Impossible and Inevitable: Reconstructing the Critique of Business Ethics

Business ethics is a booming subject. Most universities and business schools offer business ethics courses, and many larger businesses have an ethics program in place. Nevertheless, business ethics has a troubled history. The field has been criticized as shallow, simple, and, worst of all, hypocritical. Why, then, is business ethics met with such criticism? Is there something amiss with business ethics in particular, or do other fields of applied ethics face the same criticism? This study set out to address these questions by analyzing the academic critique of business ethics. This examination helps us to develop a better understanding of business ethics itself; that is, of the attempt to apply ethics to business settings. The study starts with a reflection on the early development of business ethics as a ‘practical’ approach to ethics that aimed to appeal strongly to the business world. I show that this development made the field vulnerable to criticism. I then employ a literature review to reconstruct the academic critique of business ethics and to highlight five of its ‘central problems.’ These problems mostly revolve around an alleged misunderstanding of ethics in business ethics. There are critics who frame these problems as specific for business ethics; as if these problems occur in business ethics only. In so doing, business ethics appears to be depicted as the ‘black sheep’ of applied ethics. I, however, hypothesize these problems are related to ethics in general. A problem of ethics in general can be related to each attempt to apply ethics and, therefore, to all fields of applied ethics.Two methods are used to support this hypothesis. A comparative analysis of the critique of business ethics and the critique of bioethics shows that similar problems are related to the latter field. Following this, a hermeneutical study of the philosophical views of Emmanuel Levinas (on the ‘trauma’ of ethics) and Simone de Beauvoir (on the ‘ambiguity’ of ethics) shows that these are indeed problems of ethics in general. Therefore, I conclude these critics are largely mistaken to frame these problems as specific for business ethics and, thus, to depict this field as the ‘black sheep’ of applied ethics. And yet, these critics are not mistaken for bringing these problems to our attention; and for arguing that business ethicists should take these problems seriously. I conclude that it is impossible to resolve these problems but, at the same time, inevitable for fields of applied ethics – such as business ethics – to develop approaches to them. Several conditions for approaching these problems are sketched in the epilogue to the study. -De bedrijfsethiek heeft twee gezichten. Aan de ene kant is het een zeer succesvol veld. De meeste universiteiten en hogescholen bieden cursussen bedrijfsethiek aan en vrijwel alle grotere bedrijven hebben een ethiekprogramma (e.g., ethische code of ethiek trainingen). De bedrijfsethiek heeft echter ook een andere kant. Al sinds de oprichting wordt het veld bestookt met felle en fundamentele kritiek. Volgens sommige critici is de moderne bedrijfsethiek niet alleen oppervlakkig en simpel; het is ook een uitermate hypocriet veld. Hoe komt het dat de bedrijfsethiek zo kwetsbaar is voor kritiek? En is deze kritiek alleen van toepassing op bedrijfsethiek, of hebben andere velden van toegepaste ethiek te maken met dezelfde kritiek? Om deze vragen te beantwoorden start ik met een reconstructie van de wetenschappelijke kritiek op de bedrijfsethiek. Ik laat zien dat er ten minste vijf centrale problemen met de bedrijfsethiek zijn. Het gros van deze problemen draait om de notie dat de moderne bedrijfsethiek niet begrijpt waar ethiek over gaat. Er is echter iets merkwaardigs aan deze kritiek; enkele prominente critici presenteren deze problemen alsof ze specifiek zijn voor bedrijfsethiek; alsof deze problemen zich alleen voordoen in dit veld. Hiermee wordt de bedrijfsethiek als het ‘zwarte schaap’ van de toegepaste ethiek neergezet. Ik plaats deze manier van presenteren tussen haakjes en stel dat de problemen van de bedrijfsethiek lijken op problemen van de ethiek in het algemeen. Dit type problemen kan zich voordoen in iedere poging om ethiek toe te passen, en daarmee dus in ieder veld van toegepaste ethiek. Ik gebruik twee methodes om deze hypothese te onderzoeken. Een vergelijkende analyse tussen kritieken op bedrijfsethiek en bio-ethiek laat zien dat de vermeende problemen van de bedrijfsethiek zich in beide velden voordoen. En een hermeneutische studie van argumenten in het werk van Emmanuel Levinas (over ethiek en ‘trauma’) en Simone de Beauvoir (over ethiek en ‘ambiguïteit’) toont dat we hier inderdaad te maken hebben met problemen van de ethiek in het algemeen. In tegenstelling tot het beeld dat enkele critici ons voorhouden lijkt de bedrijfsethiek dus niet het ‘zwarte schaap’ van de toegepaste ethiek te zijn. Deze critici hebben echter wel gelijk wanneer zij stellen dat deze problemen zich voordoen in dit veld en dat bedrijfsethici de implicaties van deze problemen moeten onderkennen. Ik concludeer dat het onmogelijk is om deze problemen met ethiek op te lossen maar dat het tegelijkertijd onvermijdelijk is voor velden van toegepaste ethiek om tot een goede benadering van deze problemen te komen. Enkele condities voor een dergelijke benadering worden geschetst in de epiloog

