There are no “enormous blocks of text” to impede easy snipping, and thoughtful subheadings appear to break up the challenge to comprehension and endurance.

The inherent logic of this text is apparent. Authors move from a philosophical foundation (“Why ethics matters?” and approaches to “intention v. outcomes” over time) to exploration of the stakeholder theory to close examination of ethical issues in business, the professions, and organizations in the voluntary and public sectors. A unifying feature is the Introduction, key terms, “assessment questions” and “end notes” for each chapter. Personal interviews or video clips from business owners and other stakeholders, supplemented by relevant documents such as ethics policies, training materials, and previews of business development … such as New Belgium CEO Kim Jordan’s (and “contemporary thought leader”) rationale for an east coast brewery in Asheville NC (opened May 2016) help cement understanding of such integral topics in corporate social responsibility as “sustainability.”

This textbook is available online, in pdf or web view, and in print (presumably suitable for loose leaf binder for nominal cost, which instructors may facilitate through campus bookstores, if appropriate). While some are not fond of “text boxes interspersed with the main text” my students using other similar e-texts have not reported problems. That said, I did not experience the online version of this text on Kindle or my phone, which might be instructive. On the other hand, while not “distorted” I found some of the power points unhelpful, to the point of distracting or annoying the viewer. Some seem busy, with narrative text blocks under anecdotal photos or graphics in print too small for comfortable display in class. Moreover, the “what would you do?” questions in this mode seem to me presumptive, less helpful than, say, bullet references to facts, principles, or events. Instructors and overseers of “access and accessibility” may care to note that not all videos are followed by transcriptions. Overall, the heading and body styles are consistent. Selection of fonts (style and size) maximize on screen legibility. Text blocks are in contrasting color to distinguish it from background, with minimal highlighting that does not appear arbitrary. On the whole, I found layout and design mechanically sound, with pages and links numbered and labelled consistently and - to the extent sampled -- no broken links.

None observed.

There is plenty to commend on this criteria. For one thing, Ch. 5, “The Impact of Culture and Time,” engages fundamental faith beliefs globally as well as the authority of religion tradition, and challenges students to explore the “universality “of values in business ethics. For instance this text does not shrink from illustrations of both “honor and shame” in business. In Appendix C, “A Succinct Theory of Business Ethics, the authors plainly and forcefully state their underlying thesis: that business ethics ought be grounded in deontology more than in utilitarianism, that “ends” are insufficient justification for questionable “means” in formulating and executing business strategy. Illustrations of demographic and behavioral diversity and inclusion – including animal rights and the implications for research and recreation – are plentiful, addressed in Ch. 8, “Recognizing and Respecting the Rights of All,” as well as the succeeding chapter on various professions.

This is an excellent “open educational resource” for business ethics and corporate social responsibility, one I intend to tap personally. The “closing parts” especially – including “Succinct Themes in Business Ethics” – are attractive guides to curriculum development and standalone discussion prompts in the classroom or online. “Lives of Ethical Philosophers (500 to 1,000 word summaries), and “Profiles in Business Ethics: Contemporary Thought Leaders,” adds a valuable philosophical heft that, for community and junior colleges especially, our accrediting and articulation partners will be pleased to see. I further value the selection of relevant supplemental material from independent consultants that range from the very basic, i.e., “Five Questions to Identify Key Stakeholders” to those that verge on the proprietary. These include descriptions of systems to monitor and “manage” customer and other stakeholder involvement, corporate codes of conduct … even a link to free personality test (Sec. 7.3), for which “bonus” I am grateful to Steve Custer of Oakland City University for pointing out.

Reviewed by Debra Sulai, Instructor, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania on 3/12/19

This book provides a comprehensive introduction to the key elements of ethical theory (Aristotelian virtue, Kantian deontology, utilitarianism, Rawls' theory of justice); the social, political, and cultural contexts of business; and the importance... read more

This book provides a comprehensive introduction to the key elements of ethical theory (Aristotelian virtue, Kantian deontology, utilitarianism, Rawls' theory of justice); the social, political, and cultural contexts of business; and the importance of ethics to business, while going into greater philosophical depth than comparable textbooks. It addresses most of the key topical areas of business ethics but avoids the listicle approach of other business ethics textbooks in which every topic under the sun is stitched together with little overarching context. It also includes things like a discussion of ethics and organized labor, which other books overlook. I would, however, like to see more dedicated attention to the ethical issues raised by technology, perhaps by engaging with a philosopher of technology.

The index at the back and the detailed table of contents will make information easy to find. Each chapter's glossary will be helpful to students who are new to the subject. I particularly like the profiles of the four philosophers in the appendix: so often, ethics is taught in a disembodied and ahistorical manner, which makes it harder for students to see the relevance of the ideas being taught. These supplementary contextual elements would make this a good textbook for an instructor whose primary training was not in philosophy.

As an added advantage, the number of chapters does not exceed the number of weeks in a standard semester, and at 10 chapters plus an epilogue could also fit within a quarter system.

As far as I can tell, the content is accurate and clear. It was reviewed by dozens of faculty from a wide variety of institutions.

The book's use of contemporary examples means that it will date, but no more than any other textbook in applied ethics. As many of the examples are set out in textboxes or as links to external resources, it would be a relatively simple matter for an instructor to substitute recent examples when necessary. Chapter 10 on changing work environments and future trends is the chapter most likely to date quickly. The other applied sections will probably last 5-10 years; the ethical theory sections will remain relevant for a longer period of time.

I think this is appropriate for a general-education course in business ethics. I found it to be clear, although a student new to the subject or to philosophy may find that concepts are introduced at a quick pace. It does not suffer from unnecessary jargon; it is, as Aristotle said, as clear as the subject matter allows.

The prose and organization is consistent; it could have been single-authored.

Modularity rating: 4

It would be possible to use some portions of the text and not others, but it is not fully modular in that it was carefully constructed to provide the necessary philosophical and social context for business ethics prior to considering particular applied topics in business ethics. As it presents a sustained argument about business ethics (and this is a strength; philosophy is, after all, largely about making good arguments), it isn't the sort of thing that one could simply cut up and reassemble willy-nilly. However, I can easily see how an instructor could use various chapters to supplement or introduce other material. Chapters are internally divided into sections that could be read, assigned, or discussed separately.

Many business ethics textbooks combine three or four different courses in one: a book about ethics, a book about management and stakeholder theory, and a book about work and vocation, and give the impression of fairly disparate topics somewhat awkwardly and haphazardly stitched together. This book is logically organized to take students from basic moral theory through the application of those theories to key issues in business ethics, before circling back again to ethics in the epilogue.

Rather than being organized into chapters according to common areas of ethical problems in business (finance, accounting, affirmative action, greed, advertising and marketing, sexual harassment, sustainability, stakeholder theory, etc.) with few connections made between, this book addresses those issues under a relatively small number of chapter headings, and presents them through an ethical and social framework that is developed in the early chapters. I find this to be a more cohesive approach to the subject than is present in other textbooks.

I experienced no problems with the interface. The book is professionally produced. I personally do not like the use of text boxes interspersed with the main text, but I recognize that this is a common textbook feature.

I saw no grammatical issues. This book has been professionally edited.

This book includes a Confucian look at virtue ethics and attends to the cultural context in which the philosophers worked. It also contains a chapter on business ethics across time, place, culture and religion, a more comprehensive approach than the usual "business in a global context" topical chapter of other books. A chapter on respecting the rights of all addresses disability, gender inclusivity, religious diversity, animal ethics, and income inequality. In the following chapter there is a section on the business of health care, which I have not seen in any other similar text.

This is an outstanding introductory text in business ethics, with a level of philosophical sophistication and organizational coherence that exceeds most comparable texts. The chapter summaries, glossaries, and review quizzes are helpful aids to student learning, and the embedded links to interviews, videos, and case studies make it easy to adapt to active learning or on-line instruction. The amount of philosophical context makes it a particularly good choice for instructors of business ethics whose primary training is in business, management, law, or a related field, rather than in ethics or philosophy, or for a philosopher whose primary area of expertise is outside business ethics.

It does read as though it is a written version of excellent lectures in business ethics, which is not necessarily a weakness. The most significant drawback to this text, in my view, is that it includes no primary sources. As a philosopher teaching applied ethics, I know that business ethics may be the only course in philosophy that my students take. I also know this may be my students' primary or sole opportunity to read the classics of the western tradition. Therefore, I think this book could be enhanced by presenting some primary source readings. These could be added as an appendix or at the beginning or end of each chapter, or taken from other sources by the instructor.

I currently use an Oxford anthology for my business ethics course. However, if I were to assign a traditional textbook, I would switch to this book without reservation, and I am very likely to try this book in future courses.

Reviewed by Steve Custer, Associate Professor, Oakland City University on 2/25/19

The Business Ethics textbook is comprehensive in that it covers a broad range of ethical issues as well as delving into the history of ethics. The online format enhances the easy of use for the index. read more

The Business Ethics textbook is comprehensive in that it covers a broad range of ethical issues as well as delving into the history of ethics. The online format enhances the easy of use for the index.

I found the textbook to be accurate. I did not find any outstanding errors in the book. It is very well written and easy to understand.

From Toyota to Samsung and Starbucks, excellent examples of business ethics abound. Additionally, this textbook is quite effective in bringing to life many current events.

The book exceeds expectations in clarity. The key terms and assessment questions at the end of each chapter give extra help to those seeking to know the material in depth.

The dictionary defines consistency as a "condition of adhering together." I feel that this textbook accomplished that purpose. Moreover, it brought together principles of business ethics in a well-developed manner.

The online format enhances this textbook's modularity. The online links to learning are a welcome addition and add a nice touch.

The book is organized very well, and the online format makes keyword searches very easy to navigate.

The Business Ethics textbook is easy to navigate and understand. Nothing is wasted that takes away from the material.

I found the Business Ethics textbook to be free of any outstanding grammatical errors.

There are many examples this book gives on cultural relevance: #metoo, transgender ethics, environmental ethics, animal ethics, and diversity and inclusion.

I really enjoyed the link to the free personality test. That was a great bonus feature. "It is nice to be important, but more important to be nice." What a powerful sentiment and an appropriate quote to be included! This is a great textbook and I plan to utilize it in an upcoming business ethics course.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Why Ethics Matter

• 1.1 Being a Professional of Integrity
• 1.2 Ethics and Profitability
• 1.3 Multiple versus Single Ethical Standards

Chapter 2: Ethics from Antiquity to the Present

• 2.1 The Concept of Ethical Business in Ancient Athens
• 2.2 Ethical Advice for Nobles and Civil Servants in Ancient China
• 2.3 Comparing the Virtue Ethics of East and West
• 2.4 Utilitarianism: The Greatest Good for the Greatest Number
• 2.5 Deontology: Ethics as Duty
• 2.6 A Theory of Justice

Chapter 3: Defining and Prioritizing Stakeholders

• 3.1 Adopting a Stakeholder Orientation
• 3.2 Weighing Stakeholder Claims
• 3.3 Ethical Decision-Making and Prioritizing Stakeholders
• 3.4 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Chapter 4: Three Special Stakeholders: Society, the Environment, and Government

• 4.1 Corporate Law and Corporate Responsibility
• 4.2 Sustainability: Business and the Environment
• 4.3 Government and the Private Sector

Chapter 5: The Impact of Culture and Time on Business Ethics

• 5.1 The Relationship between Business Ethics and Culture
• 5.2 Business Ethics over Time
• 5.3 The Influence of Geography and Religion
• 5.4 Are the Values Central to Business Ethics Universal?

Chapter 6: What Employers Owe Employees

• 6.1 The Workplace Environment and Working Conditions
• 6.2 What Constitutes a Fair Wage?
• 6.3 An Organized Workforce
• 6.4 Privacy in the Workplace

Chapter 7: What Employees Owe Employers

• 7.1 Loyalty to the Company
• 7.2 Loyalty to the Brand and to Customers
• 7.3 Contributing to a Positive Work Atmosphere
• 7.4 Financial Intergrity
• 7.5 Criticism of the Company and Whistleblowing

Chapter 8: Recognizing and Respecting the Rights of All

• 8.1 Diversity and Inclusion in the Workforce
• 8.2 Accommodating Different Abilities and Faiths
• 8.3 Sexual Identification and Orientation
• 8.4 Income Inequalities
• 8.5 Animal Rights and the Implications for Business

Chapter 9: Professions under the Microscope

• 9.1 Entrepreneurship and Start-Up Culture
• 9.2 The Influence of Advertising
• 9.3 The Insurance Industry
• 9.4 Ethical Issues in the Provision of Health Care

Chapter 10: Changing Work Environment and Future Trends

• 10.1 More Telecommuting or Less?
• 10.2 Workplace Campuses
• 10.3 Alternatives to Traditional Patterns of Work
• 10.4 Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and the Workplace of the Future

Chapter 11: Epilogue: Why Ethics Still Matter

• 11.1 Business Ethics in an Evolving Environment
• 11.2 Committing to an Ethical View
• 11.3 Becoming an Ethical Professional
• 11.4 Making a Difference in the Business World

Ancillary Material

About the book.

Business Ethics is designed to meet the scope and sequence requirements of the single-semester business ethics course. This title includes innovative features designed to enhance student learning, including case studies, application scenarios, and links to video interviews with executives, all of which help instill in students a sense of ethical awareness and responsibility.

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Business Ethics and Its Importance Today Essay (Critical Writing)

What is business ethics, why is business ethics important today.

