Griffin\'s Viewpoint Is Unclear. Tasioulas (2010) Summarized

¶ … Griffin's viewpoint is unclear. Tasioulas (2010) summarized Griffin's work, stating, "the upshot is that we are left in the dark as to why Griffin believes human rights properly quality as moral rights" (p. 651).

Ethical business leadership is not just good for corporations, but for everyone. According to Thompson, Thach & Morelli (2010), "society benefits when a business upholds high standards and society suffers when low standards are upheld" (p. 111).

The values of the Dow Chemical Company are at the core of its ethical behavior, and they can be seen in the way the company does business. As stated by Dow Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Andrew N. Liveris, "intentions are of course important, but we in business -- as in any other walk of life -- must be judged by our actions" (p. 35).

Business in the twenty-first century allows for greater transparency and flexibility, but with those come risks. As Paliwal (2006) points out, "it has become very crucial to look at how the new economy had brought greater complexity to the business environment changing the ethical dimension and raising new ethical issues" (p. 12).

5) There are issues beyond the scope of hospital ethics committees. As Hall (2000) points out, "hospital ethics committees are not really prepared to address questions of marketing, strategic planning, billing, employee relations, diversity programs, charity care, and the like" (p. 6).

Paraphrase:

1) "Does it really matter that Griffin provides no adequate account of why human rights are moral rights? Let me begin by suggesting two ways in which it does: (1) it renders his response to political theories of human rights incomplete, since many proponents of the latter take seriously the idea that human rights need to be distinguished from within the general class of moral rights, and (2) it lends an air of arbitrariness to his judgments about the scope of human rights morality, and its relation to justice and fairness, since they reflect undefended assumptions about moral rights in general."

Paraphrase: Tasioulas believes that Griffin has not adequately supported his argument on why human rights are also moral rights. Tasioulas points out that proponents of political theories of human rights make a distinction with respect to moral rights. Moreover, Tasioulas argues, Griffin's failure to build a strong enough case leaves too much to interpretation with respect to moral and human rights as related to fairness and justice.

2) "Benefits from the effects of ethical leaders come in a variety of forms, both direct and indirect. An ethical corporation that successfully integrates community concerns through its leaders' actions will enhance economic and social performance (Berenbeim, 2006)" (p. 115).

Paraphrase: Ethical leadership provides both direct and indirect benefits. When a corporation acts ethically, integrating community concerns with the actions it takes, social and economic performance is improved.

3) "Saying you believe in ethical behavior and actually acting ethically are two different things. You only have to look back at the past decade -- at the accounting scandals, the deception, the criminal convictions, the eroded trust -- to know that the business community still has a long way to go" (Liveris, 2011, p. 36).

Paraphrase: The Dow Chemical Company's Chairman and CEO points out that a belief in ethical behavior does not necessarily translate into action. Citing the incidence of scandals, deception and criminal convictions over the past decade, the CEO said that the business community will have to work hard to regain the public's trust.

4) "The growing integration of economics and societies around the world has been one of the most hotly debated topics in international economies over the past few years. Many forces are driving globalization -- communication, improved infrastructure, technology, regulation, free trade and free movement of people. Rapid growth and poverty reduction in India, China and other countries that were poor 20 years ago, has been positive aspect of globalization. On the other hand, globalization has also generated significant international opposition over concerns that it has increased inequality and environmental degradation" (Paliwal, 2006, p. 13).

Paraphrase: Globalization has been both positive and detrimental to world economics. Better communication, more technology, improved infrastructure, new regulations, free trade and the ability of people to move freely have helped reduce poverty in countries like India and China over the last two decades. Many believe that globalization has also contributed to the degradation of the environment and inequalities among peoples.