Chapter 1: Introduction to

Business Ethics
Business is often described as the activity of producing goods and services to satisfy
human needs while earning profit. Yet business is never only about money, markets, and
management. Every business decision affects human beings: customers, employees, investors,
suppliers, communities, and sometimes even future generations. For this reason, ethics is not an
optional extra in business; it is a fundamental part of responsible decision-making.
Business ethics studies right and wrong in commercial life. It asks whether business
actions are fair, honest, responsible, and respectful of human welfare. It also asks whether
organizations should think only about profit or whether they owe duties to society as well. In
modern organizations, ethics has become increasingly important because firms operate in
complex environments shaped by globalization, competition, technology, legal regulation, social
expectations, and public scrutiny. A technically successful business can still fail morally if it
misleads customers, exploits labor, harms the environment, or ignores public safety. Ethical
failure can destroy trust, damage reputation, reduce employee commitment, and expose firms to
legal and financial consequences.
This chapter introduces the nature of business ethics, major ethical issues in business,
moral reasoning, and the concepts of moral responsibility and blame. It is intended to help
students understand not only what ethics means, but also why it matters in organizations and how
it can be applied in practical situations.
1.1 Morality and Ethics
The terms morality and ethics are closely related, but they are not exactly the same. Morality
refers to the beliefs, values, norms, and standards that guide human behavior in distinguishing
right from wrong. It is the set of principles by which individuals or societies judge conduct.
People learn morality through family, religion, culture, education, and life experience. Moral
beliefs shape everyday judgments such as whether lying is wrong, whether promises should be
kept, and whether people should be treated fairly.
 Ethics, by contrast, is the systematic study and critical examination of morality. If
morality tells us what people believe to be right or wrong, ethics asks why those beliefs should
be accepted, challenged, or refined. Ethics, therefore, goes beyond personal opinion. It involves
reflection, reasoning, analysis, and justification. Ethics asks questions such as: What makes an
action right? Is it enough to obey the law? Do intentions matter more than consequences? Can an
action be legal but still unethical? In this sense, ethics is a disciplined way of thinking about
moral problems.
In business life, this distinction is important. Managers and employees often bring their
own personal morality to the workplace, but business ethics requires them to evaluate decisions
more systematically. For example, a manager may feel personally uncomfortable about
misleading advertising, but business ethics requires a broader analysis of truthfulness, consumer
rights, organizational duty, and social consequences. Thus, ethics gives structure and rigor to
moral concern.
1.2 The Nature of Business Ethics
Business ethics applies ethical principles to commercial institutions, corporate behavior,
professional roles, and decision-making processes. It deals with the moral dimensions of
business activity, including production, marketing, finance, management, employment,
governance, and social responsibility. Business ethics is concerned with both individual conduct
and organizational systems. It asks whether people act responsibly, but it also asks whether
companies create cultures, incentives, and structures that support ethical conduct.
The importance of business ethics becomes clear when we remember that businesses are
powerful institutions. A company may influence working conditions, consumer safety,
environmental quality, access to resources, and economic opportunity. Because business
organizations possess power, they also carry responsibility. A business cannot excuse harmful
behavior by saying that it exists only to make profit. Profit is necessary for survival, but ethical
conduct is necessary for legitimacy and trust.
Ethical organizations are more likely to build confidence among customers, employees,
investors, and the public. They are better able to attract talent, maintain good internal culture,
reduce misconduct, and sustain long-term relationships. Ethics also supports decision quality.
When organizations encourage fairness, honesty, accountability, and transparency, they make
fewer reckless decisions and are better prepared to manage risk.
1.3 Levels of Ethics
Ethics operates at several levels, and understanding these levels helps explain why
business decisions are often complex.
The first level is individual ethics. This concerns the personal values, character,
conscience, and choices of a particular person. An employee deciding whether to hide a mistake
or report it honestly is acting at the individual level. Personal integrity, honesty, courage, and
fairness all belong here.
The second level is professional ethics. This level concerns the duties associated with a
profession or role. Engineers, accountants, doctors, teachers, and lawyers are expected to follow
standards that reflect the special trust placed in them. For example, an engineer has a
professional obligation to prioritize safety, competence, and public welfare even if management
is focused on cost reduction.