• Business ethics is the branch of ethics that deals with the application of ethical principles to make the right business decisions (Smith, Palazzo, & Bhattacharya, 2010). It involves differentiating between right and wrong to make the right business decisions.
• Business ethics enables organizations to maximize profits while minimizing the negative impacts on the society (Griseri & Seppala, 2010). It enables businesses to appropriately influence power and society, makes organizations to be socially responsible, addresses the society’s demands, provides addresses the potential of inflicting harm, and facilitates ethical interactions.
• Business ethics differs from personal ethics because it is about elucidating right from wrong under different business situations and activities using principles of business ethics in decision making (Trevino & Nelson, 2010). Personal ethics is about the moral values and beliefs of an individual that are used to address the situation at a personal level.
• It is difficult to behave ethically in business because of situations that arise such as conflict of interest, which are difficult to ignore. For instance, a firm you are working for buys clothes from Bangladesh factory that uses child labor and does not pay the workers.
• Ethics is about the positive aspects of behavior while law is concerned with the negative behavior. Ethics comes first before the law, which comes later. Law is universal and enforceable within the accepted jurisdiction while ethics cannot be forced on an individual.
• Globalization is the process that enables the removal of territorial boundaries or restrictions to allow for the flow of economic, political activities, and social activities and leads to ‘deterritorialization’.
• The rapid improvement and use of technology caused a decrease in the cost of doing business due to a decrease in transportation costs, better, and cheaper communication methods. The removal of capital flow restrictions, barriers to trade and investment, free markets, and trade liberalization.
• Ethical challenges of globalization include intensification of ethical conflicts, different ethical codes of conduct, ability to make the right decisions on the type of products to offer.
• Sustainable development is the development that addresses the needs of the people without compromising the future generations’ abilities to sustain themselves (Sparks & Pan, 2010). Examples include the sustainable exploitation of natural resources such as trees for timber
• The best practices include reporting and disclosure to stakeholders on a firm’s performance. Other practices include shareholder engagement through collaborations. Use of efficient environmental management systems.
• ‘Race to the Bottom’ is a term used to describe a situation where firms show a trend of investing in environments with weak legislation on labor laws and other environmental issues leading to weak sustainability (Velasquez & Velazquez, 2002). Examples are those companies that invest in countries such as Bangladesh that have weak business practices.
• The Vendor Code of Conduct (VCC) was established to enable those in authority to address the problems associated with the lack of business ethics and best practices among different organizations that seemed to breach the best practices in business (Scholte, 2005). Examples include those institutions that have poor working conditions and other problems associated with poor business ethics.
• The main elements of the VCC include a factory monitoring programs that were used to evaluate the commitment of organizations to the vendor code of conduct. Also, VCC was defined by the partnerships of local governments, trade unions, suppliers, and civil society groups.

Griseri, P., & Seppala, N. (2010). Business ethics and corporate social responsibility . New York: John Wiley & Sons. Web.

Scholte, J. A. (2005). Globalization: A critical introduction . New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Web.

Smith, N. C., Palazzo, G., & Bhattacharya, C. B. (2010). Marketing’s consequences: Stakeholder marketing and supply chain corporate social responsibility issues. Business Ethics Quarterly , 20 (04), 617-641. Web.

Sparks, J. R., & Pan, Y. (2010). Ethical judgments in business ethics research: Definition, and research agenda. Journal of Business Ethics , 91 (3), 405-418. Web.

Trevino, L. K., & Nelson, K. A. (2010). Managing business ethics . New York: John Wiley & Sons. Web.

Velasquez, M. G., & Velazquez, M. (2002). Business ethics: Concepts and cases . Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Web.

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• Business Ethics, Globalization and Sustainability
• Economic Development of Bangladesh
• EnGlobal Logistics Expanding into Bangladesh
• How Bangladesh Got Its Independence
• Corruption: A Development Problem of Bangladesh
• Walmart Company: Factory Disaster in Bangladesh
• Education and Health System in Bangladesh
• Concepts of the Economic Development and Microfinance in Bangladesh
• Bangladesh Police Institution
• Industrial Engineering in Bangladesh and Belgium
• CSR in Jordan Construction Industry
• McCardell Enterprises Acquisiton: Business Ethics
• Business Protocols and Personal Values Conflict
• Green Management in Fast Food Restaurants
• Corporate Social Responsibility' and Shareholder' Issues

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4 Introduction

Ethics consists of the standards of behavior to which we hold ourselves in our personal and professional lives. It establishes the levels of honesty, empathy, and trustworthiness and other virtues by which we hope to identify our personal behavior and our public reputation. In our personal lives, our ethics sets norms for the ways in which we interact with family and friends. In our professional lives, ethics guides our interactions with customers, clients, colleagues, employees, and shareholders affected by our business practices ( (Figure) ).

Should we care about ethics in our lives? In our practices in business and the professions? That is the central question we will examine in this chapter and throughout the book. Our goal is to understand why the answer is yes .

Whatever hopes you have for your future, you almost certainly want to be successful in whatever career you choose. But what does success mean to you, and how will you know you have achieved it? Will you measure it in terms of wealth, status, power, or recognition? Before blindly embarking on a quest to achieve these goals, which society considers important, stop and think about what a successful career means to you personally. Does it include a blameless reputation, colleagues whose good opinion you value, and the ability to think well of yourself? How might ethics guide your decision-making and contribute to your achievement of these goals?

Business Ethics Copyright © 2018 by Rice University is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Business Ethics Essay

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Introduction

Business ethics or corporate ethics is a form of moral ethics that examines the conduct of people and individuals in a business set up (Weiss, 2014). These norms are the key guidelines to the way things are done in individual and communal businesses, and it helps in improving the relationship of the business with its stakeholders. The core purpose of any company is to maximize shareholder returns, and this is only made possible by having the business impress its customers effectively and treat them fairly such that the net sales remain at a high level (Ferrell & Fraedrich, 2015). It is common to find various ethical issues arising in a business, situations where the management has to decide on the suitability or morality of actions that will be taken in the business. During such ethical dilemmas, the officials are expected to make the best decision that is aimed at winning the affection of the customers (Weiss, 2014). Taking the example of ford, the car producing company that was faced with an ethical dilemma due to the production of defective products, the decision made in such a scenario, if proper business ethics are adhered to, could make the company maintain its high clientele, of which the opposite also applies.

Case Analysis

One of the known business ethics cases of the international companies is the ford pinto case, in which ford’s design of the Pinto’s fuel tank is defective, in a way that it makes the Pinto to be highly susceptible to fire accident. Rear-end collisions for the Pinto, whether minor or major leads to ultimate accidents, making it very unsafe for the Pinto users. The moral action for Ford in this case is to repair the design to make it suitable for every vehicle, but apparently this would be very expensive as it would cause the company over $137 million. If the company chose to turn a blind eye on the case, the cost of paying for the resulting damages including insurance due to deaths caused would not exceed $47.5 million.

The Who-How Framework for Business Ethics in Dealing with the Case

Under the Who-How framework of business ethics, the person in which the ethical action is performed for or against is first evaluated and the protocols are then evaluated (Hoffman et al., 2014). That is the Who and the How respectively. In this case, it is evident that Ford chose an unethical decision, taking down lives and health of people for the sake of their profit maximization. The ‘who’ in this case is the customers affected by the defect and the ‘how’ is the means in which the business reasons out either compensating or doing away with these customers (Weiss, 2014). The principle of utilitarianism, where the decision is made basing on the idea that brings about the common good for the larger percentage of the individuals is also used in this approach. If ford decides to take the more expensive option and make the necessary changes, they would save the health and the lives of millions of their users. If they would decide to take the second option, which is paying for upcoming damages and save the cost of the manufacture changes, they benefit is felt by only a small fraction of the stakeholders, the owners of the company. In the long-run, however, these beneficiaries would be losers since all the affected customers would be lost and the reputation of the company lost for a long time. The best ethical decision for ford is therefore to accept the mistake very fast, spend a lot of cash in correcting it and it would do them good in future.

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What Is Business Ethics?

Understanding business ethics, why is business ethics important, types of business ethics.

• Implementing Good Business Ethics
• Monitoring and Reporting

The Bottom Line

What is business ethics definition, principles, and importance.

Yarilet Perez is an experienced multimedia journalist and fact-checker with a Master of Science in Journalism. She has worked in multiple cities covering breaking news, politics, education, and more. Her expertise is in personal finance and investing, and real estate.

Business ethics is the moral principles, policies, and values that govern the way companies and individuals engage in business activity. It goes beyond legal requirements to establish a code of conduct that drives employee behavior at all levels and helps build trust between a business and its customers.

Key Takeaways

• Business ethics refers to implementing appropriate business policies and practices with regard to arguably controversial subjects.
• Some issues that come up in a discussion of ethics include corporate governance, insider trading, bribery, discrimination, social responsibility, and fiduciary responsibilities.
• The law usually sets the tone for business ethics, providing a basic guideline that businesses can choose to follow to gain public approval.

Investopedia / Katie Kerpel

Business ethics ensure that a certain basic level of trust exists between consumers and various forms of market participants with businesses. For example, a portfolio manager must give the same consideration to the portfolios of family members and small individual investors as they do to wealthier clients. These kinds of practices ensure the public receives fair treatment.

The concept of business ethics began in the 1960s as corporations became more aware of a rising consumer-based society that showed concerns regarding the environment, social causes, and corporate responsibility. The increased focus on "social issues" was a hallmark of the decade.

Since that time, the concept of business ethics has evolved. Business ethics goes beyond just a moral code of right and wrong; it attempts to reconcile what companies must do legally vs. maintaining a competitive advantage over other businesses. Firms display business ethics in several ways.

Business ethics ensure a certain level of trust between consumers and corporations, guaranteeing the public fair and equal treatment.

Principles of Business Ethics

It's essential to understand the underlying principles that drive desired ethical behavior and how a lack of these moral principles contributes to the downfall of many otherwise intelligent, talented people and the businesses they represent.

There are generally 12 business ethics principles:

• Leadership : The conscious effort to adopt, integrate, and emulate the other 11 principles to guide decisions and behavior in all aspects of professional and personal life.
• Accountability : Holding yourself and others responsible for their actions. Commitment to following ethical practices and ensuring others follow ethics guidelines.
• Integrity : Incorporates other principles—honesty, trustworthiness, and reliability. Someone with integrity consistently does the right thing and strives to hold themselves to a higher standard.
• Respect for others : To foster ethical behavior and environments in the workplace, respecting others is a critical component. Everyone deserves dignity, privacy, equality, opportunity, compassion, and empathy.
• Honesty : Truth in all matters is key to fostering an ethical climate. Partial truths, omissions, and under or overstating don't help a business improve its performance. Bad news should be communicated and received in the same manner as good news so that solutions can be developed.
• Respect for laws : Ethical leadership should include enforcing all local, state, and federal laws. If there is a legal grey area, leaders should err on the side of legality rather than exploiting a gap.
• Responsibility : Promote ownership within an organization, allow employees to be responsible for their work, and be accountable for yours.
• Transparency : Stakeholders are people with an interest in a business, such as shareholders, employees, the community a firm operates in, and the family members of the employees. Without divulging trade secrets, companies should ensure information about their financials, price changes, hiring and firing practices, wages and salaries, and promotions are available to those interested in the business's success.
• Compassion : Employees, the community surrounding a business, business partners, and customers should all be treated with concern for their well-being.
• Fairness : Everyone should have the same opportunities and be treated the same. If a practice or behavior would make you feel uncomfortable or place personal or corporate benefit in front of equality, common courtesy, and respect, it is likely not fair.
• Loyalty : Leadership should demonstrate confidentially and commitment to their employees and the company. Inspiring loyalty in employees and management ensures that they are committed to best practices.
• Environmental concern : In a world where resources are limited, ecosystems have been damaged by past practices, and the climate is changing, it is of utmost importance to be aware of and concerned about the environmental impacts a business has. All employees should be encouraged to discover and report solutions for practices that can add to damages already done.

There are several reasons business ethics are essential for success in modern business. Most importantly, defined ethics programs establish a code of conduct that drives employee behavior—from executives to middle management to the newest and youngest employees. When all employees make ethical decisions, the company establishes a reputation for ethical behavior. Its reputation grows, and it begins to experience the benefits a moral establishment reaps:

• Brand recognition and growth
• Increased ability to negotiate
• Increased trust in products and services
• Customer retention and growth
• Attracts talent
• Attracts investors

When combined, all these factors affect a business' revenues. Those that fail set ethical standards and enforce them are doomed to eventually find themselves alongside Enron, Arthur Andersen, Wells Fargo, Lehman Brothers, Bernie Madoff, and many others.

There are several theories regarding business ethics, and many different types can be found, but what makes a business stand out are its corporate social responsibility practices, transparency and trustworthiness, fairness, and technological practices.

Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is the concept of meeting the needs of stakeholders while accounting for the impact meeting those needs has on employees, the environment, society, and the community in which the business operates. Of course, finances and profits are important, but they should be secondary to the welfare of society, customers, and employees—because studies have concluded that corporate governance and ethical practices increase financial performance.

Businesses should hold themselves accountable and responsible for their environmental, philanthropic, ethical, and economic impacts.

Transparency and Trustworthiness

It's essential for companies to ensure they are reporting their financial performance in a way that is transparent. This not only applies to required financial reports but all reports in general. For example, many corporations publish annual reports to their shareholders.

Most of these reports outline not only the submitted reports to regulators, but how and why decisions were made, if goals were met, and factors that influenced performance. CEOs write summaries of the company's annual performance and give their outlooks.

Press releases are another way companies can be transparent. Events important to investors and customers should be published, regardless of whether it is good or bad news.

Technological Practices and Ethics

The growing use of technology of all forms in business operations inherently comes with a need for a business to ensure the technology and information it gathers is being used ethically. Additionally, it should ensure that the technology is secured to the utmost of its ability, especially as many businesses store customer information and collect data that those with nefarious intentions can use.

A workplace should be inclusive, diverse, and fair for all employees regardless of race, religion, beliefs, age, or identity. A fair work environment is where everyone can grow, be promoted, and become successful in their own way.

How to Implement Good Business Ethics

Fostering an environment of ethical behavior and decision-making takes time and effort—it always starts at the top. Most companies need to create a code of conduct/ethics, guiding principles, reporting procedures, and training programs to enforce ethical behavior.

Once conduct is defined and programs implemented, continuous communication with employees becomes vital. Leaders should constantly encourage employees to report concern behavior—additionally, there should be assurances that if whistle-blowers will not face adversarial actions.

A pipeline for anonymous reporting can help businesses identify questionable practices and reassure employees that they will not face any consequences for reporting an issue.

Monitoring and Reporting Unethical Behavior

When preventing unethical behavior and repairing its adverse side effects, companies often look to managers and employees to report any incidences they observe or experience. However, barriers within the company culture (such as fear of retaliation for reporting misconduct) can prevent this from happening.

Published by the Ethics & Compliance Initiative (ECI), the Global Business Ethics Survey of 2021 surveyed over 14,000 employees in 10 countries about different types of misconduct they observed in the workplace. 49% of the employees surveyed said they had observed misconduct and 22% said they had observed behavior they would categorize as abusive. 86% of employees said they reported the misconduct they observed. When questioned if they had experienced retaliation for reporting, 79% said they had been retaliated against.

Indeed, fear of retaliation is one of the primary reasons employees cite for not reporting unethical behavior in the workplace. ECI says companies should work toward improving their corporate culture by reinforcing the idea that reporting suspected misconduct is beneficial to the company. Additionally, they should acknowledge and reward the employee's courage in making the report.

Business ethics concerns ethical dilemmas or controversial issues faced by a company. Often, business ethics involve a system of practices and procedures that help build trust with the consumer. On one level, some business ethics are embedded in the law, such as minimum wages, insider trading restrictions, and environmental regulations. On another, business ethics can be influenced by management behavior, with wide-ranging effects across the company.

