1. ECONOMICS
AND
PHILOSOPHY
 In howfar isthe discipline of philosophyrelatedtoyourfieldof studies?
 Can youidentifyanddescribe aconceptof yourfieldof studiesthatisrelatedtoa
philosophical concept?
I am studyingBusinessAdministration.A businessisanyprofitseekingorganizationthataimsto
satisfycustomerneedsbytransforminglower-valueinputintohigher-valueoutputaccordingto
Pearson InternationalEdition by Bovee,C.L.&Thill,J.V.(2013). My studiesrelate torunningand
maintainingbusinesses sothatit remainsstable andcontinuestogrow.Ihave learnedmany
quantitative methodslike statistics,operationmanagement,financial andmanagerial accounting,
but alsoqualitativeoneslikemicro-andmacroeconomics, humanresources,marketing,law and
management.
Especiallyinthe qualitative partmanyphilosophical topicsoverlap.Buttakingastepback and
lookingatthe general aimof my studies,Iwouldconclude that businessadministrationisabout
makingdecisionseveryday,directingthe activitiestowardscommongoalsandobjectiveswithina
vision,missionandstrategyandmanagingbusinessoperationsonadailybasis. My firstcourse
“Introductionintobusinessstudies”wasnotabouthow to generate profitsassoonas possible,it
was abouthowto create value. AsPeterDruckersays"[F]ree enterprise cannotbe justifiedasbeing
goodfor business.Itcanbe justifiedonlyasbeinggoodfor society.”SoIunderstandbusinessesas
part of a societyandtherefore societyisalsopartof businesses. Businessethics inthattermreflect
the philosophyof businessof whichone aimstodeterminethe fundamentalpurpose of the
company.Ethicsdefinesrulesandstandardsthatare not impliedinthe law andstill affectsour
decisionmakingonadailybasis accordingto the Stanford’sEncyclopediaof Philosophy.Thisis
exactlythe pointwhere businessethicsstarts.Itappealsonthe responsibilityof anindividual as
beingpartof a society. More specificallyspoken “responsibility of afirm(…) generallywill be tomake
as much moneyaspossible while conformingtothe basicrulesof the society,bothtothose
embodiedinlawandthose embodiedinthe ethical custom.”,as MiltonFriedmanstates. Intoday’s
societyphilosophyisnotonlyoverlappingwith partsof businessadministrative,butanessential core
part of sustainable growthandsuccess.Inthe followingI therefore assumeinhow farbusinessethics
isintegratedin eachdepartmentof a firm’svalue chain.
Concernslike healthandsafetystandards,privacy, the agencyproblem, compensation,collective
bargainingpoweranddiscriminationare topicsinwhich businessethicsplayamajorrole inhuman
resource management. Itgetsclearthatbusinessethicsinthatcontextare crucial inorder to gain
market-share andpositionthe companyglobally. More andmore firmstry to not onlydiversifytheir
portfolio,butalsotheirworkforce,because theysuspectacompetitiveadvantage doingso.Havinga
diverse workforce itisnotonly“good”froman ethical pointof view bythe virtue of fairnesswhich
liesinthe fact of givingeachapplicantequal chancestogetthe job,butis alsohighlyvaluablein
orderto generate new innovationsand ideas.Differingpeoplein age,gender,race andreligionoffers
a broaderscale of opinionsand illuminatesaproblemfromvariousperspectives.Assessingone
specifictopicfromdifferentpointsof view andthinkingnotonlyinone directioninordertogetthe
bestweightedresultisof highimportance while operatingin aglobalizedeconomy.
Productioninvolvesvariousethical issues like ownership,private propertyandproperty rightsor
froma supplychainpointof viewthe strategicalliancesandthe choicesof suppliersand retailers
whichare directlylinkedtoethical principles.Productionbeginswiththe efficientallocationof

2. resources.Howeverwhocantell whoreallyowns water,energyandthe landusedto setup the firm?
Furthermore the questionof privateandintellectual propertyisanswereddifferentlydependingon
the culture the businessoperatesin. The Chineseculture hasadifferent approachonmanaging
intellectual propertythan the Westernculture.Ievenfindmyself inthe constantethical dilemma
whenconsumingentertainmentarts,like moviesandmusic. Inthe pastpeople boughtaCD and with
it,the rightto listentoitpayingthe artistfee.Neverthelesstoday’s digitalization offers manyonline
portalswhichofferthisservice forfree.Sowhoisresponsible forpayingthe productioncostsof the
artist?I knowfrom an economicprofitmaximizationpointof view,itisbetterforme to streamthe
whole movie forfree than buyingthe DVD,butthere isan internal code thatgovernsmyindividual
conduct thatit wouldbe an incorrectaction not to payfor the value consumedthroughthe
entertainmentIenjoyed. The same applies inamore sophisticatedmanner forindustrial espionage.
