Ethics in Social Networking and Business 1

Pierre MASSOTTE, Pr. HDr.Ing., has long worked for IBM in Quality then Advanced Technologies (AoT), then as scientific director in EMEA Manufacturing, to improve European Manufacturing plants and Development Laboratories competitivity. Lately, he joined "Ecole des Mines d'Alès" as Deputy Director within the Nîmes EMA Laboratory. His research and development topics are related to complexity, self-organization, and issues on business competitiveness and sustainability in global companies. He is the co-author of several books in production systems management. He is now involved, as senior consultant, in various 'inclusive society' projects.

• Foreword xiiiList of Acronyms xviiIntroduction xxiChapter 1 The Rotary: Organization and Motivations 11.1 The Rotary in a few words 11.2 Strategic plan: a vision 21.3 Organization of actions and projects in the Rotary 51.4 The Rotary leadership 71.5 Business ethics management: the four-way test 121.6 How to conduct efficient ethical debates? 121.6.1 Entertainment and ethics 131.6.2 Barcamps, think tanks and showcases for new ideas 131.7 Summary of the missions and roles of the Rotary 141.8 Importance of business and vocational ethics in the Rotary 151.9 Comment about empathy and ethics 16Chapter 2 Ethics: Some Definitions and Concepts 172.1 Ethics 172.2 Professional ethics 182.3 Moral values 192.4 Deontology 192.5 Ideology 202.6 Ethics: notions of right and wrong, good and evil 212.6.1 Introduction 212.6.2 What is good? 222.6.3 What is evil? 232.6.4 Good and evil: complex phenomena 252.6.5 Evil: culpability, responsibility and punishment 262.6.6 Interactions between the different concepts 282.6.7 Historical reminders 292.6.8 The quality of justice and truth: modeling approach 322.7 Practical ethics: the four-way test and The Rotary 342.7.1 Implementation of the four-way test by The Rotary 36Chapter 3 Why Ethics? Behavior Between Convictions and Responsibilities 373.1 Evolution: the role of antagonisms 373.2 At the beginning: problems of scientific ethics 383.3 Ethics: notions of responsibility and conviction 393.3.1 Ethics of responsibility 393.3.2 Ethics of conviction 413.3.3 Ethics: main consequences 443.4 Ethics and the social positioning of the people 453.5 Benevolent management 473.5.1 Introduction 473.5.2 What do employees require? 483.5.3 Some definitions 483.6 Understanding benevolent management 493.6.1 Methodology 493.6.2 Conclusions 50Chapter 4 Perception of Ethics in Life and Society 514.1 Introduction 514.2 Positioning of ethics in society and politics 514.3 Ethics and scientists (in a rational and reductionist world) 534.4 Cultural and social considerations related to the Internet 534.4.1 Loyalty, trust and devotion toward a profession or one’s employer 544.4.2 Problems of ambition and ideals in a company 544.4.3 Altruism and positive societal attitudes 564.4.4 Adaptation of the concept of ethics according to the economic context 574.4.5 Business Ethics: a preamble about some requirements 594.5 Design of Business Ethics: an overview of different concepts 594.5.1 Religion, confessional currents and schools of thought 604.5.2 The philosophers 604.5.3 Scientists and physicians 614.5.4 Administrative sectors: lawyers and social communities 624.5.5 Professional ethics framework 624.5.6 The concept of ethics in industry 644.6 Ethics in banking, finance and insurance 664.6.1 Ethical banking and greed 664.6.2 Offshore banking 684.6.3 Theory of diagonal proportion 694.6.4 The Lorenz curve 694.6.5 Ethics and welfare 71Chapter 5 Ethics and Media 755.1 Introduction: vocational ethics and intellectual integrity 755.2 Behaviors in public communication 765.2.1 The media 765.2.2 The press 775.3 What do we mean by “consistent information”? 775.3.1 Current applications in everyday life 785.3.2 Ethics and disinformation 805.3.3 Implementation of ethics in the media, press and communications 815.3.4 Is this situation leading into the sphere of professional ethics? Can this be avoided? 835.3.5 Courses and training on ethics in journalism 845.4 The general problem of information asymmetry 865.4.1 Introduction 865.4.2 Asymmetry in nature: is this a novelty? 865.4.3 Information asymmetry in call centers 885.4.4 General information on asymmetry: anti-globalization corporations 925.4.5 Asymmetry in communication and decision systems 935.4.6 Decision-making in an asymmetric world 965.4.7 Application of asymmetry in the development of manufacturing capabilities 98Chapter 6 Ethics: Childhood and Society 1016.1 Introduction: a loved but coveted being 1016.2 Specificities of youth-oriented marketing 1026.2.1 Some words about marketing strategy 1036.3 But, is there a problem of ethics and where? 1056.3.1 Children are vulnerable beings 1056.3.2 Advertising inculcates specific values to childhood 1056.3.3 A shared responsibility 1066.4 What are the solutions to make the influence of the media on children more ethical? 1066.4.1 The education of young consumers 1066.4.2 Laws and some regulation still exists 1076.5 Conclusion 108Chapter 7 Ethics and Economic Organizations 1117.1 Introduction 1117.2 Macroeconomics: the three pillars 1127.2.1 Strategy 1127.2.2 Tactics 1137.2.3 Operational management 1137.3 The ethical challenges of a company 1147.4 Elements of methodology 1157.4.1 A technical framework 1157.4.2 A global and periodic statement 1167.5 How to create an ethical environment 1167.6 Nanoeconomy: the role of the human being in an ethical environment 1177.7 The Rotary and the business: similar basic concepts 1197.8 Any leader in ethics has a strong impact on human beings’ behaviors 1217.9 Generalization: applying ethics to personal life 121Chapter 8 Business Ethics: Some Principles and Mechanisms 1238.1 Is business ethics useful for everybody? 