What Are Business Ethics and Example?

Business ethics guide executives, managers, and employees in their daily actions and decision-making. For example, consider a company that has decided to dump chemical waste that it cannot afford to dispose of properly on a vacant lot it has purchased in the local community. This action has legal, environmental, and social repercussions that can damage a company beyond repair.

What Are the 12 Ethical Principles?

Business ethics is an evolving topic. Generally, there are about 12 ethical principles: honesty, fairness, leadership, integrity, compassion, respect, responsibility, loyalty, law-abiding, transparency, and environmental concerns.

Business ethics concerns employees, customers, society, the environment, shareholders, and stakeholders. Therefore, every business should develop ethical models and practices that guide employees in their actions and ensure they prioritize the interests and welfare of those the company serves.

Doing so not only increases revenues and profits, it creates a positive work environment and builds trust with consumers and business partners.

New York University Stern Center for Sustainable Business. " ESG and Financial Performance: Uncovering the Relationship By Aggregating Evidence From 1,000 Plus Studies Published Between 2015 – 2020 ."

Ethics & Compliance Initiative (ECI). " The State of Ethics & Compliance in the Workplace ," Pages 16-22.

Ethics & Compliance Initiative (ECI). " 2021 Global Business Ethics Survey Report The State of Ethics & Compliance in the Workplace: A Look at Global Trends ."

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“Be Not Conformed to this World”: MacIntyre’s Critique of Modernity and Amish Business Ethics

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• Sunny Jeong 1 ,
• Matthew Sinnicks 2 ,
• Nicholas Burton   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-3140-9776 3 &
• Mai Chi Vu 3  

This paper draws on MacIntyre’s ethical thought to illuminate a hitherto underexplored religious context for business ethics, that of the Amish. It draws on an empirical study of Amish settlements in Holmes County, Ohio, and aims to deepen our understanding of Amish business ethics by bringing it into contact with an ethical theory that has had a significant impact within business ethics, that of Alasdair MacIntyre. It also aims to extend MacIntyrean thought by drawing on his neglected critique of modernity in the context of business ethics. The Amish context allows us to appreciate the relationship between MacIntyre’s critique of modernity, his conception of practices and communities, and his distinctive approach to the virtues. It also helps us to better understand how the ethical life is possible within our emotivist culture.

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Introduction

Alasdair MacIntyre has had a greater impact within business ethics than any other living virtue ethicist (Ferrero & Sison, 2014 ). His work has been drawn on in a variety of contexts, such as accounting (West, 2018 ), business (Bernacchio & Couch, 2022 ; Moore, 2002 ), circus arts (Beadle, 2013 ; Beadle & Sinnicks, 2023 ), corporate governance (Bernacchio & Couch, 2015 ), finance (Rocchi et al., 2021 ; Sison et al., 2019 ), healthcare (Toon, 2014 ), journalism (Borden, 2013 ), leadership (Sinnicks, 2018 ), management (Beabout, 2012 ; Dawson & Bartholomew, 2003 ; Potts, 2020 ), organisational learning (Halliday & Johnsson, 2010 ), public relations (Leeper & Leeper, 2001 ), retail (Fernando & Moore, 2015 ), risk management (Asher & Wilcox, 2022 ), software development (Bolade-Ogunfodun et al., 2022 ; von Krogh et al., 2012 ), education (MacAllister, 2016 ; Sison & Redín, 2023 ), and many others.

MacIntyre’s concept of practices, to which we return below, is the foundation of his definition of virtues and has been particularly central to the scholarly conversation (Beadle, 2008 ; Brewer, 1997 ; Moore & Beadle, 2006 ; Sinnicks, 2014 , 2019 ). MacIntyre’s work has also been drawn on within the business ethics literature that relates to a variety of religious contexts, including Catholicism (Moore et al., 2014 ), Confucianism (Chu & Moore, 2020 ), and Quakerism (Burton & Sinnicks, 2022 ; Burton & Vu, 2021 ).

In this paper, we draw on MacIntyre’s ethical thought to illuminate a hitherto underexplored religious context for business ethics, that of the Amish. The Amish context is both intriguing and puzzling. On the one hand, the Amish community seeks to “be not conformed to this world” (Romans 12:2) and maintains non-permeable boundaries from the non-Amish (Nolt, 2016 ) in order to resist the forces of modernity. Yet, at the same time, their financially successful business enterprises have entailed significant interaction with the principles of capitalism and markets (e.g. Dana, 2007 , 2021 ). How the Amish have navigated tensions at this boundary is informative for business ethics scholarship in its own right, but it also reveals the Amish as embodying, in a variety of ways, Alasdair MacIntyre’s moral philosophy. Our contribution, therefore, is, firstly, to deepen our understanding of Amish business ethics by bringing it into contact with an ethical theory that has had a significant impact within business ethics, and secondly to extend MacIntyre’s work by showing how it can help to illuminate a novel and intriguing context in virtue of, not despite, its hostility to the status quo.

Drawing on an empirical study with Amish settlements in Holmes County, Ohio, we unpack the connections between Amish business ethics and MacIntyre’s ethical thought. We posed an explorative research question— ‘In what ways does Amish faith connect to Amish enterprise?’ . In the following section, we provide an overview of the Amish tradition, detailing key beliefs and religious practices in order to contextualise the exploration of Amish business ethics that follows. We then go on to outline the methodology of the paper, before exploring a variety of MacIntyrean themes as they relate to Amish business.

To signpost our contributions, we outline the affinity between Amish values and MacIntyre’s critique of modernity. This feature of MacIntyre’s thought has not only been largely ignored by previous applications of his work within business ethics, but is ostensibly incompatible with such applications, which tend to treat MacIntyre’s account of practices and virtues as entirely distinct from his diagnosis of the ethical problems facing contemporary society. As a result, focussing on this feature both allows us to appreciate the philosophical resources available to support this facet of Amish business ethics, and to enrich our understanding of how MacIntyre’s work can be brought to bear on the field of business ethics. Secondly, we examine the skilled crafts central to Amish life as they relate to MacIntyre’s conception of practices and communities. These features of Amish life can help to explain how the success of Amish businesses, understood in terms of external goods, can co-exist with a broader rejection of modernity. Thirdly, we outline the key virtues that are central to MacIntyre’s ethical thought and lie at the heart of the Amish tradition, which again help sustain Amish life in the face of the challenges presented by contemporary capitalism. In so doing, we aim to bring greater philosophical depth to the study of Amish values, as well as showing that a MacIntyrean conception of ethical flourishing is possible for traditions and communities that co-exist with the emotivist culture of mainstream society. We conclude by examining some challenges facing Amish business ethics and noting possible avenues for future research.

Macintyre and the Amish Tradition

MacIntyre was a central figure in the revival of virtue ethics over the course of the twentieth century (Stohr, 2006 ), and is the most widely cited virtue ethicist in the business ethics literature (Ferrero & Sison, 2014 ). However, while virtue ethics has, beginning with the work of Solomon ( 1992 , 1993 ), had a significant impact within business ethics, MacIntyre’s influence within the field has been largely a result of his concept of practices. Practices, which we will look at in more depth below, are forms of activity which possess what MacIntyre calls “internal goods” (2007, p.187), i.e. goods which cannot be experienced in any way other than by engaging in the activity in question. Thus, the goods of chess can only be experienced by playing chess. These internal goods contribute to the morally educative nature of practices. Since we need patience, constancy, self-honesty, and so on to master any practice, the pursuit of internal goods means that practices serve as schools of the virtues. In addition to practices, MacIntyre’s account of the virtues also emphasises the narrative unity of a human life (2007, ch.15; 2016, pp.231–242), which enables us to navigate potentially conflicting demands of the roles we may occupy, and the concept of traditions (2007, ch.15; 1988; 1990), which are historically constituted sets of beliefs which contextualise the values and practices of some group.

MacIntyre’s widespread scholarly influence may be somewhat surprising as a result of his own apparent hostility to contemporary capitalism. MacIntyre argues that ours is an emotivist culture in which ethical discourse is largely an expression of untutored feeling (2007). Accordingly, MacIntyre has suggested that the problems of business ethics are insoluble (1982), that teaching business ethics is a waste of time (2015), and that the modern economic order “provides systematic incentives to develop a type of character that has a propensity to injustice” (1995, p. xiv). Such critical views about capitalist society mean that, from the perspective of mainstream business ethics, “MacIntyre is, in a sense, his own worst enemy” (Moore, 2002 , p.19). However, it is precisely this critical bent that makes MacIntyre’s work an appropriate framework for study of the Amish, given their well-known and uncompromising desire to maintain a separateness from mainstream society. Indeed, the case of the Amish can help us to appreciate that MacIntyre’s critique of modernity can itself contribute meaningfully to the conversation on business ethics and virtue but can also show that the problems of business ethics are perhaps not quite as insoluble as MacIntyre has suggested. Indeed, the case of the Amish suggests that a MacIntyrean conception of ethical business is possible , even if it remains extremely difficult to achieve given the challenges posed by the emotivist culture of mainstream society. In what follows, we outline a number of key elements of Amish life and key facets of Amish beliefs, before going on to applying a number of central MacIntyrean themes—the critique of modernity, practices and communities, and the virtues—to our data in the findings and discussion section.

The Amish trace their history to the Anabaptist movement in Switzerland during the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation. No longer present in Europe, the Amish arrived in the United States (U.S.) as immigrants between 1736 and 1860 (Nolt, 2016 ), attracted by religious freedom and the opportunity to own land and create rural enclaves. The Amish brought an agrarian tradition and a reputation for skilled farming (Smith, et al., 1997 ), and even today in contemporary Amish culture, it is still important for families to farm the land or to work alongside each other in family-owned businesses (Wesner, 2010 ).

The Amish are one of the fastest growing North American ethnoreligious groups (Anderson & Kenda, 2015 ) with a tenfold increase in the number of church districts since the 1950s. As of 2023, Amish communities in the US are located throughout thirty-two states, four Canadian provinces, and two countries in South America. The estimated Amish population is about 377,000 in the US (Young Center for Anabaptist & Pietist Studies, 2023 ). The Amish are organised according to church districts—the religious, social, and political unit of Amish life—and each individual family attends a church within their own district (congregation). A district is typically headed by a bishop, two or three ministers, and a deacon, each of whom has a distinct role in managing church affairs. Each district contains about thirty families and is the spiritual centre of Amish life. The district also provides a number of services to its members such as maintaining an alms fund for members in difficulty, provides care for sick and elderly members, and organises social events.

Central to the ‘Amish way’ is a strong commitment to God and community (Dana, 2007 ). The commitment to ‘Gelassenheit’ runs throughout the Amish tradition (Hostetler, 1993 ). Gelassenheit refers to submission both to the will of God and to the community. It implies the conquest of selfishness and undermines materialism (Redekop et al., 1995 ). The attitudes of gelassenheit are a means of following the example of Christ and everyday life activities are perceived as ways to glorify God. Gelassenheit is coupled with a strong sense of ‘Uffgeva’ where the child is taught to ‘give up’ their will and to cultivate an attitude of submission. The Amish way is based on the ‘priesthood of all’ (O’Neil, 1997 ) and Amish life is strongly influenced through discernment of the collective wisdom of the church known as ‘Ordnung’—“the accumulated wisdom, the corporate guidelines that specify expectations for members” (Kraybill et al., 2010a , p.53). Districts in a settlement may have Ordnungs that differ in minor to significant ways. While each district is responsible for deciding its own rules, in most cases groups of districts (an affiliation) choose similar rules. Different affiliations can, however, display differing degrees of conservatism, acceptance of technology, style of dress, appearance of homes, transportation (buggy colours, carriages without a top cover), the extent to which they ‘pound the pavement’, the width of hat brims, use of refrigerators, and dozens of other behaviours and practices. Such rules are locally and socially constructed, and unwritten. These rules of conduct promote the community’s values such as simplicity, frugality, and humility, instil responsibility, pass down traditions and practices, and foster a strong sense of bond and community (Kraybill, 2001 ). However, it is an evolving tradition, with the Ordnung being regularly reviewed.

The Amish lifestyle implores its adherents to “be not conformed to this world” (Romans 12:2), which separates them from the ‘English’, or non-Amish. The Amish ‘separateness’ is exemplified in plain dress, marrying within the community, speaking a German dialect, and avoiding worldly encumbrances (Nolt, 2016 ). The Amish way is thus both non-conformist and counter-cultural, and the Amish resist trying to influence others to their way of life and do not proselytise, and this sharply sets them apart from their non-Amish neighbours and other religions. The Ordnung prescribes which aspects of modernity are and are not permitted (Hurst & McConnell, 2010 ). The more traditional conservative groups will not reach the same discernment as New Order groups. In terms of technological adoption, for instance, the choice is based on a measured consideration of what technological adoption might mean for their way of life (Donnermeyer et al., 1999 ). As the Amish perceive technological change as entwined with social change (Wetmore, 2007 ), underlying all decisions concerning the selective use of technology is the principle that any new technology must allow them to retain their simple and separated lifestyle (DeWitt, et al., 2006 ).

In contemporary Amish life, the number and type of enterprises is influenced by its social and economic context. Overall, approximately, 10,000 Amish-owned enterprises operate in North America (Kraybill, et al., 2011 ). Agriculture continues to dominate in many locations, and farming is held up as an occupation that integrates family and community with religious bonds (Anderson & Kenda, 2015 ; Dana, 2021 ). For the Amish, farming is a religious calling, something noted by Hostetler, who says, “[f]arming is a means whereby the Amishman has maintained himself and members of his family on the land while supporting the religious community of which he is a part” (1993, p.119). In some areas, a mix of enterprises and farms predominates Amish business practice, and yet in others, such as more urban geographies, many Amish people work in factories owned by non-Amish. Whereas prior to the 1970s, agriculture and small-scale craft enterprise dominated Amish enterprise, in the decades that have followed fewer than half of Amish households farm due to intensified mechanised competition, the need for significant capital due to land prices, and a cost-price squeeze (Kraybill et al., 2010a , 2010b ; Mariola & McConnell, 2013 ). Where the Amish own businesses, a large proportion now work in Amish enterprises that are in sectors that are craft-based or require lower levels of capital such as retail, tourism, construction, and other forms of manufacturing (Kraybill & Nolt, 2004 ) and these trades are attractive as they also offer work for Amish children and extended family and keep employment close to home (Kraybill, 2001 ). Many of these non-farming enterprises continue to serve the Amish community, while others address the needs of the non-Amish, such as tourism (Martinez, et al., 2011 ).