The third level is organizational ethics. This concerns the values, policies, leadership style,
reward systems, and culture of a firm. Organizations influence conduct through codes of ethics,
compliance systems, performance targets, reporting channels, and management example. Even
good people may act badly in a corrupt system, while ordinary people may act responsibly in an
ethical organization.
The fourth level is societal or global ethics. At this level, businesses are evaluated in
relation to society, law, public good, environmental sustainability, and global justice.
Multinational firms often face ethical questions that extend beyond one country’s local norms,
such as child labor, pollution, sourcing practices, and treatment of workers in global supply
chains.
These levels are interconnected. A morally responsible organization depends on ethical
individuals, but ethical individuals also need supportive structures. Similarly, a company may
comply with local business habits yet still violate broader principles of human dignity and
fairness.
1.4 Why Organizations Need to Be Ethical
Some people assume that ethics is a luxury, while the real purpose of business is simply to
maximize profit. This view is too narrow. Organizations need ethics for practical, social, and
moral reasons.
 First, ethics builds trust. Customers buy from companies they believe are honest.
Employees commit themselves more fully to organizations they perceive as fair. Investors prefer
transparency and responsible governance. Without trust, long-term business relationships
weaken.
Second, ethics strengthens organizational culture. A workplace that rewards honesty,
respect, and accountability tends to improve morale and cooperation. Ethical leadership reduces
fear and confusion, encourages reporting of problems, and creates an environment where people
can raise concerns without retaliation.
Third, ethics helps reduce legal and reputational risk. A company that manipulates
financial records, ignores safety standards, or mistreats workers may face lawsuits, penalties,
public criticism, and loss of brand value. Ethical conduct therefore functions as a form of
preventive protection.
Fourth, ethics supports long-term sustainability. Businesses that focus only on short-term
gains may take harmful shortcuts. In contrast, businesses that consider the long-term interests of
stakeholders are more likely to survive and maintain legitimacy.
Finally, organizations need ethics because business decisions affect human welfare. A firm
may decide prices, wages, product quality, advertising content, or environmental practices. These
are not morally neutral choices. Because business power affects people’s lives, ethical
responsibility becomes unavoidable.
1.5 Objections to Business Ethics
Despite its importance, business ethics is sometimes criticized or dismissed. Several
common objections are often raised.
One objection is that the only purpose of business is profit. According to this view, ethical
concerns should not interfere with efficiency or shareholder return. However, this argument
ignores the fact that profit is earned within a social system that depends on trust, law, human
welfare, and public acceptance. A business that makes profit by deception, exploitation, or
unsafe practices cannot claim moral legitimacy simply because it is financially successful.
A second objection is that if an action is legal, it is ethical. This is mistaken because law
and ethics are not identical. Laws set minimum standards, while ethics often demand more.
Something may be legal yet still be unfair, dishonest, or irresponsible. For example, misleading
advertisements or exploitative labor contracts may satisfy formal legal rules in some contexts
while still violating ethical expectations.
A third objection is that ethics is personal, not organizational. This view assumes that only
individuals have morality, while corporations are merely economic machines. In reality,
organizations create policies, incentives, hierarchies, and cultures that shape behavior. Firms can
therefore support or undermine ethical conduct.
A fourth objection is that ethics makes firms less competitive. In the short term, unethical
shortcuts may sometimes appear profitable. But over time, organizations that neglect ethics often
suffer from internal misconduct, low trust, poor morale, regulatory trouble, and reputational loss.
Ethical conduct is therefore not necessarily opposed to competitiveness; in many cases, it is one
of its foundations.
1.6 Ethical Issues in Business
Business ethics becomes visible when real issues arise in organizational life. Ethical issues
in business include truthfulness in advertising, product safety, fair wages, workplace
discrimination, conflicts of interest, insider dealing, environmental harm, bribery, privacy,
confidentiality, corruption, misuse of power, and exploitation of vulnerable groups. These issues
remind us that business decisions always have a moral dimension.
Ethical issues are often difficult because business decisions involve competing interests. A
company may want to reduce costs, but cost reduction may affect product safety or employee
welfare. A marketing team may want to persuade consumers, but aggressive persuasion may slip
into manipulation. A manager may want loyalty from employees, but loyalty cannot justify
hiding wrongdoing. Ethical judgment is therefore needed when business goals come into tension
with fairness, honesty, safety, or social responsibility.
