Business ethics are the set of practices and policies that companies use to guide them through decisions about finances, negotiations and deals, corporate social responsibility, and more. Without a strong set of ethics, a business can run afoul of the law, encounter financial pitfalls and moral dilemmas.
The objective of this book is a practical, fair, balanced, and objective treatment of the role of ethics in business performance of companies in competitive markets that demonstrates how ethics affects business culture, strategy, decision-making, and value creation, which then determine competitiveness and business viability. The universality of corruption and prevalence of unethical conduct is the background from which the narrative describes how ethical issues enter all functional areas.
The ethics effects on the complexity of decisions and challenges are examined and the questions of why bother with ethical business and whether businesses invite government regulation are answered. Next, a framework is developed to identify and trace links and influences of business ethics on strategic decisions, corporate culture, and decision-making. The effects of strategy and culture on key business success factors and their interdependence are reviewed along with those with competitive advantage elements. These assessments then form the basis of characterizing competitive advantage in the framework developed. Decision-making and strategy links with competitive advantage elements and the inter-competitive advantage element interactions are evaluated along with competitive advantage organizational effects.
The uniqueness of this book is the creation of a method to identify and assess how ethics impacts business decisions and competitive advantage based on accepted economic tenants. It lays the plan for quantitative assessments of the impact of ethical behavior and it is written from the perspective of a business economist. Other books deal with business ethics elements only; none explains how ethics effects permeate to business sustainability. The main contribution of this book is demonstrating that ethics is a necessary factor for business sustainability. It provides insights to regulators at all government levels and counter-balances ethicist claims about business ethics and points out how ethical business conduct affects the economy.
PART I. - PREAMPLE. Chapter 1: Introduction. Chapter 2: Rudiments of Business Ethics. Chapter 3: Functional Area Business Ethics. Chapter 4: Ethics and Complexity of Business Decisions. Chapter 5: Universality of Corruption and Unethical Business Conduct. Chapter 6: Insights on Scandal Pervasiveness and Regulation. PART II. ETHICS ENTER DECISION MAKING STAGES. Chapter 7: Why Bother with Ethical Business Practices. Chapter 8: How Ethics Enters Strategic Project Decisions. Chapter 9: Ethics, Culture, Strategy, Decisions and Value Links. PART III. DECISION-MAKING SUCCESS FACTOR INTERACTIONS AND IMPACTS. Chapter 10: Culture, 4-Cs, VRIO Resources, TQM, and ESG Links. Chapter 11: Strategy Links with Decision Making Success Factors Chapter. Chapter 12: Inter Decision-Making Success Factor Linkages. Chapter 13: 4-C, VRIO Resources, TQM, ESG, Value Creation Linkages. Chapter 14: Characterization of Competitive Advantage. Chapter 15: Competitive Advantage Sources and Life Cycle of SCA. PART IV. LINKS TO COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE ELEMENTS. Chapter 16: Decision-Making Effects on Competitive Advantage. Chapter 17: Inter-Competitive Advantage Element Interactions. Chapter 18: Strategy Links With Competitive Advantage Elements. Chapter 19: Multiplicity of Competitive Advantage Effects. PART V. WHERE TO FROM HERE. Chapter 20: Current Reality of Business Ethics. Chapter 21: Is There a Need for Ethics Compliance? Chapter 22: Common Business Scandal and Lessons Learned. Chapter 23: Summary and Conclusions. APPENDIX A – Costs of Ethics Compliance and Non-Compliance. APPENDIX B – Proposed Method for Quantitative Assessment
Biography
John E. Triantis is a retired business consulting economist, business strategist, and former project financing director with a passion for business competitive advantage. He has a track record of introducing effective processes and practices to assess and develop successful, value creating projects. He is an experienced new business development project leader and a trusted advisor in large investment, international infrastructure financing, and organizational restructuring projects. His passion is to help companies seeking or maintaining competitive advantage by minimizing decision uncertainty risk. His approach involves integrating sound processes, best business practices, analytics and evaluations with sound strategic planning, business development, and financial principles. He has authored numerous position papers and published the books Creating Successful Acquisition and Joint Venture Projects: A Process and Team Approach; Navigating Strategic Decisions: The Power of Sound Analysis and Forecasting; and Project Finance for Business Development; Navigating Project Selection and Execution for Competitive Advantage: A Guide to Evaluating Prospective Projects at the Idea Stage. He has also published several articles in professional domestic and international journals and books. John holds a Ph.D. in macroeconomics and international economics and a master’s degree in statistics and econometrics from the University of New Hampshire. His bachelor’s degree is in economics and mathematics from Fairleigh Dickinson University. John is a US Army veteran who served during the Vietnam conflict.
“This book offers a comprehensive and compelling perspective on how ethics drives moral excellence and a competitive edge in the corporate world. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone seeking to navigate the complex intersection of ethics and business. The deep dive into this topic will undoubtedly inspire thoughtful discussion, promote responsible leadership, and empower organizations to consider alternatives to uphold ethical standards.”
Melissa Bruh, Chief Commercial Officer, RTI Cables
“This book is an agent of mindset change concerning business ethics. It is a comprehensive, balanced treatment that readers will benefit from the practical view of ethics and business regulation. Based on his own and other industry expert experiences, the author created a framework to understand how ethics influences decisions and helps reach and maintain a market leadership position. It is highly recommended.”
Jake Hill - former consumer product industry consultant
“John Triantis' book on ethics fills a gap by providing a summary of how ethics affects business decisions and performance. Its relevance today cannot be overstated given the abrupt changes in cultural norms, the emergence of ESG scoring in the financial industry, and government regulation to control business behavior. I highly recommend this book for anyone beginning their career and others who have been in the workforce for years.”
Jeff Morrison - former Director of Research for TransUnion
“It is not very often that a book addresses key issues in business focusing on Trust, Truth, Integrity and Value but Dr. Triantis has managed to do that in a balanced and appropriate manner. The coverage of business ethics is extensive, clear, consistent, readable and applicable to many businesses. The book should be read and internalized by executives.”
D. H. Stamatis, PhD. CQE, CMfgE, CMSSBB