Despite this shift towards non-agricultural enterprises, the Amish have become surprisingly well-known for their entrepreneurial success energised by community discipline, self-determination, a strong work ethic, integrity, and frugality (Dana, 2007 ; Wesner, 2010 ); “Work is viewed as wholesome, rewarding, and virtuous. Idleness and sloth are criticized” (Kraybill et al., 2010a , 2010b , p.13). The Amish preserve the Protestant work ethic, perceiving work as a communal vocation (Kraybill, 2001 ) and eschew work as a source of exhibition (O’Neil, 1997 ). A fundamental feature of the Amish enterprise is family cohesion, community, and mutual aid (Dana, 2007 ) and a desire to keep things small (Keim & Shadnam, 2020 ), and so the central aspiration for an Amish business is usually articulated in terms of a stable income and the ability of family members to work together. In general, however, Dana ( 2007 ) commented that “Profit is given less importance than is religion and its values…” (p.149). Amish enterprises are typically therefore sole proprietor businesses, partnerships, or cooperatives (Kraybill et al., 2010a , 2010b ), typically employing family members and relying upon the Amish community for access to capital and finance, employees, supply networks as well as mutual aid (Kraybill et al., 2010a , 2010b ).

Despite this community focus, the Amish have proven to be remarkably competitive even in an advanced industrial economy (Lutz, 2017 ). With the Amish having a reputation for product quality, truth, and integrity (Wesner, 2010 ), Amish businesses are adept at finding new opportunities and continue to be resilient (Hostetler et al., 1995 ). Accordingly, the failure rate of Amish businesses is thought to be very low (Dana, 2007 ; Wesner, 2010 ; Winpenny, 2017 ). Furthermore, while Amish businesses tend to be small, in some rare cases, larger Amish businesses reportedly enjoy a turnover in excess of $10 m (Kraybill, et al., 2011 ). Amish enterprises have also innovated in applying different organisational forms and business models to navigate the tensions between markets and religion. For instance, within the context of agriculture, Mariola and McConnell ( 2013 ), among others, have reported the Amish inventing new ways to maintain the Agrarian tradition of agriculture, while leveraging markets for efficiency and scale through developing an agri-food cooperative to engage in organic farming in order to generate “more value on less acreage” (p.146) for Amish producers. The initiative was fraught with challenges, as the Amish sought to navigate the boundary between markets and tradition. For example, the Amish navigated challenges over the structure and governance of the enterprise to ensure compliance with regulations and certification standards, as well as the distribution of power ensuring all affiliate voices were heard, and the extent to which organic certification should be accompanied by an ‘Amish’ brand and logo. As Mariolas and McConnell (2017) conclude, the new enterprise exemplifies a pragmatism. The enterprise required considerable trade-offs in terms of technology and electricity, navigated through outsourcing, and by encapsulating compromises in an intermediate cross-affiliate cooperative structure the Amish producers were able to maintain a non-permeable boundary between their community and the non-Amish and protect their way of life.

In the following section, we outline our empirical context and methodology, before moving into our integrated findings and discussion, where we relate Amish business ethics to MacIntyre’s moral philosophy, focussing in particular on the themes of the critique of modernity, which is an important point on convergence for Amish and MacIntyrean thought; MacIntyre’s conception of practices and communities in Amish life; and Amish and MacIntyrean virtues.

Research Context and Methods

Research context.

The Amish are not a single homogenous group (Kraybill et al., 2013 ; Nolt & Meyers, 2007 ). Amish society is organised into settlements, affiliations, and church districts (Choy, 2020 ). A settlement represents a distinct geographic area where Amish families relocate and establish their homes. In the United States, there are a staggering 617 Amish settlements, with a significant concentration in five particular counties: Lancaster in Pennsylvania, Elkhart-LaGrange in Indiana, Geauga County and Holmes County in Ohio. Ohio has the largest concentration of Amish communities in North America, with a population of over 84,000 spread across 671 church districts and 69 settlements. We based our study in the Amish community of Holmes County, which has a population of over 39,000, encompassing 317 church districts and 52 settlements (Young Center for Anabaptist & Pietist Studies, 2023 ). The Holmes County Amish community is among the most diverse, with a dozen distinct affiliations found in the settlement, including New Order (18 church districts), Old Order (140 church districts), Andy Weaver (30 church districts), and Swartzentruber (14 church districts). Hurst and McConnell ( 2010 ) have remarked that the Amish have different degrees of conservatism with the Swartzentrubers being the most conservative, followed by Andy Weaver, Old Order, and New Order. The Old Order Faith, the largest affiliation in Holmes County, is the affiliation we focus on in this study. They still farm with horses, drive a horse and buggy to town, have no electricity or telephones, and dress conservatively. Many Amish men work as artisanal craftsmen in areas such as woodworking and masonry, or as small business owners in retail or construction. Further, some Amish men work as unskilled or semi-skilled labourers, including for non-Amish employers. Finally, some Amish men remain in farming, but this is estimated to be as low as 5–10% (Mariola & McConnell, 2013 ). Married women rarely work outside the home.

Data Collection and Analysis

Our empirical study has been conducted in line with MacIntyre’s tradition-constituted notion of ‘truth’ (Moore, 2012 ; see also MacIntyre, 1988 , 1990 ) and the methods we describe emphasise rich description of participant narratives (Coe & Beadle, 2008 ). We collected semi-structured interview data as “the most appropriate approach for exploring virtue in business organizations” (Moore, 2012 , p.368) from 14 participants who described themselves as Amish or Amish affiliated (e.g. those who were growing up in Amish family but did not join Amish church or who left Amish church to join the Mennonite church) and involved in business. These are shown in Table  1 .

We gathered our sample of interviewees initially through personal contacts, and then through snowball sampling. However, in selecting participants, we endeavoured to ensure a spread of respondents across different church district, size and revenue of enterprise, and type of industry. Interviewing members of the Amish community is often challenging given some reluctance to associate with outsiders. In our study, this was possible as the first author has attended several Amish community events in Holmes County over an extended period and has regularly interacted with Amish and former Amish church members. She has also visited Amish homes, barns, and farms, and has spoken informally to many Amish communities. Thus, our approach included experiencing the lives of the religious community we were researching, as suggested by Burton et al. ( 2018 ). Each interview was conducted in English at the participant’s home or place of work and lasted between 60 and 90 min. The interviews were audio recorded and transcribed by the first author.

The interviews began by us describing to participants our broad interest in how the Amish faith interacted with and influenced their business ethics and practice. We approached the interviews without an extensive interview schedule, preferring instead to adopt a semi-structured and emergent approach. We began the interviews by describing to participants that we were interested in the connections between their faith and experiences of business, and the tensions and challenges they faced. Thus, we located the interview within the field of religion and enterprise to align with our research interests but allowed any specific connections to other concepts to emerge spontaneously. We posed an initial opening question: "Tell me about your faith and how this influences other aspects of your life?" to illustrate our interest in faith, and the question-ending “… other aspects of your life ” was geared to elicit wide-ranging responses including enterprise, but also to capture connections to family, leisure, community, and so on. As a consequence, follow-up questions varied in each interview in order to more deeply explore responses of importance to each participant that related to our research interests. We recognize that by disclosing our a priori interests in the role of faith in their everyday lives, subsequent remarks by participants may be coloured accordingly. Therefore, in our follow-up questioning, we were mindful to search for alternative explanations. For instance, where participants remarked that Amish faith influenced their attitudes or actions, our follow-up questions offered opportunities for the narration of other personal, organizational, social, or cultural influences, such as “What else might have influenced this?” This approach helped us consider pragmatic validity (Sandberg, 2005 ) by asking follow-up questions that encouraged interviewees to provide concrete contexts and demonstrate how they related the role of faith to other factors. The interviews were thus conducted in the form of a dialogue because we wanted to avoid one-sided probing that could have limited our exploration of the lived experiences of the Amish and their understanding and reasoning of their experiences (Sandberg, 2005 ).

Following the interviews, we provided a copy of the interview transcript to each participant, offering opportunities for query and/or revision to the narrative. This resulted in a few minor clarifications.

Template analysis was used to analyse the transcribed interview data. Our coding followed the approach outlined by King ( 1998 , 2004 ) and developed by Burton and Galvin ( 2018 ). Template analysis is a flexible type of thematic analysis. In our coding, we approached the data from a contextual constructivist perspective (Madill, et al., 2000). During this process of coding the data, we initially inductively analysed our data using first-order themes (Miles et al., 2013 ). We constantly reflected the data back to relevant ethics theory to begin to explain relationships between categories and to make sense of our data and presentation. Our analysis consisted of a number of steps. First, we familiarised ourselves with the entire dataset (Braun & Clarke, 2021 ) to make sure that the interviewees’ narratives are captured. All authors initially reviewed 6 randomly selected transcripts to get close to the data and then reviewed the whole dataset multiple times to produce a brief summary outlining the key points of the narratives. We started by open coding the statements made by the interviewees as a team to understand how Amith faith interacted with business and enterprise, and other aspects of their lives, and differences resolved through inter-coder discussion (King, 2004 ). We utilised a manual process of coding, using margin notes, post-it notes, etc. in order to stay close to the data, and we endeavoured to make the names of themes both thematic and intuitive. We kept a record of our coding process in a codebook that the team could access (Braun & Clarke, 2021 ). After coding all the statements, we reviewed the data set to ensure that our coding was appropriate. We made changes to some initial coding because we found that some statements coded early in the process matched better with first-order codes introduced later. We also found that a number of codes we had generated were similar to each other, and we were able to merge a number of codes into aggregate categories. For instance, our initial codes of “generosity”, “uncalculated giving”, “community cohesion”, and “communal support” were merged into a theme of “Communal Generosity”. Thus, the template was continually modified during this inductive analysis phase as interview transcripts were coded. Where new themes emerged or existing themes were merged, previously analysed interview transcripts were re-examined, and this iterative process continued until all interviews were analysed.

Once we had a final template derived from the data, we returned to the literature to identify existing business ethics theories that could help us interpret our data. At this stage, we were interested in identifying integrative themes (King, 2004 ) that permeated the entire data set and we drew upon MacIntyre’s moral philosophy to connect our creation of inductive themes to business ethics theory as a way to offer new and novel insights to moral philosophy. By revisiting our inductive themes through the lens of MacIntyre’s work, we were able to translate our participant narratives and our inductive coding to three key ideas that underscore MacIntyre’s moral philosophy: critique of modernity, practices and communities, and virtues. In the process of doing so, we were able to connect our first-order themes to these integrative dimensions to form a coherent theoretical synthesis. The process of connecting in vivo quotations to our inductive themes and to integrative themes using MacIntyre’s moral schemas is shown in Table  2 .

Findings and Discussion

Given the methods used, and our close attention to theory and data, in what follows we integrate our findings and discussion, focussing on three integrative themes that connect Amish business practice and MacIntyrean thought: the critique of modernity, practices and communities, and Amish and MacIntyrean virtues.

The Critique of Modernity

Alasdair MacIntyre is one of the key figures in the renaissance of virtue ethics in the second half of the twentieth century. One distinctive aspect of MacIntyre’s contribution to this revival of virtue ethics is his emphasis on the apparent ethical barrenness of contemporary society, a feature of MacIntyre’s thought which has played little role in extant applications of his work within business ethics. MacIntyre begins After Virtue (2007) with the following scenario:

Imagine that the natural sciences were to suffer the effects of a catastrophe. A series of environmental disasters are blamed by the general public on scientists. Widespread riots occur, laboratories are burnt down, physicists are lynched, books and instruments are destroyed. Finally a Know-Nothing political movement takes power and successfully abolishes science teaching in schools and universities, imprisoning and executing the remaining scientists. Later still there is a reaction against this destructive movement and enlightened people seek to revive science, although they have largely forgotten what it was. But all that they possess are fragments: a knowledge of experiments detached from any knowledge of the theoretical context which gave them significance; parts of theories unrelated either to the other bits and pieces of theory which they possess or to experiment; instruments whose use has been forgotten; half-chapters from books, single pages from articles, not always fully legible because torn and charred. (MacIntyre, 2007 , p.1)

While perhaps dishearteningly plausible today, upon its initial publication in 1981, this passage would have struck After Virtue ’s readers as fantastical. Indeed, it is inspired by Miller’s ( 1959 ) post-apocalyptic science fiction novel, A Canticle for Leibowitz . This imaginary scenario is the basis for MacIntyre’s ‘disquieting suggestion’:

The hypothesis which I wish to advance is that in the actual world which we inhabit the language of morality is in the same state of grave disorder as the language of natural science in the imaginary world which I described. What we possess, if this view is true, are the fragments of a conceptual scheme, parts which now lack those contexts from which their significance derived. (MacIntyre, 2007 , p.2)

Having painted this resoundingly pessimistic portrait of our available moral resources (see also Lutz, 2008 ), MacIntyre goes on to suggest that the philosophical position known as ‘emotivism’ enables us to more fully understand the state of contemporary ethical discourse.

Emotivism is the ‘boo—hurrah’ theory of the meaning of moral utterances, according to which statements of moral praise and blame are nothing other than expressions of subjective feeling. On this view, to say ‘X is wrong’ is simply to say, ‘I dislike X, do so as well’ (MacIntyre, 2007 , p.12; see also Mahon, 2013 ). While false as a theory of the meaning of ethical utterances, MacIntyre suggests that it nevertheless accurately captures contemporary moral practice. It is particularly evident in Weberian bureaucratic management (MacIntyre, 2007 , p.30), but is, according to MacIntyre, a pervasive feature of our contemporary culture. The upshot of this is that manipulativeness is widespread within modernity: absent any possibility of rationally persuading others when engaged in moral disagreement, the only available option is to attempt to secure agreement through non-rational means.

While applications of MacIntyre’s work in business ethics have tended to assume that flourishing and virtue and readily available within contemporary capitalism, and thus have tended to ignore or distance themselves from this aspect of MacIntyre’s thought, the case of the Amish shows that, not only is this critique of modernity worthy of closer attention in business ethics, but also that it is in fact a position that is compatible with successful business, albeit not with a focus on profit-maximisation. In light of the ethical and political barrenness (MacIntyre, 1998 ) of the contemporary scene, MacIntyre often seems to recommend a disengagement from various aspects of modernity. He also closes After Virtue by suggesting that we are awaiting “another—doubtless very different—St. Benedict” (2007, p.263), highlighting the importance of creating counter-cultural communities in which the ethical life may be preserved, just as St. Benedict had done in founding Western Christian monasticism. The sense of withdrawing from modernity has an affinity with the distrust of outsiders within Amish life, which is evidenced in Amish attitudes to ‘seekers’ who wish to join the faith. As Foster puts it, “the Amish are likely to react to inquiries from non-Amish persons with skepticism” (1997, p.95). Conlin notes that the “Amish have historically chosen to remain insulated from the greater American society, referred to as English ” (2021, p.419, original emphasis). Non-Amish people are seldom able to join the Amish church, and marriage in the Amish community occurs only within the community.