Many unethical business decisions do not begin with openly evil intentions. They begin
with small compromises, selective silence, or rationalizations such as “everyone does it,” “this is
how the industry works,” or “we will fix it later.” This is why ethical awareness is essential.
Problems often grow when people fail to recognize them early.
1.7 Technical Ethics and Business Ethics
A useful distinction can be made between technical ethics and business ethics. Technical
ethics concerns the responsible use of specialized knowledge, professional competence, and
safety standards. It is especially relevant in engineering, medicine, accounting, and scientific
professions. A technically ethical person performs duties carefully, accurately, and in accordance
with professional standards.
Business ethics, on the other hand, includes a broader set of concerns involving power,
fairness, policy, communication, responsibility, and stakeholder impact. It asks whether business
decisions are morally justified, even when they are technically efficient or economically
profitable.
This distinction is important because a decision may be technically sound but ethically
weak. For example, an engineer may design a product that meets minimum technical
specifications, but if management knows the design poses avoidable safety risks and still releases
it to market, the issue becomes a business ethics problem as well. Likewise, a company may use
legally valid contracts that are deeply unfair to weaker parties. Technical correctness alone does
not guarantee ethical adequacy.
1.8 Globalization and Business Ethics
Globalization has greatly expanded the scope of business ethics. Companies now operate
across borders, cultures, legal systems, and labor markets. This creates opportunities for growth,
but it also creates new ethical challenges. Multinational firms may source materials from one
country, manufacture in another, and sell in many others. In such arrangements, responsibility
can become diffused and oversight can weaken.
Globalization raises questions about wages, child labor, worker safety, environmental
standards, corruption, cultural norms, and human rights. A company may claim that it is merely
following local practice, but this defense is often insufficient when the practice itself is
exploitative or harmful. Ethical business requires more than adapting to the lowest standard
available. It requires consideration of universal concerns such as dignity, non-harm, fairness, and
accountability.
At the same time, globalization also increases transparency. Media, consumers, and civil
society can now expose misconduct more quickly. As a result, firms are under increasing
pressure to demonstrate responsibility throughout their supply chains, not only at headquarters.
Business and Ethical Relativism
One major issue in global business is ethical relativism, the idea that moral standards
differ across cultures and that no universal standard can be applied to all societies. Relativism
reminds us that customs and social expectations do vary. Gift-giving, negotiation styles, dress
codes, authority relations, and communication norms may differ from one culture to another.
However, ethical relativism becomes problematic when it is used to justify exploitation, abuse,
or injustice. If every local practice is treated as automatically acceptable, then harmful conduct
cannot be criticized. This would make it impossible to condemn forced labor, severe
discrimination, or dangerous working conditions wherever they are culturally tolerated.
A balanced approach is needed. Cultural sensitivity is important, but it should not
eliminate moral judgment. Businesses operating globally should respect local culture while
maintaining core principles such as honesty, safety, respect for persons, and avoidance of harm.
Ethical business requires sensitivity without moral surrender.

1.9 Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate Social Responsibility, or CSR, refers to the idea that businesses have obligations
beyond profit-making. CSR suggests that organizations should consider the social and
environmental effects of their actions and contribute positively to the communities in which they
operate.
The traditional view of CSR holds that the primary responsibility of business is to increase
profits for owners while obeying the law. According to this view, social welfare is mainly the
role of government and individuals, not corporations. Business should focus on efficiency,
productivity, and return on investment.
The contemporary view of CSR argues that modern firms have broader responsibilities.
Because businesses use social resources, affect communities, shape work conditions, and
influence the environment, they must also act as responsible social actors. This means
considering labor welfare, environmental impact, sustainability, fair treatment, and community
engagement.
The contemporary view does not necessarily reject profit. Rather, it argues that profit
should be pursued in a socially responsible way. In this sense, CSR is not anti-business; it is a
framework for aligning business success with social legitimacy and long-term value.
1.10 Shareholder and Stakeholder Approaches
A central debate in business ethics concerns the difference between the shareholder
approach and the stakeholder approach.
 The shareholder approach argues that managers are primarily responsible to the owners of
the firm. Their main duty is to maximize shareholder wealth within the limits of law and
contract. This approach emphasizes efficiency, property rights, and managerial accountability to
investors.
