Business Ethics in Globalized Financial Markets

Globalization extends the space of the things that are simultaneous for the human. This applies particularly to the decision-making in financial markets. The global market for capital is one of the main causes for globalization. How is this process of globalization to be judged from the point of view of business ethics? The paper investigates the ethical foundations of capital markets and of financial consulting. It analyzes the foundational theories of corporate governance in the Anglo-American and in the German context. Their difference can be described as external control by competition versus internal control by consensus. The paper gives merit to the different models of governance and to their origin in different conceptions of government. It argues for a twofold strategy: to strengthen the external control of firms by competing teams of management that are able to make an effective take-over threat and to implement elements of workers’ participation in corporate governance as long as increases the efficiency of management - provided that these elements maintain the control rights of the firm’s owners.