Indeed, this scepticism regarding modernity—modern institutions, mainstream modern practices, etc.—was a central theme in responses from participants. There was a sense in which standard business practices outside the Amish tradition tended towards the manipulative or unscrupulous, underlining the notion that mainstream moral discourse is lacking. One participant suggested that businesses with relatively thin connections to the Amish community were keen to align themselves with the Amish ‘brand’: “if you have a dog from an Amish farm, you’ll say it’s an Amish farm” (R5, Former Amish, Tour Guide of Heritage Center). This suggests an awareness of the appeal of Amish business, but also hints at a tendency towards unscrupulousness or manipulativeness on the part of non-Amish businesses, i.e. in using a tenuous connection to the Amish in order to present oneself as having Amish credentials.

In a similar vein, another participant pointed out that Amish businesses do not “get faith in order to get more customers… we talk about God in our newsletters… but we don’t believe in just putting it in for a sales promotion” (R9, Old Order Amish, Owner of Horse Equipment Business). The implication here is that the practice of appealing to religious belief as a sales tactic may exist elsewhere in order to secure a more favourable impression. Such responses clearly attempt to highlight the differences between the Amish community and perceived norms in mainstream, ‘English’ society. In general, partaking in mainstream business practices can be challenging as a result of the Amish’s distance from mainstream contemporary culture, and their uncompromising commitment to their faith. For instance, “marketing is a little tough for us Amish…because we intentionally refrain from all the styles and fashions. And our mind is set that way” (R8, Broom maker at an Amish gift shop).

In contrast to approaches to business which emphasise adversarial competition and profit-maximisation, the Amish approach emphasises learning to be satisfied with what one has. As one of our participants put it, “to me, it’s very important not to worry if somebody else is making a lot of money, even off of you. It’s more important to…try to make a nice living and be thankful for what you have and be thankful for other people’s successes” (R10, Old Order Amish, Lumber business owner). This aligns with MacIntyre’s comments on ‘pleonexia’ (i.e. acquisitiveness), a vice according to the Aristotelian schema, but a ‘virtue’ in contemporary society (MacIntyre, 2016 , p.127). For the Amish, this acquisitiveness is a grave ill. As one participant put it, “it’s not money that’s evil, it’s the love of money that’s the root of all evil” (R10, Old Order Amish, Lumber business owner).

The Amish still want to work hard and succeed financially, but this desire is tempered by their faith. One participant commented:

We believe in the dignity of hard work, in living a life of gratitude and simplicity, and in success that doesn’t stem from greed but from the quality and integrity of our work. There’s a common notion out there that to be successful in business, you have to be ruthless, adopting a dog-eat-dog mentality, stepping over others to reach the top. But that’s not our way. You see, we live by the Sermon on the Mount every day, not just on Sundays. Our business practices can’t be one thing in the marketplace and another in the place of worship (R9, Old Order Amish, Horse Equipment Business Owner).

The emphasis here on integrity—on consistency across contexts regardless of the particular role-demands of working life—is markedly out of step with how business conduct is embodied in mainstream society.

While some work in business ethics has emphasised the radical potential of MacIntyre’s thought (e.g. Beadle, 2002 ; Couch & Bernacchio, 2020 ; Sinnicks, 2021 ), and other scholars have explored the relationship between MacIntyre and Marxism (e.g. Blackledge, 2009 ; Gregson, 2018 ; Lazarus, 2019 ), it is worth noting that, despite an unmistakable hostility to many features of contemporary capitalism, MacIntyre is not anti-market. Indeed, while MacIntyre believes that production should be organised so as to meet local needs in particular, and the common good more broadly, this is compatible with the existence of independent businesses (MacIntyre, 2011 , p.320) and use of markets (MacIntyre, 2008 , p.268). Thus, there is a key difference between a society which has a market for its economic and social benefits, and a market-society i.e. one that is organised in a way that grants the market an undue pre-eminence. This distinction maps onto Aristotle’s distinction between economics (i.e. household management) and chrematistics (money making), described by Polanyi, a major influence on MacIntyre’s thought (McMylor, 1994 , 2003 ), “probably the most prophetic pointer ever made in the realm of the social sciences” (Polanyi, 2001 , p.56; see also Dierksmeier & Pirson, 2009 ; Stahel, 2006 ).

While market societies tend to marginalise or destroy “traditional ways of life” (MacIntyre, 2016 , p.100), there is still at least some space for the former conception of production and the market, and it is here that “networks of giving and receiving” (Bernacchio, 2018 ; see also MacIntyre, 1999a ) can emerge and flourish. This latter conception clearly animates Amish business ethics, as we will detail below in our discussion of the importance of community for both MacIntyre and the Amish.

More broadly, scepticism about modern institutions is also manifest in Amish attitudes to a variety of more particular institutions and practices, including education and training. Formal Amish education stops when children are typically 13 or 14 years old because the Amish are permitted by law, because of Wisconsin v. Yoder, a 1972 Supreme Court ruling, to take their children out of school after the eighth grade. For most families in the U.S., the law governing compulsory education mandates that children cannot leave school until they are 16 years old. In its ruling, the Supreme Court decided that sending Amish children to high school would interfere with their ability to practice their religion. Amish education, while lacking in science, technology, and popular culture, teaches what the Amish deem to be practical and necessary to sustain their way of life. As such, the Amish regard Wisconsin v. Yoder as a great victory for the Amish that helps preserve their heritage (Kraybill, 1998 ). Amish children are expected to work full time after their eighth grade. Their work at Amish family businesses can teach them the practicalities of financing and bookkeeping necessary skills to succeed in Amish business.

One participant articulated a preference for training employees over employing people who had experience elsewhere: “We’ll train him. I’d sooner train a guy than [if he had] ten years of experience-because then we can train him the way we want him” (R12, Old Order Amish, Lumber Business Owner). This suggests a belief in the value of a distinctively Amish process of training, education, and enculturation. Another participant expressed scepticism about the value of formal education: “We go to school to learn how to learn…Extended formal education is anything but a panacea…you lose too many core values. You lose too much common sense” (R7, Old Order Amish, a Wife of Furniture Store Owner). This emphasises the Amish belief in both ethical and practical deficits in mainstream education, a theme in some of MacIntyre’s extended comments on education (see, e.g. MacIntyre, 1987 ; MacIntyre & Dunne, 2002 ).

Amish communities have an ambivalent, and sometimes outright hostile, attitude towards technology (Kraybill, 1998 ). The Amish do not automatically embrace that which is novel, modern, and convenient. Amish shops have no electricity except that powered by an on-site gas or diesel generator. The Amish do not drive cars and, when the need arises, hire non-Amish as drivers. They hire non-Amish businesses to design and run their business website and advertise for them. Among Amish businesses, adopting business technology including a computer and cell phone have been a heated topic. In Holmes County, most Amish business owners have computers and use cell phones at work. However, they put the computers and other office technology in a different building that was not accessible to the public to show respect for Amish values and only use them for business purposes. Most business owner participants felt that new technologies were not a danger to the Amish community if used appropriately, and can even help strengthen the community insofar as it helps younger generations feel more at home. As such, many Amish choose to consult their conscience in community to ensure that they and their employees use technologies in ways that did not conflict with their Amish values. One Amish respondent (R6, Old Order Amish, Owner of Amish Furniture Store) stated that adopting new technologies helped to retain farming and young members of the church.

Our people (Old Order Amish) allow more technology for farming like pick-up balers and hay loaders…The percentage of farmers in our church is larger than the more conservative because we have more technology…It helps business and keeps young people in our church. We try to nurture young people and make them feel at home so we have a nice church with a program for young people.

Another way in which Amish business practice is distinct from mainstream business is demonstrated by the fact that the Amish prefer not to resort of legal action, as it is considered as a form of aggression. In one example, a participant had faced bankruptcy due to a major contract that took the majority of his stock without payment. He recalled it as the hardest time during his business cycle but explained he did not resort to, nor even fully consider, a litigation process. He added “we don’t believe in confrontation, and legal action is a form of aggression” (R12, Old Order Amish, Lumber Business Owner).

This reluctance to make use of litigation clearly connects to MacIntyre’s thought. MacIntyre ( 1980 ) argues that within modernity, we embrace two systematically inconsistent ethical standpoints: that concerned with the making and sustaining human communities, and on the other hand, social life as an arena of competing desires. According to MacIntyre, law is most effective when it reflects the first of these standpoints, and yet the law is most needed when the second standpoint is dominant. Indeed, he says that within “a good community [the law] will be enforced as rarely as possible” whereas “[f]rom the competing view of society as the protector of individual interests, law is not a last resort at all. Law is the immediate sanction we invoke in order to protect ourselves from invasion by others” (1980, p.32). Thus, the Amish way of life aligns with MacIntyre’s conception of the good community, and stands in contrast to the litigiousness of contemporary mainstream society.

Finally, and relatedly, the Amish reject the individualism characteristic of modern society (see Kraybill et al., 2013 ), and indeed modern management (Dyck & Schroeder, 2005 ), which is also a recurring object of MacIntyre’s critique of liberalism (1988, see also Pinkard, 2003 ), which informs our discussion of the importance of community in MacIntyrean as well as Amish thought below. Indeed, highlighting the affinities between Amish values and MacIntyre’s rejection of modernity allows us to see that such a rejection remains compatible with surviving, perhaps even flourishing, within modernity. But the reason for the financial and ethical success of Amish business is not the rejection of modernity itself, but rather the practices and communities of the Amish, which are both partly enabled by this rejection, and at the same time partly motivate it: the ethical barrenness of mainstream capitalist society create the imperative to foster an alternative way of living, and that way of living makes the barrenness of mainstream society all the easier to perceive. All moral philosophies presuppose a sociology, argues MacIntyre—“it would generally be a decisive refutation of a moral philosophy to show that moral agency on its own account of the matter could never be socially embodied” (MacIntyre, 2007 , p.23)—and the case of the Amish shows how a rejection of modernity can inform and be informed by a rival conception of the good life.

Practices and Communities

As we noted above, the concept of practices has been central to applications of MacIntyre’s work in business ethics. This is in part because MacIntyre concept of a practice seems to “offer the best understanding of the promise of work” (Muirhead, 2004 , p.167). MacIntyre uses the word ‘practice’ in a highly specific way:

By a ‘practice’ I am going to mean any coherent and complex form of socially established cooperative human activity through which goods internal to that form of activity are realized in the course of trying to achieve those standards of excellence which are appropriate to, and partially definitive of, that form of activity, with the result that human powers to achieve excellence, and human conceptions of the ends and goods involved, are systematically extended. (MacIntyre, 2007 , p.187)

Practices are activities which are in possession of distinctive, internal goods, and the enjoyment of these goods is what makes engaging in practices intrinsically rewarding. Goods internal to an activity are those goods which cannot be achieved in any other way—the internal goods of chess can be achieved only by playing chess—and contrast with external goods, which can be achieved in any number of ways as a result of being external to the activity, such as power, fame, and money. MacIntyre gives the examples of practices include football, chess, architecture, farming, and physics (2007, pp.187–188), and subsequent research has made a case for understanding practices as diverse as accountancy (Francis, 1990 ; West, 2018 ), investment advising (Wyma, 2015 ), journalism (Borden, 2013 ), nursing (Sellman, 2000 ), software design (von Krogh et al., 2012 ), and strategy (Tsoukas, 2018 ), amongst others.

Practices occupy a vital place in MacIntyre’s broader ethical thought as a result of constituting the first stage in MacIntyre’s definition of the virtues, with the narrative unity of a life, and traditions of enquiry constituting the second and third stages. MacIntyre notes that practices are present in all of our lives (2007, p.191), but, in line with his critique of modernity, holds that they can only flourish in social formations which value the virtues (2007, p.193). Thus, even the concept of practices contains a counter-cultural element that accords with the Amish separateness from mainstream society.

According to MacIntyre, a “virtue is an acquired human quality the possession and exercise of which tends to enable us to achieve those goods which are internal to practices” (MacIntyre, 2007 , p.191). In order to master a practice, we need the virtues. Indeed, virtues such as justice, truthfulness, and courage are required by all practices (2007, p.192). Truthfulness, including truthfulness with oneself, is needed to give and receive honest feedback; justice is required so that the contributions of practitioners are rewarded according to impersonal standards of merit; and courage is required “because the care and concern for individuals, communities and causes which is so crucial to so much in practices requires the existence of such a virtue” (2007, p.192).

The importance of the surrounding community is a central theme in MacIntyre’s writing (e.g. 1994a; 1999a; 2016). It is also an important facet of Amish life (Dana, 2007 ; Keim & Shadnam, 2020 ), and part of what sustains Amish separateness from mainstream society. As one participant put it, business is about “more than just making money…we feel it’s a service to the community” (R12, Old Order Amish, Lumber Business Owner). Furthermore, according to MacIntyre, when in good order, work should be “thought of as a kind of prayer and performed as an act of prayer” (2011, p.323) which is mirrored in the Amish view of work as a kind of sacrament (Kraybill, 1989 , pp.188–211), and is a conception of work deeply at odds with that which is dominant in mainstream society. For the Amish, work is “cooperation with God and a noble pursuit” (O’Neill, 1997, p.1136). This sense of cooperation enables the Amish to develop a sense of acceptance that reduces the stresses of working life and facilitates social contribution. This approach to business also allows for an emphasis on the importance of family life, another example of a practice, according to MacIntyre ( 2007 , pp.187–188). As one participant put it, “to me making money wasn’t the most important thing. I wanted to raise my family too” (R9, Old Order Amish, Horse Equipment Business Owner).

On communities MacIntyre says: “They must afford expression to the political decision-making of independent reasoners on all those matters on which it is important that the members of a particular community be able to come through shared rational deliberation to a common mind” (MacIntyre, 1999a , p.129). Again, this stands in stark contrast to the norms and expectations of contemporary mainstream society. The scale of the modern nation state precludes such shared deliberation (1999a, p.131), in part because such scale ensures that ‘politics’ is principally about bargaining (2016, p.177). The suggestion that small-scale communities are particularly conducive to human flourishing is also a tenet of Amish business ethics, and indeed of the emphasis on the local Ordnung that shapes life in Amish communities. The Amish believe that “bigness spoils everything” (R9, Old Order Amish, Horse Equipment Business Owner). A small-scale facilitates trust, whereas a large scale can undermine trust, and has connotations of mainstream society and modernity about which the Amish—like MacIntyre—are sceptical, as we detailed above. Amish business is intentionally small-scale in its operations because the overriding focus is not on the maximisation of profit but on the survival, and indeed the flourishing, of their community. Hence, there is an important relationship between the critique of modernity and the emphasis on local practice-based communities both in MacIntyrean thought and in Amish life. Amish business emphasises the local, in keeping with their religious philosophy of separation from the non-Amish world and keeping their works closer to their family and community members, and MacIntyre sees local communities are essential to the task of sustaining the tradition of the virtues in the face of a hostile mainstream society.