The stakeholder approach takes a broader view. It argues that businesses affect many
groups, not only shareholders, and therefore owe responsibilities to all those who have a stake in
the firm. These include employees, customers, suppliers, creditors, local communities, and
sometimes the environment. Under this approach, a good business decision is not judged only by
financial return but also by its impact on affected parties.
The stakeholder approach has become especially influential in discussions of
sustainability, labor standards, consumer protection, and corporate governance. It reflects the
idea that firms are social institutions as well as economic entities. A company that enriches
owners while exploiting workers or harming communities may succeed financially in the short
run but remain ethically deficient.
1.11 Leadership and Organizational Culture
Ethics in business is strongly shaped by leadership and organizational culture. Leaders
communicate what the organization truly values, often more clearly through actions than through
written policies. If top management speaks about ethics but rewards only results, employees will
learn that performance matters more than integrity. If leaders are transparent, fair, and willing to
accept accountability, a more ethical culture becomes possible.
Organizational culture includes shared assumptions, habits, norms, reward systems, and
expectations. Culture influences whether employees feel safe to report problems, whether
dishonesty is normalized, and whether ethical concerns are treated as important or inconvenient.
A strong ethical culture supports responsible conduct by making the right action easier and the
wrong action more difficult.
This is why ethics cannot be reduced to individual character alone. Even morally decent
people may remain silent in a culture of fear, pressure, and retaliation. Ethical leadership creates
voice, trust, and clarity. It encourages people to ask not only “Can we do this?” but also “Should
we do this?”
1.12 Firm’s Responsibility and Employee’s Obligation
The relationship between a firm and its employees contains duties on both sides. A firm’s
responsibility includes providing fair wages, safe working conditions, non-discriminatory
treatment, truthful communication, lawful operations, proper training, and systems that support
ethical conduct. Firms should also avoid creating incentives that pressure employees to cut
corners or conceal wrongdoing. An organization cannot demand integrity while rewarding
misconduct indirectly.
An employee’s obligation to the firm includes honesty, competence, confidentiality,
loyalty, diligence, and responsible use of company resources. Employees should perform their
duties faithfully and avoid conflicts of interest. However, employee loyalty is not absolute.
Workers are not morally required to obey unethical instructions, hide fraud, or participate in
harmful conduct. True loyalty does not mean blind obedience; it includes protecting the
legitimate interests and moral integrity of the organization.
This balance is important. Firms should not treat employees merely as instruments of
profit, and employees should not treat firms merely as sources of salary. Ethical business
requires mutual responsibility grounded in trust and fairness.
1.13 Moral Reasoning
Moral reasoning is the process by which people identify ethical issues, evaluate options,
and justify their decisions. In business, moral reasoning helps managers and employees move
beyond instinct, impulse, or mere convenience. Instead of asking only what is profitable or
permitted, moral reasoning asks what is right, fair, defensible, and responsible.
Good moral reasoning generally involves several steps. First, the decision-maker must
recognize that an ethical issue exists. This is not always easy, because many business problems
appear at first to be purely technical or financial. Second, relevant stakeholders must be
identified. Third, available alternatives must be examined. Fourth, each option should be
evaluated using ethical criteria such as consequences, rights, duties, fairness, and long-term
effects. Finally, the decision must be justified publicly and consistently.
Moral reasoning does not guarantee perfect answers, but it improves the quality of
decision-making. It forces individuals to reflect carefully rather than act mechanically or
selfishly. In organizations, moral reasoning also improves discussion because it makes ethical
disagreements clearer and more structured.
1.14 Moral Development and Kohlberg’s Theory
One influential explanation of moral growth is Kohlberg’s theory of moral development.
Kohlberg proposed that people tend to develop moral reasoning through stages grouped into
three broad levels: pre-conventional, conventional, and post-conventional.

At the pre-conventional level, a person makes decisions mainly based on punishment,

reward, or personal gain. Right action is defined by what avoids trouble or brings advantage. In a
business setting, an employee at this level might refuse to falsify records only because they fear
being caught.
At the conventional level, a person is guided by social approval, rules, duties, and law.
Right action means meeting expectations, maintaining order, and following accepted norms. An
employee at this level may reject dishonesty because company policy forbids it or because it
would damage professional reputation.