Impossible and Inevitable: Reconstructing the Critique of Business Ethics

Business ethics is a booming subject. Most universities and business schools offer business ethics courses, and many larger businesses have an ethics program in place. Nevertheless, business ethics has a troubled history. The field has been criticized as shallow, simple, and, worst of all, hypocritical. Why, then, is business ethics met with such criticism? Is there something amiss with business ethics in particular, or do other fields of applied ethics face the same criticism? This study set out to address these questions by analyzing the academic critique of business ethics. This examination helps us to develop a better understanding of business ethics itself; that is, of the attempt to apply ethics to business settings. The study starts with a reflection on the early development of business ethics as a ‘practical’ approach to ethics that aimed to appeal strongly to the business world. I show that this development made the field vulnerable to criticism. I then employ a literature review to reconstruct the academic critique of business ethics and to highlight five of its ‘central problems.’ These problems mostly revolve around an alleged misunderstanding of ethics in business ethics. There are critics who frame these problems as specific for business ethics; as if these problems occur in business ethics only. In so doing, business ethics appears to be depicted as the ‘black sheep’ of applied ethics. I, however, hypothesize these problems are related to ethics in general. A problem of ethics in general can be related to each attempt to apply ethics and, therefore, to all fields of applied ethics.Two methods are used to support this hypothesis. A comparative analysis of the critique of business ethics and the critique of bioethics shows that similar problems are related to the latter field. Following this, a hermeneutical study of the philosophical views of Emmanuel Levinas (on the ‘trauma’ of ethics) and Simone de Beauvoir (on the ‘ambiguity’ of ethics) shows that these are indeed problems of ethics in general. Therefore, I conclude these critics are largely mistaken to frame these problems as specific for business ethics and, thus, to depict this field as the ‘black sheep’ of applied ethics. And yet, these critics are not mistaken for bringing these problems to our attention; and for arguing that business ethicists should take these problems seriously. I conclude that it is impossible to resolve these problems but, at the same time, inevitable for fields of applied ethics – such as business ethics – to develop approaches to them. Several conditions for approaching these problems are sketched in the epilogue to the study. -De bedrijfsethiek heeft twee gezichten. Aan de ene kant is het een zeer succesvol veld. De meeste universiteiten en hogescholen bieden cursussen bedrijfsethiek aan en vrijwel alle grotere bedrijven hebben een ethiekprogramma (e.g., ethische code of ethiek trainingen). De bedrijfsethiek heeft echter ook een andere kant. Al sinds de oprichting wordt het veld bestookt met felle en fundamentele kritiek. Volgens sommige critici is de moderne bedrijfsethiek niet alleen oppervlakkig en simpel; het is ook een uitermate hypocriet veld. Hoe komt het dat de bedrijfsethiek zo kwetsbaar is voor kritiek? En is deze kritiek alleen van toepassing op bedrijfsethiek, of hebben andere velden van toegepaste ethiek te maken met dezelfde kritiek? Om deze vragen te beantwoorden start ik met een reconstructie van de wetenschappelijke kritiek op de bedrijfsethiek. Ik laat zien dat er ten minste vijf centrale problemen met de bedrijfsethiek zijn. Het gros van deze problemen draait om de notie dat de moderne bedrijfsethiek niet begrijpt waar ethiek over gaat. Er is echter iets merkwaardigs aan deze kritiek; enkele prominente critici presenteren deze problemen alsof ze specifiek zijn voor bedrijfsethiek; alsof deze problemen zich alleen voordoen in dit veld. Hiermee wordt de bedrijfsethiek als het ‘zwarte schaap’ van de toegepaste ethiek neergezet. Ik plaats deze manier van presenteren tussen haakjes en stel dat de problemen van de bedrijfsethiek lijken op problemen van de ethiek in het algemeen. Dit type problemen kan zich voordoen in iedere poging om ethiek toe te passen, en daarmee dus in ieder veld van toegepaste ethiek. Ik gebruik twee methodes om deze hypothese te onderzoeken. Een vergelijkende analyse tussen kritieken op bedrijfsethiek en bio-ethiek laat zien dat de vermeende problemen van de bedrijfsethiek zich in beide velden voordoen. En een hermeneutische studie van argumenten in het werk van Emmanuel Levinas (over ethiek en ‘trauma’) en Simone de Beauvoir (over ethiek en ‘ambiguïteit’) toont dat we hier inderdaad te maken hebben met problemen van de ethiek in het algemeen. In tegenstelling tot het beeld dat enkele critici ons voorhouden lijkt de bedrijfsethiek dus niet het ‘zwarte schaap’ van de toegepaste ethiek te zijn. Deze critici hebben echter wel gelijk wanneer zij stellen dat deze problemen zich voordoen in dit veld en dat bedrijfsethici de implicaties van deze problemen moeten onderkennen. Ik concludeer dat het onmogelijk is om deze problemen met ethiek op te lossen maar dat het tegelijkertijd onvermijdelijk is voor velden van toegepaste ethiek om tot een goede benadering van deze problemen te komen. Enkele condities voor een dergelijke benadering worden geschetst in de epiloog