R11 (Old Order Amish, Furniture Store Owner) said that “back in the late’90 s, we probably turned more businesses down than we sold to”, which again indicates that doing things in the right way is deemed more important than growth or financial success to the Amish. External goods are important, but they are subordinate to the internal goods central to the practices of Amish life. As another participant put it:

My business got to the place where it was too much. We needed more buildings, and we needed more employees and I think the main reason why we quit is because I wanted to be able to work with my children. I didn’t want to manage a corporation. And so we decided we would just stick to tractors and get out of the combines. (R9, Old Order Amish, Horse Equipment Business Owner)

The Amish approach to business is a testament to their deep-seated values of simplicity and community. This is evident in the Amish practice of organic farming. As one participant, a former Amish and now a Gospel bookstore owner, points out, “we have a lot of farmers that got into organic farming, doing that as they can make a living on a small farm because they get a higher price for their products. And also, many of them practice grass farming because a cow should have only grass. This approach is not as labour-intensive, so they can manage it with their families” (R4). Here, we see that the pursuit of external goods, i.e. in the higher price organically farmed goods command, is subordinate to the internal goods of Amish family life.

By choosing to maintain business operations at a relatively small-scale, and by simultaneously prioritising family participation over expansion, the Amish demonstrate a deliberate effort to balance work with family life, in accordance with the tenets of their faith. This local, community-centric approach to business contributes to the sustenance of Amish traditions and values. In resisting the mainstream societal push for growth, Amish businesses offer a powerful expression of Amish identity and beliefs.

While practices are universal features of human societies, in line with his critique of modernity, MacIntyre holds that they tend to be marginalised in contemporary mainstream society. However, practices remain central to Amish life, which suggests that MacIntyre’s vision of the ethical life, while difficult to sustain within modernity, remains possible. This possibility is reflected in the place that skilled crafts—activities which typically fall under MacIntyre’s definition of practices (Moore, 2005 )—occupy in Amish life. Examples of such skilled crafts that are common amongst the Amish include farming, quilt-making, buggy-building, home building, etc. Young Amish are taught that work is pleasurable (Dana, 2007 ), a belief that it would be hard to sustain outside of practice-like work.

Amish practices are cooperative rather than competitive human activities and possess certain standards of excellence that make them what they are. Practices are passed on from groups to individuals, who in turn sustain and revise the cooperative practice of Amish ways, highlighting the moral education at the core of practices. As one participant put it:

When [our children] see us tell the truth, when they see us have an opportunity to cheat someone yet we do not, or if we do cheat someone, they catch that too. So it’s important. There’s a lot of things taught by running our business with our children. A lot of times, we feel that the best way to grow a business is with our children…I think that there’s a lot of teaching that goes on, a lot of passing on the faith, when we work with our children, when we get our hands in the dirt with them. (R11, Old Order Amish, Furniture Store Owner)

This pre-eminence of ‘practices’ is unsurprising, given that Amish society has attempted to shield itself from what Polanyi called ‘the great transformation’ (Polanyi, 2001 ) of modernity, a concept which greatly influenced MacIntyre’s understanding of the history of morality (MacIntyre, 2007 , p.239; 1988, p.211). This Polanyian account of economic history also seems to inform MacIntyre’s emphasis on traditional societies’ connection to the land. Some have seen a rather romantic pastoralism in MacIntyre, e.g. D’Andrea, who suggests that “MacIntyre always seems to have been beset by a bias for the rural and a prejudice against the urban” (2006, p.422). While we might wish to dispute the appropriateness of terms such as ‘bias’ and ‘prejudice’ here, there is at least a grain of truth in this characterisation, with MacIntyre’s fondness for rural life evident in his discussions of fishing and farming (1994a; 2016). A similar emphasis on rural life is manifest in the Amish predilection for agriculture, which we noted above, as well as the more general avoidance of urban centres both as sites of worldly temptation, and as possessing a scale that makes them poor homes for communities (for nuanced discussions of the Amish view on nature, see McConnell & Loveless, 2018 ; Inglis, 2018 ).

Finally, MacIntyre suggests that practices always require institutions to support them (2007, p.194). Whereas practices focus on internal goods, i.e. the distinctive goods particular to each practice, institutions focus on external goods, such as money and power. When in good order, the relationship between practices and institutions allows external goods to be sought and used to support practices (MacIntyre, 2007 , p.194; Moore & Beadle, 2006 ). Yet, this relationship can easily become dysfunctional, with institutions—and their pursuit of external goods—coming to dominate practices, a dynamic which is arguably dominant within contemporary capitalist society. However, the Amish community has maintained its practices and their focus on internal goods. Furthermore, the central institutional aspect of Amish life, the church, supports and strengthens such practices, rather than undermining them. Several Amish men in our study emphasised that money, an external good within MacIntyre’s schema, is not a driving focus in their attempt to sustain their practices, instead emphasising the support of their family and job provision for community members as the main motivators guiding their decisions. Again, this emphasises the fact that the case of the Amish demonstrates that something akin to MacIntyre’s vision of human flourishing is available, even if it seems to require the kind of community that is difficult to sustain within our present society.

The notion of institutional support in the Amish context comes as functions of the church playing in roles of ‘keeping them out of bankruptcy’ with communal support and limiting ‘too much of money, success, pride and power of individual business’. Typical external goods (i.e. money and power) are powerful forces in modern capitalistic society, and yet are perceived as dangerous within the quintessential Amish institutions, churches.

If somebody would come and ask us to buy our business…it’s really not for sale… a lot of people say, well anything is for sale if you give enough money, but we have so many people that depend on us for their income (R12, Old Order Amish, Owner of Lumber Business).

Here, we see that the goods of both the broader community, and the family, guard against the kind of instrumental thinking inherent in the notion that ‘everything has a price’. Another participant highlights the importance of generosity and sharing within the community:

My business has been good enough that it’s given the opportunity to be generous with others and share. Really no need to be selfish with yourself with all of it [money] so we feel if the lord blesses it that’s your responsibility then to share it with others, community and church. (R1, former Amish and a former owner of a butcher shop).

The Amish church is directly and indirectly involved in almost all aspects of Amish business practices: business opportunity identification, initial funding, risk management, supply chain management, and human resource management. Many Amish businessmen note that, in their church, they offer low-interest loan programmes (4%) out of the Amish Fund to help young adults buy their own land or a house and get their start in the business world. Community members with money contribute to these funds and do not ask for high payoffs in return. “That’s what some people do with their money—they funnel back into the community and provide low-cost loans” (R9, Old Order Amish, Horse equipment business owner). At the same time, 1% of any contribution made to the Amish Fund goes to the community fund to address issues such as fire or flood that causes property damage, as well as medical expenses and personal hardship facing church members. Such practices help sustain the Amish community in the face of their rejection of mainstream society.

When Amish businesspeople reach a certain level of achievement, they are expected to take on advisory and mentoring roles for young business owners, fostering a positive business environment for others. There were several examples shared during visits to Amish stores. Young business owners who struggled with their businesses were taken over by an Amish business committee composed of senior business owners whose financial success enables them to help others. They mapped out the path of financial robustness, monthly plan of revenue and expenses, savvy business practices of lowering costs, plan to pay out all debts, etc.

He was a good carpenter, but not an excellent manager. He was about to break his contract. Our church stepped in and we actually finished two houses for him so the customers were happy and the church advised him to get a job where he was using the hammer and not the pencil, and not do his own managing. At that time, he accepted that (R10, Old Order Amish, Lumber business owner).

Because the Amish share much of MacIntyre’s critique of modernity, as we discussed above, and because Amish business ethics prioritises practices and communities, Amish business ethics is particularly resistant to such institutional domination. Where institutional concerns are to the fore—as when the home builder discussed here is advised to put down the pencil and take up the hammer—they are bound up with communal care and concern, and thus ensure that the goods internal to the practice-based community are served. This aspect of Amish business ethics underlines the importance of the virtues in Amish life, which both inform the rejection of mainstream society, and sustain the community outside of that society, and are thus the focus of the following section.

Amish and MacIntyrean Virtues

The Amish affinity with MacIntyre’s ‘negative’ argument (Lutz, 2012 ), i.e. his critique of modernity, informs the emphasis placed on a number of virtues which also receive particular attention from MacIntyre. While MacIntyre distances himself from the category of ‘virtue ethics’ (2006, pp.117–118; 2013, pp.29–30; 2016, p.66), he is nevertheless concerned to articulate and defend what he calls the ‘tradition’ of the virtues (2007, passim ), and one which emphasises the difference between “man-as-he-happens-to-be”, in particular as he is within contemporary society, and “man-as-he-could-be-if-he-realized-his-essential-nature” (2007, p.52). The rejection of modernity is the negative aspect of MacIntyre’s account, but MacIntyre’s opposition to modernity has as its rationale a rival conception of the well-lived human life, a kind of life which requires the virtues. The case of the Amish helps us to see how these two aspects are related. Clearly, a conception of a well-lived life, and the set of virtues it requires, animates Amish thought, and helps to sustain its separateness from mainstream society. Thus, in this section, we aim to articulate a number of virtues central to the Amish tradition, and to highlight the ways in which they overlap with MacIntyre’s various comments on the virtues.

The first virtue to consider is one which is a subject of both convergence and divergence between the Amish and MacIntyrean thought: that of faith. MacIntyre is deeply committed to Catholic Christianity (see MacIntyre, 1988 , 1994b ), something that has featured in a number of discussions of MacIntyre’s work within business ethics (Moore et al., 2014 ; Sison, Ferrero, and Guitián, 2018), so, while faith is clearly important to the Amish, MacIntyre’s thoughts on natural law (MacIntyre, 1996 ), for instance, ensure a pronounced difference from the religious convictions of the Amish, which derive from the Anabaptist movement, as we noted above. Nevertheless, there is an affinity in the rather demanding attitude towards religious belief, again closely related to a shared rejection of secular mainstream society, and it is worth noting the importance of religious faith, which shapes much of both MacIntyrean and Amish thought, and differentiates them from both standard, secular conceptions of virtue ethics, and mainstream business practice, respectively. MacIntyre claims that the perfectly completed life requires us to go beyond ethics and politics to “natural theology” (2016, p.315), and likewise it is impossible to fully understand Amish values in secular terms. One respondent captures this importance of faith to Amish business:

We (my brother and I) always felt that we didn’t want to do anything that was not according to scriptural teachings and prayed for guidance and tried to treat employees in a pleasant and respectful way, and also the customers. And so we just simply practised our faith along with our work and know that we earned our bread with the sweat of our brow and work and trust and just say thy will be done in all things (R1, former Amish, a former owner of a butcher shop currently managing a grocery store)

Another participant commented that “God should be part of business, we don't separate anything in our life from its relationship to God. All life is a service to God, what we do to our fellow men, we do upon God” (R12, Old Order Amish, Owner of Lumber Business).

For MacIntyre, ‘just generosity’ (1999a, 2009b) names the virtue of uncalculative giving that we owe to others in our communities and which is a personal virtue that expresses concern for communities and contributes to their sustenance. Just generosity is a virtue of acknowledged dependence (MacIntyre, 1999a , ch.10), and reflects the “need to go beyond the strict proportionality of justice” (Bernacchio, 2018 , p.379). Just generosity “achieves the common good of caring justly for those in need” (MacIntyre, 2009a , p.125). This virtue has an affinity with the Amish emphasis on mutual aid, which can be free labour to help with various tasks or financial support. This virtue is perhaps best understood as a kind of uncalculative or unqualified giving: “You haven’t helped someone today until you help someone who can’t repay. It’s a philosophy that we live by” (R4, former Amish, Owner of a Gospel bookstore). Although such generosity perhaps falls short of being entirely unconditional given that Amish assistance is sometimes reserved for those who commit to remaining part of the Amish community, it remains something alien to mainstream business practice, and perhaps even to mainstream culture.

Members of the Amish congregations take care of those in need. The Amish refuse to purchase health insurance and reject any government sponsored aids such as Medicaid and Medicare and they depend on Amish aid when needed. Following any natural disaster of a flood, tornado, hurricane, or fire, the Amish community rallies quickly to clean up the debris, construct a new building, and make frequent visits to those affected to offer extra additional help. This informal mutual aid can often help members with large hospital bills or other financial hardships in part because they do not buy commercial business liability insurance or medical insurance, instead using various forms of mutual aid to mitigate risk. In these cases, local congregations take a special offering, collected by the deacon in door-to-door visits with each family in the district. Bake sales or a public benefit auction may also be held to raise funds for those needs (Kraybill et al., 2013 ).

Another virtue which has a central place in both MacIntyrean and Amish thought is humility. MacIntyre claims that humility “is the necessary first step in education or self-education” (1990, p.84), thus occupying a position akin to honesty and truthfulness in his account of the morally educative nature of practices. MacIntyre further suggests that “humility, the ability to view oneself and one’s achievements without either congratulatory complacency or self-denigration, is a virtue with a peculiar importance” (2016, p.113). MacIntyre is also strongly critical of the absence of humility, which he regards as a major ill of contemporary capitalism. He criticises financial traders for their excessive self-confidence: “Traders have to be too self-confident and therefore lacking in self-knowledge” (MacIntyre, 2015 , p.10), and thus not able to “see things as they are” (2015, p.10).

The Amish place a strong emphasis on humility (Keim & Shadnam, 2020 ). We noted above the importance of such virtues as ‘Gelassenheit’ (yieldedness, resignation, conquest of selfishness) and ‘Uffgeva’ (submission, prioritising others), such virtues are key to the sustenance of the Amish community. Humility is also central to Amish business practice (Dana, 2007 ). The emphasis on humility is often expressed in their plain life style with simple and practical clothing and frugal material ownership limited to buggies with horses, a bike, no electricity, no phone which make it hard to distinguish the have from the non-have. Small changes of dress code including hooks, buttons, and colours of pants, width of hat brim are often main discussion topics during church meetings on Sunday. Any material ownership that is not necessary for Amish lifestyles can be perceived as egotistical purposes.