At the post-conventional level, a person reasons in terms of universal principles such as
justice, rights, dignity, and the common good. Here, right action is not judged only by rules or
approval but by whether it respects fundamental moral principles. An employee at this level may
resist a harmful order even if superiors approve it, because customer safety or human rights
matter more than obedience.
Kohlberg’s theory is useful in business ethics because it shows that not all ethical
judgments are equally mature. Some people obey rules out of fear, others out of conformity, and
others out of principle. Ethical education should therefore aim not only at compliance but at
deeper moral understanding.
1.15 Analyzing Moral Reasoning
When teaching business ethics, it is helpful to use a clear framework for analyzing moral
reasoning. One practical method involves asking the following questions:
What exactly is the ethical issue?
Who may be helped or harmed by this decision?
What alternatives are available?
Which option produces the least harm and the greatest fairness?
Which option respects rights and duties?
Could this decision be defended openly before others?
 This framework is valuable because ethical failure often begins when people skip one of
these questions. They may focus only on profit, only on authority, or only on short-term
convenience. By contrast, ethical analysis requires a broader view.
Consider a company that discovers a defect in one of its products. A purely financial
perspective may focus on recall costs. A moral reasoning approach would also consider customer
safety, honesty in disclosure, legal risk, employee responsibility, public trust, and long-term
consequences. This broader assessment leads to a more responsible decision.
1.16 Challenges in Ethical Decision-Making
Ethical decision-making in business is rarely simple. People face many pressures that make
good judgment difficult.
One major challenge is time pressure. Managers may be expected to make quick decisions
without complete information. In such conditions, ethical reflection may be neglected.
Another challenge is conflicting interests. A decision that benefits shareholders may
burden employees. A decision that protects jobs may reduce competitiveness. Ethical judgment
often requires balancing duties and consequences rather than choosing between pure good and
pure evil.
A third challenge is authority pressure. Employees may know that something is wrong but
remain silent because a superior has given the order. Fear of retaliation, loss of opportunity, or
social isolation can weaken moral courage.
A fourth challenge is organizational culture. When misconduct becomes normalized,
individuals begin to see it as ordinary. Repeated exposure to small wrongs can reduce ethical
sensitivity over time.
Finally, there is the challenge of self-deception. People often rationalize questionable
behavior by saying it is temporary, necessary, harmless, or common practice. Such
rationalizations allow unethical conduct to continue without open acknowledgment.
1.17 Moral Behavior and Its Impediments
Knowing what is right does not always lead to doing what is right. Moral behavior can be
blocked by several impediments.
One impediment is self-interest. Personal gain, promotion, reward, or fear of loss can
tempt individuals to compromise their values.
 Another impediment is obedience to authority. People may obey instructions from
superiors even when they believe those instructions are wrong. This is especially common in
rigid hierarchies.
A third impediment is group conformity. Individuals often hesitate to challenge the
majority, especially when dissent appears risky or unwelcome.
A fourth impediment is diffusion of responsibility. In large organizations, people may
believe that responsibility belongs to someone else. As a result, harmful decisions proceed
because no one feels personally accountable.
A fifth impediment is weak ethical infrastructure. If policies are vague, reporting
channels are absent, and leaders are inconsistent, moral action becomes more difficult. Good
intentions alone are not enough; organizations must also provide ethical support systems.
1.18 Moral Responsibility and Blame
Moral responsibility refers to the condition in which a person or organization can properly
be held answerable for an action or outcome. Blame is the negative moral judgment assigned
when a person or organization has acted wrongly, negligently, or irresponsibly.
Responsibility depends on factors such as knowledge, intention, freedom, role, and
contribution. A person who knowingly approves harmful conduct is more responsible than
someone who unknowingly participates. A senior manager with decision-making authority may
bear greater responsibility than a junior employee with little control. However, limited power
does not always remove responsibility entirely. Even lower-level individuals may still be morally
accountable if they knowingly cooperate in wrongdoing.
Blame should also be applied carefully. Not every bad outcome results from immoral
intent. Some failures arise from negligence, ignorance, poor systems, or lack of foresight. Still,
organizations and individuals remain responsible for preventing foreseeable harm. Ethical
maturity requires accepting accountability rather than shifting fault whenever problems occur.
Responsibility for Cooperating with Evil
A particularly important issue in business ethics is responsibility for cooperating with
evil. People sometimes assume that they are innocent if they did not directly commit the harmful
act. Yet moral responsibility can extend beyond the main actor. A person may contribute to
wrongdoing through silence, concealment, approval, facilitation, or passive cooperation.