1238.1.1 Utopic concept of professional ethics 1238.1.2 Is the professional ethics necessary, and how? 1258.2 Ethics is also a vocational skill 1268.2.1 Ethics as a free and individual choice 1268.2.2 The scientific aspect of ethics 1278.2.3 A limited domain 1278.3 The positioning of ethics versus common values and usual codes of conducts 1288.4 What are the development factors of ethical management? 1298.5 How to approach professional ethics 1308.5.1 Some words about ambivalences 1328.5.2 Ethics: an evolutionary concept 1328.5.3 Evolution of species, development of the society 1358.5.4 System evolution with regard to cultural and consciousness considerations 1378.5.5 How can we modify the challenges and activities? 1378.6 Professional ethics: toward an intelligence of weakness 1398.6.1 A societal crisis In terms of ethics, many changes have occurred 1408.6.2 The weaknesses and consequences of professional ethics 1418.7 Conclusion 143Chapter 9 Ethics in Enterprise: Towards Z-Management Coaching and Championship 1459.1 Introduction 1459.2 Ethics in enterprises 1469.3 General ethics: comments about the conventional approach 1489.4 New ways of management 1499.5 Generation Z: evolution theory 1519.5.1 Some recommendations 1529.6 How to implement business ethics in a Z-company 1539.6.1 Guidelines for ethical business practices 1539.6.2 Implementation 1549.6.3 Organization 1549.7 Responsibility of organization members, application principles 154Chapter 10 Ethics and Complexity 15710.1 Preamble: immersion in a world of complexity 15710.2 Introduction 15710.3 Different types of complexity where ethics is involved 15810.4 Network theory: complexity, ethics environment 16110.5 Modeling a complex world 16210.5.1 Ethics, determinism and reductionism 16510.6 Intrinsic complexity of ethics 16710.6.1 Reactivity and recognition 16810.6.2 Reasoning and logic 16910.6.3 A new capability: mathematical isomorphism 16910.7 Ethics: structure and complexity of our nervous system 17210.7.1 The brain: the central nervous system 17310.7.2 Abdominal brain: the enteric nervous system 17710.8 Application: ethics and synesthesia, a virtual phenomenon? 17910.9 A review of common characteristics of complex systems 18110.9.1 Emergence 18110.9.2 Sudden transitions/tipping-points/nonlinearity 18110.9.3 Limited predictability 18210.9.4 Large events 18210.9.5 Evolutionary dynamics 18210.9.6 Self-organization 18210.9.7 Fundamental uncertainty 18310.10 How to implement ethics in complex systems 18410.10.1 In complexity, the strategy is mainly related to the ethics of responsibility 18410.10.2 Where is our responsibility in a highly intricate information network? 18510.10.3 System analysis 18510.10.4 Elements of methodology 18510.11 Conclusion: interactions, ethics and mimicry 189Chapter 11 Dynamic Evolution of Life, Management and Ethics 19311.1 From complexity to life: general considerations 19311.2 Life survival: introduction and model transposition 19711.3 Speed of evolution and geometric growth 20011.4 Organizational consequences 20311.4.1 Discussing the situation in between the three areas 20511.4.2 Discussing the situation inside each of the three areas 20611.5 Evolution of life: impact on management decision systems 20711.6 How does the brain work? Are we exhaustively perceptive? 20811.7 Levels of consciousness in the brain: application to DSS 21011.8 Ethics: new ways of thinking 21711.8.1 When consciousness leads to ethics? 21711.8.2 Consciousness as an iterative feedback process going from one level to another 21811.9 Life and equilibria in ecosystems 22011.9.1 Life: why and how? Perpetrating the survival of an ecosystem 22111.10 Conclusion 223Chapter 12 Ethics: Deployment in the Rotary 22712.1 Ethics: founding principles 22712.2 The vocational actions of the Rotary 22912.3 Do BECC help in developing business ethics? 23312.3.1 Ethics: between an individual approach and formalism through BECC 23512.4 Vocational service: a difficult active concept? 23612.4.1 Application 23612.4.2 Ethics and complexity 23912.5 How to promote ethics in the workplace 23912.5.1 Where to apply 24012.6 Necessary collective action 242Chapter 13 Ethics in Society: Implementation Principles in Different Countries 24513.1 Ethics: more than a formalism, a competitive challenge 24613.2 Business ethics: a contribution to management and organizations 24713.2.1 The Holism 24913.2.2 Professional ethics: human resources management 25013.2.3 Management by values: advantages and limitations 25513.3 Ethics in the United States: the emergence of Business Ethics (BE) 25713.4 Ethics in Europe: a professional approach 26113.4.1 Ethics in France 26213.5 Ethics in Japan: a holistic approach 26713.5.1 Specific problems of ethics in Japanese society 26913.6 Ethics in Western industry: some examples and applications 26913.6.1 Veolia: implementation of a program on ethics 26913.6.2 IBM: Corporate Social Responsibility and Ethics 27113.7 Conclusion 273Conclusion 277Bibliography 281Index 289