There’s a lot of wealth in the Amish community…But…there’s no big ‘I’s and little ‘You’s. And so money isn’t what distinguishes from one another. That’s the reason for the simple common dress, that we don’t put on a show to show someone that we’re better. (R13, Old Order Amish, Bakery Owner)

Integrity is a further example of a virtue of great importance to both the Amish and MacIntyre. Indeed, MacIntyre stresses that this virtue is particularly hard to sustain in contemporary society (see 1979, 1999b), and regards it as being essential to moral agency. This is connected to MacIntyre’s critique of modernity: he suggests that within our present culture, “[o]ur lives are divided between different spheres, each with its own roles and its own set of norms” (2008, p.3) which makes it difficult to assess our lives and our commitments from a properly holistic and role-transcendent position. Indeed, MacIntyre suggests that

Compartmentalization goes beyond that differentiation of roles and institutional structures that characterizes every social order and it does so by the extent to which each distinct sphere of social activity comes to have its own role structure governed by its own specific norms in relative independence of other such spheres. Within each sphere those norms dictate which kinds of consideration are to be treated as relevant to decision-making and which are to be excluded (1999b, p.322)

Amish business ethics, however, is resolutely opposed to the kinds of role-structured activities which prevent a role-transcendent perspective, and hence moral agency, from being adopted. This is manifest in a willingness to forego business and professional opportunities should they clash with Amish values. The role of ‘businessperson’ is always subordinate to the principles of Amish belief. As one participant puts it: “If there’s gonna be swearing, dishonesty inside this contract, then I’m out…Principle trumps extra profit ten times out of ten” (R10, Old Order Amish, Owner of Lumber Business).

Honesty and integrity are regarded as central to their way of life within the Amish community. According to one participant:

When a contract is signed, it’s viewed as something that’s agreed to and unless you die you better try to fulfil what you agreed to do to keep your word. And people know that. They learn that. They understand that. That you’ll finish what you started, that you’ll do it to the best of your ability. So that sells itself. You know it's part of Amish heritage (R3, a wife of former Amish, Owner of Amish Tour Business).

Another participant expressed the view that it is better to be a victim of dishonesty, than the perpetrator:

I’ve had a couple customers give me bad checks and I’m always thankful that I’m on the other end of that. I’d rather receive a bad check than give one…I think that’s just part of our heritage, to be hardworking, to leave the world a better place than when you found it when you leave. And it applies to our businesses, our religious practices, and the Christian experience first. And it applies into all aspects of our life (R10, Old Order Amish, Lumber business owner)

The integrity at the heart of Amish values is also expressed in the cooperative, rather than competitive and adversarial, nature of Amish business. According to another participant:

One contractor avoids bidding a job if he knows a neighbouring business is already competing for it. Gauging a potential client, he’ll contact a competitor who he knows did previous work for the person…this prevents infringing on foreign turf but also allows him to learn of any problems with the customer…as far as really getting competitive and getting nasty, I don’t see any of that (R12, Old Order Amish, Owner of Lumber Business)

Clearly, there is much to commend in Amish business ethics: it reserves an important place to the virtues, as we have argued in this section, prioritises practice-based communities, and is resistant to a number of the undesirable features of contemporary capitalism, as we saw in the preceding sections. Furthermore, by exploring these virtues through a MacIntyrean lens, we have brought an influential philosophical perspective to bear on Amish business ethics, and tried to illustrate how the Amish separateness from mainstream society is sustained by the practices and virtues present in the Amish community.

Concluding Remarks

Our arguments enable us to contribute to the business ethics literature, and in particular, we deepen existing understandings of both MacIntyre’s ethical thought and its connection to religion and enterprise. MacIntyre’s critique of modernity has played virtually no role in the business ethics literature that has been inspired by his work, and yet helps us to appreciate the Amish approach to business ethics.

Our account of Amish business ethics recognises that the Amish lifestyle is ‘world-rejecting’ (Wallis, 1984 ), it seeks separation (Nolt, 2016 ). As such, it has a deep affinity with MacIntyre’s rejection of modernity and helps us to appreciate how MacIntyre’s conception of community and the virtues can facilitate such separation. The Amish fear that, without non-permeable boundaries between the church and the world, the forces of modernization and capitalism will erode traditional values and practices (Kraybill et al., 2011 ). The anchor for the ‘separated’ Amish life has been the traditional focus on agriculture and a rural lifestyle which, in turn, has protected a family and community-based society. The Amish aim to “be not conformed to this world” (Romans 12:2) is possible only because of the emphasis they place on practices and communities, and on the virtues central to Amish life. As a result, the Amish example shows that the ethical life is possible for those who are able to practice the virtues and thus sustain MacIntyrean communities. The injunction “be not conformed to this world” is coupled with the injunction to instead be “transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). For the Amish, this renewal is achieved through their communal life and commitment to the virtues, which simultaneously underpin their rejection of modernity and their commitment to ethical business.

The example of the Amish can help us to understand how something akin to a MacIntyrean conception of a flourishing ethical life is possible, even within the broader context of an emotivist mainstream society. Co-existence with this society clearly presents many challenges for the Amish as the boundary between the community and the world has become blurred and more permeable (Smith, et al., 1997 ). While Amish enterprises acknowledge and place a high value on separation from the world (Kraybill, 2001 ), by their very nature, enterprises and paid work require interaction with the ‘world’ through non-Amish employers, suppliers, distributors, services, and customers – interactions which have reciprocal and potentially transformational influences. Further, the Amish who enter into non-farming enterprise or work “experience some conflict between their work schedule and the rhythm of Amish life” (Meyers, 1994, p.173) as enterprise often entails working away from home and places a burden on maintaining existing markers of separation such as dress and dialect. Nevertheless, the Amish have so far managed to navigate these challenges, and thus provide hope for those who wish to carve out space for the tradition of the virtues even in an inhospitable environment. Indeed, one avenue for future research is that of exploring other contexts in which a separateness from mainstream society can facilitate virtuous flourishing.

The limitations of our study also offer further research opportunities. Our study was conducted in one geography, with predominantly one affiliation in one Amish settlement. Follow-up studies that explore the heterogeneity of business ethics across the Amish communities, or that explore changes in ethics and practice longitudinally, would deepen existing understandings. For example, we did explore whether there were important differences in the narratives and our coding between those participants who described themselves as Amish or Amish affiliated (those who were growing up in Amish family but did not join the Amish church or who left Amish church to join the Mennonite church). We did not find any substantive differences in responses. This may be due to their continued close connection with the community. However, further studies of businesses that have left the Amish would be interesting and theoretically valuable to deepen understandings of the tensions between embracing modernity and the Amish way of life.

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Israel’s Deadly Airstrike on the World Central Kitchen

The story behind the pioneering aid group and how it mistakenly came under attack..

From “The New York Times,” I’m Michael Barbaro. This is “The Daily.”

The Israeli airstrike that killed seven aid workers delivering food in Gaza has touched off outrage and condemnations from across the world. Today, Kim Severson on the pioneering relief crew at the center of the story, and Adam Rasgon on what we’re learning about the deadly attack on the group’s workers. It’s Thursday, April 4.

Kim, can you tell us about the World Central Kitchen?

World Central Kitchen started as a little idea in Chef José Andrés’ head. He was in Haiti with some other folks, trying to do earthquake relief in 2010. And his idea at that point was to teach Haitians to cook and to use solar stoves and ways for people to feed themselves, because the infrastructure was gone.

And he was cooking with some Haitians in one of the camps, and they were showing him how to cook beans the Haitian way. You sort of smash them and make them a little creamy. And it occurred to him that there was something so comforting for those folks to eat food that was from their culture that tasted good to them. You know, if you’re having a really hard time, what makes you feel good is comfort food, right? And warm comfort food.

So that moment in the camp really was the seed of this idea. It planted this notion in José Andrés’ mind, and that notion eventually became World Central Kitchen.

And for those who don’t know, Kim, who exactly is Chef José Andrés?

José Andrés is a Spanish chef who cooked under some of the Spanish molecular gastronomy greats, came to America, really made his bones in Washington, DC, with some avant-garde food, but also started to expand and cook tapas, cook Mexican food. He’s got about 40 restaurants now.

Yeah. And he’s got a great Spanish restaurant in New York. He’s got restaurants in DC, restaurants in Miami.

Come with me to the kitchen. Don’t be shy.

He’s also become a big TV personality.

Chef, are you going to put the lobster in the pot with the potatoes?

We’re going to leave the potatoes in.

Leave the potatoes in!

He’s one of the most charismatic people I’ve ever been around in the food world.

He’s very much the touchstone of what people want their celebrity chefs to be.

So how does he go from being all those things you just described, to being on the ground, making local comfort food for Haitians? And how does this all go from an idea that that would be a good idea, to this much bigger, full-fledged humanitarian organization?

So he started to realize that giving people food in disaster zones was a thing that was really powerful. He helped feed people after Hurricane Sandy, and he realized that he could get local chefs who all wanted to help and somehow harness that power. But the idea really became set when he went to Houston in 2017 to help after Hurricane Harvey.

And that’s when he saw that getting local chefs to tap into their resources, borrowing kitchens, using ingredients that chefs might have had on hand or are spoiling in the fridge because the power is out and all these restaurants needed something to do with all this food before it rotted — harnessing all that and putting it together and giving people well-cooked, delicious — at least as delicious as it can be in a disaster zone — that’s when World Central Kitchen as we know it today sort of emerged as a fully formed concept.

The first pictures now coming in from Puerto Rico after taking a direct hit — Hurricane Maria slamming into the island. And as you heard, one official saying the island is destroyed.

Shortly after that, he flew to Puerto Rico, where Hurricane Maria had pretty much left the entire island without water and in darkness.

He flew in on one of the first commercial jets that went back in. He got a couple of his chef buddies whose kitchens were closed, and they just decided to start cooking. They were basically just serving pots of stew, chicken stew, in front of the restaurants.

The lines got longer. And of course, chefs are a really specific kind of creature. They really like to help their community. They’re really about feeding people.

So all the people who were chefs or cooks on the ground in Puerto Rico who could wanted to help. And you had all these chefs in the States who wanted to fly down and help if they could, too. So you had this constant flow of chefs coming in and out. That’s when I went down and followed him around for about a week.

And what did you see?

Well, one of the most striking things was his ability to get food to remote places in ways the Salvation Army couldn’t and other government agencies that were on the ground couldn’t. You know, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, doesn’t deliver food. It contracts with people to deliver food.

So you have all these steps of bureaucracy you have to go through to get those contracts. And then, FEMA says you have to have a bottle of water and this and that in those boxes. There’s a lot of structure to be able to meet the rules and regulations of FEMA.

So José doesn’t really care about rules and regulations very much. So he just got his troops together and figured out where people needed food. He had this big paper map he’d carry around and lay out. And he had a Sharpie, and he’d circle villages where he’d heard people needed food or where a bridge was out.

And then he would dispatch people to get the food there. Now, how are you going to do that? He was staying in a hotel where some National Guard and military police were staying to go patrol areas to make sure they were safe. He would tuck his big aluminum pans of food into the back of those guys’ cars, and say, Could you stop and drop these off at this church?

During that time in Puerto Rico, he funded a lot of it off of his own credit cards or with cash. And then he’s on the phone with people like the president of Goya or his golf buddies who are well-connected, saying, hey, we need some money. Can you send some money for this? Can you send some money for that?

So he just developed this network, almost overnight. I mean, he is very much a general in the field. He wears this Orvis fishing vest, has cigars in one pocket, money in the other. And he just sets out to feed people.

And there were deliveries that were as simple as he and a couple of folks taking plastic bags with food and wading through a flooded parking lot to an apartment building where an older person had been stuck for a few days and couldn’t get out, to driving up to a community that had been cut off. There was a church that was trying to distribute food.

We drive through this little mountain road and get to this church. We start unloading the food, and the congregation is inside the church. José comes in, and the pastor thanks him so much. And the 20 people or so who are there gather around José, and they begin praying.

And he puts his head down. He’s a Catholic. He’s a man who prays. He puts his head down. He’s in the middle of these folks, and he starts to pray with them. And then, pulls out his map, circles another spot, and the group is off to the next place.

And when Russia invades Ukraine, he immediately decided it was time for World Central Kitchen to step into a war zone. You know, so many people needed to eat. So many Ukrainians were crossing the border into Poland.

There are refugees in several countries surrounding Ukraine. So a lot of the work that they did was feeding the refugees. They set up big operations around train stations, places where refugees were coming, and then they were able to get into cities.

One of their operations did get hit with some armaments early on. Nobody was hurt badly. But I think that was the first time that they realized this was an actually more dangerous situation than perhaps going in after there’s been an earthquake.

But the other thing that really made a difference here is, José Andrés and World Central Kitchen would broadcast on social media, live from the kitchens. In the beginning, he’d be holding up his phone and saying, we put out 3 million meals for the people of Puerto Rico, chefs for Puerto Rico. It was very infectious.

And now, one of the standard operating procedures for people who are in the World Central Kitchens is to hold up the phone like that — you can see the kitchen, busy in the back — and talk about how many meals they’ve served. They have these kind of wild meal counts, which one presumes are pretty accurate. But they’re like, we served 320,000 meals this morning to the people of Lviv.

I mean, that scale seems important to note. This is not the kind of work that feeds a few people and a few towns. When you’re talking about 300,000 meals in a morning, you’re talking about something that begins, it would seem, to rival the scope and the reach of the groups that we tend to think of as the most important in the disaster-relief world.

Absolutely. And the meals — there are lots and lots and lots of meals. But also, World Central Kitchen hires local cooks. They’ll hire food truck operators, who obviously have no work, and pay them to go out and deliver the meals. They’ll pay local cooks to come in and cook. That’s what they do with a lot of their donations, which is very different than other aid organizations. And this then helps the local economy. He’s trying to buy as much local food as he can. That keeps the economy going in the time of a disaster. So that’s a piece of his operation that is a little different than traditional aid operations.

So walk us up to October 7, when Hamas attacked Israel. What does Chef José Andrés and the World Kitchen do?

Well, he had had such impact in Ukraine. And I think the organization itself thought that they had the infrastructure to now take food into another war zone. Gaza, of course, was nothing like Ukraine. But World Central Kitchen shows up. They’re nimble. They start to connect with local chefs.

Right now, they have about 60 kitchens in the areas around Gaza, and they’ve hired about 400 Palestinians to help do that. But getting the food into Gaza became the difficulty.

How do you actually get the food into the Gaza Strip? Large amounts of food that require trucks? You’ve got to realize, getting food into Gaza right now requires going through Israeli checkpoints.

And that slows the operation down. You might get eight trucks a day in, and that is such a small amount of food. And this has been incredibly difficult for any aid operations.

