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Profits and Principles
Michael A. Santoro
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Description for Profits and Principles
Hardback. Num Pages: 256 pages, 13. BIC Classification: 1FPC; JPVH; KCL; KCP. Category: (P) Professional & Vocational; (UP) Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly; (UU) Undergraduate. Dimension: 229 x 152 x 19. Weight in Grams: 542.
After the Tiananmen Square massacre, a vigorous international debate erupted, not only about human rights in China, but also about the role of multinational firms. Should corporations do business in China at all? Should corporations take a stand on such issues? Revelations about serious and pervasive human rights violations in Chinese factories raised even more questions about the clash of profits and principles in China.
Michael Santoro investigates these and other dilemmas, exploring the democratic values firms impart to their employees and the values firms often compromise in pursuit of profits. His interviews with foreign business executives, Chinese employees of ... Read moreforeign firms, human rights advocates, and foreign consular officials provide a range of perspectives. His examination of business responsibility for human rights in China also serves as a unique framework for assessing the broader social trends—both positive and negative—arising from globalization.
Santoro discusses the implications of business activities for U.S. foreign policy and provides practical management advice for business executives operating in China and for those considering doing so. Surprisingly, he finds that President Clinton's program of "comprehensive engagement," which has drawn severe criticism, may in fact create a positive human rights "spin-off." Santoro's "fair-share" theory is a unique and thoughtful effort to draw the line between what moral principles do and do not require of businesses operating in China.
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Product Details
Publisher
Cornell University Press United States
Place of Publication
Ithaca, United States
Shipping Time
Usually ships in 7 to 11 working days
About Michael A. Santoro
Michael Santoro is Assistant Professor in the International Business and Business Environment Department, Rutgers Graduate School of Management. His articles on Asian business have appeared in the International Herald Tribune, the Asian Wall Street Journal, and the South China Morning Post.
Reviews for Profits and Principles
Santoro proposes a framework for understanding the extent and limits of corporate moral responsibility for human rights, focusing primarily on the case of U.S. business in China.... He constructs a fair-share theory of moral responsibility for human rights and applies the fair-share theory of human rights to the sweatshop problem and to the issue of corporate responsibility for government repression ... Read moreof political and religious dissidents.
Journal of Economic Literature
This book merits much credit for its even-handed, comprehensive approach. Santoro's theoretical investigation is matched and buttressed by his empirical analysis. While an urgent moral call, the book also considers what is and is not a realistic appeal. Finally, while focusing on MNCs, the author also delineates the larger moral web that connects all of human society—CEOs, workers, and consumers alike.
Donna E. Chung
Journal of East Asian Studies
Lines have been drawn in the sand, with choices reduced to stark either-ors: human rights or expanded commerce, worker protection or globalization. But to anyone looking for reasoned discussion instead of rhetorical posturing, Santoro's book is a fine place to start. His solidly grounded analysis deserves a wide audience.
Barry Gewen
New York Times Book Review
Santoro has made a first effort to address an intractable and increasingly salient cause of human rights violations in developing countries, including China—inhumane business practices—and on this account alone his work is to be appreciated.
Peter Harris
The China Journal
The book's common-sense, pragmatic tone serves well to open up a complex and important topic for several communities of readers—policy makers, business people, and the nongovenrmental organization community. Even if few settle for his conclusions, he will have helped by setting out some terms for future debate.
Andrew J. Nathan
Political Science Quarterly
This timely study, which combines rigorous economic analysis with sharp moral reasoning, spells out what can and cannot be expected.... As sensitive to the bottom line as he is to human rights, Santoro also has useful things to say about the issues that vex CEOs dealing with China.... He has produced a book of interest not just to the concerned citizen but also to those engaged in business in China or contemplating becoming involved there.
Lucien W. Pye
Foreign Affairs
What are the moral obligations of corporate executives with regard to human rights? Assuming that one can settle on a definition of human rights and agree that such obligations exist, then how can such obligations be balanced against executives' responsibility to corporate shareholders to maximize profits? Santoro has produced a provocative work in business ethics that attempts to answer, or at least provide the basis for an answer, to these questions.... The issues Santoro covers are of increasing importance in global economic policy arrangement, and deserve attention.
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