Ethics & Consciousness in Organizations: A Conceptual Hierarchical Model Cover Image

Ethics & Consciousness in Organizations: A Conceptual Hierarchical Model
Ethics & Consciousness in Organizations: A Conceptual Hierarchical Model

Author(s): Hershey H. Friedman, Kenneth A. Globerman
Subject(s): Business Economy / Management, Business Ethics
Published by: Center for Socio-Economic Studies and Multiculturalism
Keywords: business ethics; levels of ethics; social responsibility of business; reporting ratio; conscious capitalism;

Summary/Abstract: The authors posit that one should not take a binary approach to business ethics because there are gradations. They propose that firms may be classified according to the following metric: Level I: The Totally Unethical Organization; Level II: The Legalistic Unethical Organization; Level III: The Superficially Ethical Organization; Level IV: The Ethical Organization; and Level V: The Fully Conscious Ethical Organization. Firms at the lowest level of ethics are only concerned about profits and not getting caught. Firms at the highest level are advocates of conscious capitalism. Conscious business leaders aim to use capitalism to "elevate humanity" by serving all stakeholders and making the world a better place.

  • Issue Year: 4/2021
  • Issue No: 3
  • Page Range: 5-15
  • Page Count: 11
  • Language: English
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