So World Central Kitchen, playing on the experience that they had in a war zone and working with government entities and trying to coordinate permissions — they took that experience from Ukraine and were trying to apply it in the Gaza Strip. Now, they had worked for a long time with Israeli officials. They wanted to make sure that they could get their food in.

And they decided that the best way to do it would be to take food off of ships, get it in a warehouse, and then get that food into Gaza. It took a long time to pull those permissions through, but they were able to get the permissions they needed and set this system up, so they could move the food fairly quickly into North Gaza.

And once they get those permissions, how big a player do they become in Gaza?

World Central Kitchen became a kind of a fulcrum point for getting food aid in to Gaza in a way that a larger and more established humanitarian aid operations couldn’t, in part because they were small and nimble in their way. So the amount of food they were moving maybe wasn’t as large as some of the more established humanitarian aid organizations, but they had so much goodwill. They had so much logistical knowledge.

They were working with local Palestinians who knew the food systems and who understood how to get things in and out. So they were able to find a way to use a humanitarian corridor to have permissions from the Israeli government, to be able to move this food back and forth. And that’s always been the secret to World Central Kitchen — is incredibly nimble. So —

Just like in Puerto Rico, they seemed to win over just about everybody and do the seemingly impossible.

Right. And World Central Kitchen says they delivered 43 million meals to Gazans since the start of the war. And I don’t think there was any other group that could have pulled this off.

Hey, this is Zomi and Chef Olivier. We’re at the Deir al-Balah kitchen. And we’ve got the mise en place. Tell us a little bit about it, Chef.

And then, this caravan, this fairly efficient caravan of armored vehicles, labeled with World Central Kitchen logo on the roof, on the sides — the idea was they head on — this humanitarian quarter, they head on this road. The seven people who went all in vests — three of whom are security people from Great Britain — you have another World Central Kitchen employee who has handled operations in Asia, in Central America. She’s quite a veteran of the World Central Kitchen operation.

And you have a young man who someone told me was like the Michael Jordan of humanitarian aid, who hooked up with World Central Kitchen in Poland. He was a hospitality student and had just become an indispensable make-it-happen guy. And you have a Palestinian guy who’s 25, a driver.

So this is the team. They have all the clearances. They have the well-marked vehicles. It seemed like a very simple, surgical kind of operation. And of course, now, as we know, it was anything but that.

After the break, my colleague Adam Rasgon on what happened to the World Central Kitchen workers in that caravan. We’ll be right back.

So Adam, what ends up happening to this convoy that our colleague Kim Severson just described from World Central Kitchen?

So what we know is that members of the World Central Kitchen had been at a warehouse in Deir al-Balah in the Central Gaza Strip. They had just unloaded about 100 tons of food aid that had been brought via a maritime route to the coast of the Gaza Strip. When they departed the warehouse, they were in three cars.

Two of the cars were armored cars, and one was a soft-skinned car, according to the organization. When the cars reached the coastal road, known as Al Rashid Street, they started to make their way south.

And what do we know about how much the World Central Kitchen would have told the Israeli military about their plans to be on this road?

Yeah. So the World Central Kitchen said that its movements were coordinated. And in military speak or in technical speak, people often refer to this as deconfliction. So basically, this process is something that not only the World Central Kitchen but the UN, telecommunications companies going out to repair damaged telecommunications infrastructure, others would use, where they basically provide the Israeli military with information about the people who are traveling — their ID numbers, their names, the license plate numbers of the cars they’ll be traveling in.

They’ll sort of explain where their destination is. And the general process is that the Israelis will then come back to them and say, you’re approved to travel from this time, and you can take this specific route.

And do we know if that happened? If the IDF said, you’re approved, use this route on this night?

So we heard from the World Central Kitchen that they did receive this approval. And the military hasn’t come out and said that it wasn’t approved. So I think it’s fair to assume that their movements were coordinated and de-conflicted.

OK. So what happens as this seemingly pre-approved and coordinated convoy trip is making this leg of the journey?

They started to make their way south towards Rafah. And the three cars suddenly came under fire. The Israeli army unleashes powerful and devastating strikes on the three cars in the convoy, most likely from a drone. The strikes rip through the cars, killing everyone inside.

Shortly thereafter, ambulances from the Palestine Red Crescent are dispatched to the location. They retrieve the dead bodies.

They bring those bodies to a hospital. And at the hospital, the bodies are laid out, and journalists start to report to the world that indeed, five members of the World Central Kitchen staff have been killed. And the Palestine Red Crescent teams were continuing to search for other bodies and eventually brought back two more bodies to the hospital for a total of seven people killed in these airstrikes.

And when the sun comes up, what does it end up looking like — the scene of these struck trucks from this convoy?

So early in the morning when the sun comes up, a number of Palestinian journalists headed out to the coastal road and started taking pictures and videos. And I received a series of videos from one of the reporters that I was in touch with, essentially showing three cars, all heavily damaged. One had a World Central Kitchen logo on top of it, with a gaping hole in the middle of the roof.

A second car was completely charred. You could barely recognize the structure of the car. The inside of it had been completely charred, and the front smashed.

And do we know if the strike on this convoy was the only strike happening in this area? In other words, is it possible that this convoy was caught in some kind of a crossfire or in the middle of a firefight, or does it appear that this was quite narrow, and was the Israeli army targeting these specific vehicles, whether or not they realized who was in it?

We don’t have any other indication that there was another strike on that road around that time.

What that suggests, of course, is that this convoy was targeted. Now, whether Israeli officials knew who was in it, whether they were aid workers, seems like a yet-unresolved question. But it does feel very clear that the trucks in this convoy were deliberately struck.

Yes. I do think the trucks in this convoy were deliberately struck.

What is the reaction to these airstrikes on this convoy and to the death of these aid workers?

Well, one of the first reactions is from the World Central kitchen’s founder, José Andrés.

Chef José Andrés, who founded World Central Kitchen, calling them angels.

He said he was heartbroken and grieving.

And adding the Israeli government needs to stop this indiscriminate killing.

And then, he accused Israel of using food as a weapon.

What I know is that we were targeted deliberately, nonstop, until everybody was dead in this convoy.

And he just seemed devastated and quite angry.

And so what is the reaction from not just World Central Kitchen, but from the rest of the world to this airstrike?

There’s, frankly, fury and outrage.

The White House says it is outraged by an Israeli airstrike that killed seven aid workers in Gaza, including one American.

President Biden, who has been becoming increasingly critical of Israel’s approach to this war — he came out and said that he was outraged and heartbroken.

Certainly sharper in tone than we have heard in the past. He says Israel has not done enough to protect aid workers trying to deliver desperately needed help to civilians. Incidents like yesterday’s simply should not happen. Israel also has not —

And we’re seeing similar outrage from foreign governments. The British Foreign Secretary David Cameron —

The dreadful events of the last two days are a moment when we should mourn the loss of these brave humanitarian workers.

— said that the airstrikes were completely unacceptable. And he called on Israel to explain how this happened and to make changes to ensure that aid workers could be safe.

So amid all this, what does Israel have to say about the attack — about how it happened, about why it happened?

The response from Israel this time was much different, compared to other controversial airstrikes on the Gaza Strip. Often, when we’re reporting on these issues, we’ll hear from the army that they’re investigating a given incident. It will take days, if not weeks, to receive updates on where that investigation stands.

There are instances where Israel does take responsibility for harming civilians, but it’s often rare. This time, the Prime Minister —

[NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]

— Benjamin Netanyahu comes out with a video message —

— saying that Israel had unintentionally harmed innocent civilians. And that was the first indication or public indication that Israel was going to take responsibility for what had happened.

The IDF works together closely with the World Central Kitchen and greatly appreciates the important work that they do.

We later heard from the military’s chief of staff. Herzi Halevi issued a video statement in English.

I want to be very clear the strike was not carried out with the intention of harming aid workers. It was a mistake that followed a misidentification.

And he said this mistake had come after a misidentification. He said it was in the middle of a war, in a very complex condition. But —

This incident was a grave mistake. We are sorry for the unintentional harm to the members of WCK.

He was clear that this shouldn’t have happened.

I want to talk about that statement, because it seems to suggest — that word, “misidentification”— that the Israeli army believed that somebody else was in this convoy, that it wasn’t a bunch of aid workers.

That’s possible, although it’s extremely vague and cryptic language that genuinely is difficult to understand. And it’s a question that us in the Jerusalem Bureau have been asking ourselves.

I’m curious if the Israeli government has said anything in all of its statements so far about whether it noticed these markings on these three cars in the convoy. Because that, I think, for so many people, stands out as making misidentification hard to understand. It seems like perhaps a random pickup truck could be misidentified as perhaps a vehicle being used by a Hamas militant. But a group of World Central Kitchen trucks with their name all over it, driving down a known aid corridor — that becomes harder to understand as misidentification.

Yeah, it’s an important question. And at this moment, we don’t know exactly what the Israeli reconnaissance drones could see, and whether or not they were able to see, in the darkness of the night, the markings of the World Central Kitchen on the cars. But what is clear is that when the cars were found in the morning, right there was the big emblazoned logo of the World Central Kitchen.

Mm-hmm. I’m curious how you think about the speed with which Israel came out and said it was in the wrong here. Because as you said, that’s not how Israel typically reacts to many of these situations. And that makes me think that it might have something to do with the nature of the aid group that was the target of these airstrikes — the World Central Kitchen — and its story.

I think it does have to do with this particular group. This is a group that’s led by a celebrity chef, very high-profile, who is gone around the world to conflict zones, disaster areas, to provide food aid. And I also think it has to do with the people who were killed, most of who were Western foreign aid workers. Frankly, I don’t think we would be having this conversation if a group of Palestinian aid workers had been killed.

Nor, perhaps, would we be having the reaction that we have had so far from the Israeli government.

I would agree with that.

Adam, at the end of the day, what is going to be the fallout from all of this for the people of Gaza? How do we think that this attack on World Central Kitchen is going to impact how food, medicine, aid is distributed there?

So the World Central Kitchen has said that it’s suspending its operations across Gaza. Because it essentially seems that they don’t feel they can safely operate there right now. And several ships that carried aid for the organization, which were sort of just on the coast — those ships ended up turning back to Cyprus, carrying more than 200 tons of aid.

So aid that was supposed to reach the people of Gaza is now leaving Gaza because of this attack.

Yes. And it’s also had a chilling effect. Another aid group, named INARA, has also suspended its operations in Gaza. And it seems that there is concern among humanitarians that other aid groups could follow.

So in a place where people are already suffering from severe hunger, poor sanitation, the spread of dangerous disease, this is only going to make the humanitarian situation, which is already dire, even worse.

Well, Adam, thank you very much. We appreciate it.

Thanks so much for having me.

We’ll be right back.

Here’s what else you need to know today. The magnitude-7.4 earthquake that struck Taiwan on Wednesday has killed nine people, injured more than 1,000, and touched off several landslides. It was Taiwan’s strongest quake in the past 25 years. But in a blessing for the island’s biggest cities, its epicenter was off the island’s east coast, relatively far from population centers like Taipei.

And the first patient to receive a kidney transplant from a genetically modified pig has fared so well that he was discharged from a Massachusetts hospital on Wednesday just two weeks after surgery. Two previous transplants from genetically modified pigs both failed. Doctors say the success of the latest surgery represents a major moment in medicine that, if replicated, could usher in a new era of organ transplantation.

Today’s episode was produced by Lynsea Garrison, Olivia Natt, and Carlos Prieto, with help from Asthaa Chaturvedi. It was edited by Marc Georges, with help from Paige Cowett, contains original music by Marion Lozano and Dan Powell, and was engineered by Chris Wood. Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly.

That’s it for “The Daily.” I’m Michael Barbaro. See you tomorrow.

• April 5, 2024   •   29:11 An Engineering Experiment to Cool the Earth
• April 4, 2024   •   32:37 Israel’s Deadly Airstrike on the World Central Kitchen
• April 3, 2024   •   27:42 The Accidental Tax Cutter in Chief
• April 2, 2024   •   29:32 Kids Are Missing School at an Alarming Rate
• April 1, 2024   •   36:14 Ronna McDaniel, TV News and the Trump Problem
• March 29, 2024   •   48:42 Hamas Took Her, and Still Has Her Husband
• March 28, 2024   •   33:40 The Newest Tech Start-Up Billionaire? Donald Trump.
• March 27, 2024   •   28:06 Democrats’ Plan to Save the Republican House Speaker
• March 26, 2024   •   29:13 The United States vs. the iPhone
• March 25, 2024   •   25:59 A Terrorist Attack in Russia
• March 24, 2024   •   21:39 The Sunday Read: ‘My Goldendoodle Spent a Week at Some Luxury Dog ‘Hotels.’ I Tagged Along.’
• March 22, 2024   •   35:30 Chuck Schumer on His Campaign to Oust Israel’s Leader

Hosted by Michael Barbaro

Featuring Kim Severson and Adam Rasgon

Produced by Lynsea Garrison ,  Olivia Natt ,  Carlos Prieto and Asthaa Chaturvedi

Edited by Marc Georges and Paige Cowett

Original music by Dan Powell and Marion Lozano

Engineered by Chris Wood

Listen and follow The Daily Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music

The Israeli airstrike that killed seven workers delivering food in Gaza has touched off global outrage and condemnation.

Kim Severson, who covers food culture for The Times, discusses the World Central Kitchen, the aid group at the center of the story; and Adam Rasgon, who reports from Israel, explains what we know about the tragedy so far.

On today’s episode

Kim Severson , a food correspondent for The New York Times.

Adam Rasgon , an Israel correspondent for The New York Times.

Background reading

The relief convoy was hit just after workers had delivered tons of food .

José Andrés, the Spanish chef who founded World Central Kitchen, and his corps of cooks have become leaders in disaster aid .

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The Daily is made by Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, M.J. Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Sydney Harper, Mike Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rachelle Bonja, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano, Corey Schreppel, Rob Szypko, Elisheba Ittoop, Mooj Zadie, Patricia Willens, Rowan Niemisto, Jody Becker, Rikki Novetsky, John Ketchum, Nina Feldman, Will Reid, Carlos Prieto, Ben Calhoun, Susan Lee, Lexie Diao, Mary Wilson, Alex Stern, Dan Farrell, Sophia Lanman, Shannon Lin, Diane Wong, Devon Taylor, Alyssa Moxley, Summer Thomad, Olivia Natt, Daniel Ramirez and Brendan Klinkenberg.

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Kim Severson is an Atlanta-based reporter who covers the nation’s food culture and contributes to NYT Cooking . More about Kim Severson

Adam Rasgon reports from Israel for The Times's Jerusalem bureau. More about Adam Rasgon

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