Introduction

This introductory chapter sets out the book’s main argument: there are different and dissenting moral interpretations of business cases. The underlying theme of this book is examining the connections between moral philosophy and business practice. Recognizing these connections is stimulating, especially considering the gap between the habitual perception of management as raising mainly technical and legal challenges and the concrete moral dilemmas managers have to face. As business practitioners and students, or just as citizens, we may want to take such moral disagreements seriously for at least three reasons. First, we need to understand that systematically referring to rules and laws might be an easy thing to do, but it does not always provide a foolproof solution for moral dilemmas. Laws themselves may be wrong, or sometimes to do the right thing we need to break the law. Second, we need to take the opportunity to step outside our comfort zone that we build by convincing ourselves that we are always doing the right thing. Engaging with disagreements on moral issues might show us that it is easier to persuade ourselves of what is right and what is wrong than it is to persuade someone else. Third, admitting that we disagree on moral grounds allows us to clarify and fine-tune our own arguments, especially if we do not find compelling reasons to change our own decisions or to make compromises with our opponents.