From an economical perspective itoffersamoderate price performance ratio,butthe firmwouldnot
operate withinthe value-system.
The Finance sectorwas notcommonlyassociatedwithethical behaviorby the majority of the people.
Howeverthe financial crisis2008 raisedthe awarenessand causedcriticstochallenge the ethicsof
the executivesincharge of financial institutionsandthe financial regulatorybodies.Obviouslyinsider
trading,facilitate paymentsandaccountingscandalsofferprofitgeneratingopportunities,but that
wouldbe contradictingacompany’s normative strategytobehave accordingtoethical norms.Inthe
longtermthis resultsin an economiccrises.
Marketingis a hotbedof unethical behaviorsince ithas the powertoinfluence individual’s
perception,whichmightmake promisesthatitneverfulfills. The marketingfocustransformedover
the yearsfrom a broad product-orientedmass-marketingtoa more narrow approachthrough
market-segmentationwithspecial promotionalcampaignsandresultedinaone-to-onemarketing
froma massmarketing inthe 21rst century.The consumerisable to getmore and more information
aboutwhat isgoingon behindthe surface of a company. Sogreenwashing, whichmeans, pushing
profitshigherwhilemakinginvestments intocoveringupenvironmentallydamagingpracticeswith
corporate social responsibly,hasgottenmore difficultrecently.
Anotherimportantpointis puttingaprice on the product.There are certainprice strategiesthatlead
to ethicallyirresponsible behaviorlike price fixing,price discriminationandskimming.
Againall this mightleadto shorttermprofitability,butona long-termperspectiveisnota
sustainable strategy.
So all these activitiesare guidedbydecisionmaking.Itgetsmore thanclearthat the stabilityof our
marketsystemdependson responsible behavior,sustainablebusinessmodelsandproactive
management. Itisnolongerjust moral obligationthat thrives businessadministrationtoinclude
philosophical wisdominthe corporate strategybut thatit isneededtogenerate along-termoriented
sustainable growth. Toneglectmoral acceptablepracticescancause a boomerangeffectdue tothe
irreversible imagedamage. AsImentioned inthe beginningsocietyisstronglyconnectedtobusiness
as business istosociety, thisconnectiongrowseventighterthroughinformationtechnologyand
directcustomerrelationshipmanagementsothat the pressure of implementingsustainable business
modelsgrow proportional withinthe current developments. Socialresponsible businessesare
profitable andwhatmoststart-upfirmsunderstood,will hopefully influencemultinational firmsto
act as well and inaccordance to ethicprinciples.
Conclusion/Apprendix

3. So as I triedto illustrate businessethicsisalreadyapart of businessadministrationandisexecutedin
everydaylife of business. Ipartly supportthe opinion of PeterDrucker,thatthere isneithera
separate ethicsof businessnorisit needed.PeterDrucker’spointof view includesthat the standard
of the personal ethicscovers all businesssituations.
I justpartlyagree,because yes businessdealswiththe interactionof people anditisexecuted
throughthe transactionwithpeople. HoweverIthinkthatdue to globalizationthe business
environmenthasgottensocomplex thatthisrule ishard to implementortocontrol. The firsttrading
interactionswere mainlybuilt ontrustwithoutthe considerationof anyrevenuesorprofits.The
historyof the firmevolvedoutof familyrunfirms.Production,MarketingandSells,aswell as
operationsall were handledbyone single familythatwere forexample growingcropstosell itlater
one on the publicmarket. Nowthe industrystructure has changedafterthe industrial revolutionand
globalization:multinational concernsoperatingglobal markets.Thisimpliesmanychanges,the
businessenvironmenthasgottenrathercomplex.Itisimpossible forone personto oversee the
productionprocessand manage everything.The responsibilityissplit amongCEOs,CTOs,CFO,CIOS
and so forth. Anotherimportantpointisthatthe marketdevelopedfromalocal to a global place
whichfurthercallsforgeneral responsive behaviorbecause the consequence are wider,butthere is
no justificationforjustone universalsetof normthat definesethical rulesforall nationsand is
applicable withinall cultures.These twopointshighlightPorterscore statement,thataseparate
disciplineof businessethicswould nonsenseandhardto implement,howeveritalsostressesthe
pointthat exactlythisfactcan cause behavioral misunderstandings,becauseeveryindividual goesfor
individualsetof normsandstandardsdependingontheirbackground.
Furthermore Iwantto acknowledge thatIdidnot refertoCorporate Social Responsibilityinthis
context,because of the frequentlyimproperusage.
Julia Hammann
3022438
Komplimentärstudium Verstehen und Verändern: „Economics and Humanities“ von Dr. Oec. Camillo
von Müller