A Reconfigurable Readout Integrated Circuit for Heterogeneous Display-Based Multi-Sensor Systems

This paper presents a reconfigurable multi-sensor interface and its readout integrated circuit (ROIC) for display-based multi-sensor systems, which builds up multi-sensor functions by utilizing touch screen panels. In addition to inherent touch detection, physiological and environmental sensor interfaces are incorporated. The reconfigurable feature is effectively implemented by proposing two basis readout topologies of amplifier-based and oscillator-based circuits. For noise-immune design against various noises from inherent human-touch operations, an alternate-sampling error-correction scheme is proposed and integrated inside the ROIC, achieving a 12-bit resolution of successive approximation register (SAR) of analog-to-digital conversion without additional calibrations. A ROIC prototype that includes the whole proposed functions and data converters was fabricated in a 0.18 ??m complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process, and its feasibility was experimentally verified to support multiple heterogeneous sensing functions of touch, electrocardiogram, body impedance, and environmental sensors.ope

Fitness benefits of the fruit fly <i>Rhagoletis alternata</i> on a non-native rose host

Many species have been introduced worldwide into areas outside their natural range. Often these non-native species are introduced without their natural enemies, which sometimes leads to uncontrolled population growth. It is rarely reported that an introduced species provides a new resource for a native species. The rose hips of the Japanese rose, Rosa rugosa, which has been introduced in large parts of Europe, are infested by the native monophagous tephritid fruit fly Rhagoletis alternata. We studied differences in fitness benefits between R. alternata larvae using R. rugosa as well as native Rosa species in the Netherlands. R. alternata pupae were larger and heavier when the larvae fed on rose hips of R. rugosa. Larvae feeding on R. rugosa were parasitized less frequently by parasitic wasps than were larvae feeding on native roses. The differences in parasitization are probably due to morphological differences between the native and non-native rose hips: the hypanthium of a R. rugosa hip is thicker and provides the larvae with the possibility to feed deeper into the hip, meaning that the parasitoids cannot reach them with their ovipositor and the larvae escape parasitization. Our study shows that native species switching to a novel non-native host can experience fitness benefits compared to the original native host