 For example, if an employee knows that financial records are being manipulated and says
nothing, that silence may help sustain the wrongdoing. If a procurement officer knowingly
sources from an abusive supplier because it lowers cost, that too may count as cooperation. If a
manager pressures subordinates to remain quiet about safety concerns, responsibility becomes
even greater.
This topic is especially relevant in modern organizations because harmful outcomes are
often produced collectively. In cross-functional systems, engineering, finance, marketing,
operations, and leadership may each make separate decisions that together create an unethical
result. Therefore, business ethics must examine indirect participation as well as direct
misconduct.
1.19 Reasons for Unethical Behavior
Unethical behavior in organizations arises from many causes. It is often too simple to say
that people behave badly because they are bad people. Organizational behavior is influenced by
incentives, systems, pressure, and culture as well as personal character.
One common reason is pressure to achieve targets. Sales quotas, production goals, and
financial expectations may push employees toward dishonesty or concealment.
Another reason is personal ambition. Some individuals compromise ethics in pursuit of
promotion, status, money, or recognition.
A third reason is fear. Employees may remain silent because they fear punishment,
dismissal, exclusion, or loss of opportunity.
A fourth reason is ambiguity. If policies are unclear or leaders send mixed messages, people may
convince themselves that questionable conduct is acceptable.
A fifth reason is toxic culture. In organizations where misconduct is tolerated, rewarded,
or ignored, unethical behavior spreads more easily.
A sixth reason is weak internal control. Without monitoring, reporting systems, training,
and accountability, misconduct can continue undetected.
Understanding these causes is important because prevention requires more than moral
preaching. It requires institutional design, ethical leadership, and consistent enforcement.
1.20 Risk Management and Ethics
Risk management is not only a technical or financial matter; it is also an ethical one.
Ethical risk management involves identifying, assessing, and controlling risks that may lead to
harm, misconduct, or loss of trust. This includes product safety risks, compliance risks,
corruption risks, reputational risks, labor risks, environmental risks, and governance failures.
An ethical approach to risk management asks not only “What could damage the
company?” but also “Whom could the company damage?” This broader question is essential. A
narrow risk perspective may focus only on financial exposure, while an ethical perspective
includes stakeholder welfare.
Effective ethical risk management usually includes clear policies, regular training,
whistleblowing channels, fair investigation procedures, internal audits, transparent reporting, and
visible leadership commitment. These measures do not eliminate all wrongdoing, but they
significantly reduce the likelihood that ethical problems will grow unchecked.
1.21 Moral Responsibility of Cross-Functional Professionals
In many organizations, ethical problems do not belong to one department alone. They
emerge across functions. This means that cross-functional professionals carry moral
responsibility as well.
Engineers influence safety, reliability, and public welfare. Accountants influence
transparency and financial honesty. Human resource professionals influence fairness, inclusion,
and grievance handling. Marketers influence truthfulness and consumer respect. Supply chain
professionals influence labor conditions and sourcing ethics. Operations managers influence
safety, quality, and environmental impact. Senior executives shape incentives, tone, and
accountability.
Because modern business decisions are interconnected, no professional can claim that
ethics is someone else’s job. A product scandal, labor abuse, or environmental disaster often
results from a chain of small decisions made by different actors. Moral responsibility is therefore
distributed across the organization. Ethical professionalism means understanding how one’s
specialized role contributes to broader human consequences.
1.22 Concluding Perspective for Students
Business ethics is not a soft topic separate from real business. It is part of the foundation of
sound management, responsible leadership, and sustainable organizational success. Businesses
operate through human decisions, and human decisions always involve values. The central
ethical question is not whether business should pursue profit, but how profit should be pursued
and within what moral limits.
 An ethical organization does more than obey the law. It respects stakeholders, develops
responsible culture, encourages moral reasoning, manages risk honestly, and holds individuals
accountable for harmful conduct. At the same time, employees and professionals must recognize
that they cannot hide behind roles, procedures, or authority when faced with wrongdoing.
For students of business, engineering, and management, the study of business ethics is
therefore a study of character, judgment, responsibility, and institutional design. It asks not only
how organizations succeed, but how they deserve to succeed