Auto-regulation of transcription and translation:oscillations, excitability and intermittency

Several members of the Hes/Her family, conserved targets of the Notch signalling pathway, encode transcriptional repressors that dimerise, bind DNA and self-repress. Such autoinhibition of transcription can yield homeostasis and, in the presence of delays that account for processes such as transcription, splicing and transport, oscillations. Whilst previous models of autoinhibition of transcription have tended to treat processes such as translation as being unregulated (and hence linear), here we develop and explore a mathematical model that considers autoinhibition of transcription together with nonlinear regulation of translation. It is demonstrated that such a model can yield, in the absence of delays, nonlinear dynamical behaviours such as excitability, homeostasis, oscillations and intermittency. These results indicate that regulation of translation as well as transcription allows for a much richer range of behaviours than is possible with autoregulation of transcription alone. A number of experiments are suggested that would that allow for the signature of autoregulation of translation as well as transcription to be experimentally detected in a Notch signalling system

A shape-deformable and thermally stable solid-state electrolyte based on a plastic crystal composite polymer electrolyte for flexible/safer lithium-ion batteries

A solid-state electrolyte with reliable electrochemical performance, mechanical robustness and safety features is strongly pursued to facilitate the progress of flexible batteries. Here, we demonstrate a shape-deformable and thermally stable plastic crystal composite polymer electrolyte (denoted as &quot;PC-CPE&quot;) as a new class of solid-state electrolyte to achieve this challenging goal. The PC-CPE is composed of UV (ultraviolet)-cured ethoxylated trimethylolpropane triacrylate (ETPTA) macromer/close-packed Al 2O3 nanoparticles (acting as the mechanical framework) and succinonitrile-mediated plastic crystal electrolyte (serving as the ionic transport channel). This chemical/structural uniqueness of the PC-CPE brings remarkable improvement in mechanical flexibility and thermal stability, as compared to conventional carbonate-based liquid electrolytes that are fluidic and volatile. In addition, the PC-CPE precursor mixture (i.e., prior to UV irradiation) with well-adjusted rheological properties, via collaboration with a UV-assisted imprint lithography technique, produces the micropatterned PC-CPE with tunable dimensions. Notably, the cell incorporating the self-standing PC-CPE, which acts as a thermally stable electrolyte and also a separator membrane, maintains stable charge/discharge behavior even after exposure to thermal shock condition (=130 ??C/0.5 h), while a control cell assembled with a carbonate-based liquid electrolyte and a polyethylene separator membrane loses electrochemical activity.close1

Creativity in Higher Education: Teaching Activities during Student Groups’ Idea Evaluation Process

Creativity should be cultivated in higher education to tackle the increasingly complex healthcare problems; however, despite this need for novelty, students collaborating in groups to solve a complex problem often seek consensus around low-novelty ideas. This study aims to explore the challenges higher education student groups face while evaluating and improving creative ideas, and to identify teaching activities that overcome these challenges. A qualitative study was conducted using semi-structured interviews with 14 teachers from the “innovation project” at Radboud university medical center in Netherlands. The results show that student groups face challenges in balancing thegoals of novelty and usefulness in their search for creative ideas, often selecting either novel ideas that are infeasible or ineffective, or useful ideas that already exist. Furthermore, teachers also identified problematic group dynamics as a challenge in the idea evaluation process. To overcome these challenges, teachers reported using cognitive, affective, metacognitive, and sociocommunicative teaching activities. In conclusion, higher education studentsmay not develop their most creative ideas even when creative solutions are required. This study highlights the importance of teaching higher education students to skilfully manage the twin goals of novelty and usefulness in theirsearch for creative solutions, while also dealing with group dynamics