Moral Degeneration in Contemporary Zimbabwean Business Practices , livre ebook

190

pages

English

Ebooks

2011

Écrit par
Munyaradzi Mawere

Publié par
Langaa RPCIG

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190

pages

English

Ebook

2011

Lire un extrait

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne En savoir plus

Publié par

Langaa RPCIG

Date de parution

20 septembre 2011

Nombre de lectures

EAN13

9789956726417

Langue

English

Poids de l'ouvrage

1 Mo

This is an engaged and extremely well-informed book on business and business ethics in a society with political and social-economic crises. As an engaging and engaged effort to bring a nexus between business ethics and business practices in any human society, the book invites the reader to partake in pressing debates on business ethics in times of crisis. The book provides a much needed interdisciplinary approach and marshals an extraordinary array of social and intellectual resources that positively inspire business people and business making. It is wholesome and systematic in its articulation of the political and social forces that shape and are shaped by business. Additionally, it gives the reader a guided tour into the fascinating creativity that shapes and characterises business culture in contemporary Zimbabwe.

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Publié par

Langaa RPCIG

Date de parution

20 septembre 2011

Nombre de lectures

EAN13

9789956726417

Langue

English

Poids de l'ouvrage

1 Mo

Moral Degeneration in Contemporary ZimbabweanBusiness Practices Moral Deg r tion in Contemporary Zimbabwean Business Practices

Munyaradzi Mawere

Moral Degeneration in Contemporary Zimbabwean Business Practices Munyaradzi MawereL a ng a a R esea rch & P u blishing CIG Mankon, Bamenda

Publisher: LangaaRPCIG Langaa Research & Publishing Common Initiative Group P.O. Box 902 Mankon Bamenda North West Region Cameroon Langaagrp@gmail.com www.langaa-rpcig.net Distributed in and outside N. America by African Books Collective orders@africanbookscollective.com www.africanbookcollective.com ISBN: 9956-726-97-4 ©Munyaradzi Mawere 2011

DISCLAIMER All views expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Langaa RPCIG.

Dedication To my wife, Annastacia and my beloved daughter, Panaxe I humbly and gratefully dedicate this book.

Table of Contents Preface………………………………………………….. v Introduction…………………………………………….. xi Chapter One……………………………………………1Business and Ethics: Conceptual Analysis…………….. 1 Historical Background of Ethics in Business………….. 1 The Philosophical Nature of Business………………….4 The Philosophical and Practical Nature of Ethics……... 7 Chapter Two…………………………………………... 15The Relationship between Business and Ethics………... 15 The General Understanding of Business Ethics……….. 15 The Logical Relationship of Business Ethics and Practical/General Ethics………………………………... 29 Business Ethics from an African Perspective………….. 32 Chapter Three…………………………………………. 39 The Nature of Business and Business Ethics in Zimbabwe………………………………………………. 39 Immoral Practices in Zimbabwean Business………….. 39 Immoral Business Practices by Zimbabwean Government and Parastatals………………………………………….. 45 Small – Large Scale Businesses in Zimbabwe…………. 51 Chapter Four………………………………………….. 59The Political and Socio-Economic Experiences of Zimbabwe since Independence, 1980…………………… 59 Zimbabwe’s Politics and Socio-economic Situation Between 1980 and 2000………………………………………….. 59 Zimbabwe’s Political Affairs and Business Sector Between 2000 and 2008………………………………………….. 69 Zimbabwe’s Business and Political Situations after the Government of National Unity (GNU) in February 2009…………………………………………………….. 97

iii

Four Lessons that Zimbabwe Learn from her Own Political and Economic Meltdown……………………………….. 102 Chapter Five……………………………………………121The Inextricable Relationship of Business and Ethics Revisited………………………………………………... 121 The Indispensability of Ethics in Consumerism……….. 121 Ethics and Production………………………………… 122 Ethics and Marketing…………………………………. 127 Ethics and Advertising…………………………………132 Ethics and Selling……………………………………... 137 Chapter Six……………………………………………. 145 Dispelling the Myth of Amoral Business from the Zimbabwean Business Landscape………………………. 145 Promoting Ethical Practices in Business………………..146 Separating Business from National Politics…………… 147 Teaching Business Ethics in Schools………………….. 151 Business Ethics Workshops: A Panacea to Revive Zimbabwe’s Business Ethical Culture?.............................. 158 The Compatibility of Business Ethics and the Principles of African Communalism…………………………………...161 Concluding Remarks: On Behalf of Business and Business Ethics……………………………………………………165

Preface This book generally focuses on contemporary business and the moral sphere therein. In particular, it explores the business-ethics relationship in a society characterized by unprecedented socio-economic and political crisis. While the book discuses business ethics in general and the myth of amoral business as commonly embraced by some businesses today the world-over, it adopts Zimbabwe as a case study. The choice of Zimbabwe as a case study is not by accident; it owes to the fact that Zimbabwe has been drastically ravaged by an unprecedented economic and political crisis since the turn of the new millennium. It should be remarked that the subject of business ethics has not only provoked concerted debate among academicians, proprietors, politicians and even members of the public in Zimbabwe alone, but in Africa as a whole and the world-over. The debate has been chiefly sparked by the upsurge in cases of scandalous, unethical business practices in the business landscape in the recent times the world-over. An event is a scandal “only if perceived by the public as an act of 1 wrongdoing” . Everyone whether inside or outside business, has been made curious to understand the causes of business scandals and other such business misconducts so as to forge ways to reduce or totally eradicate them from the business world. In the case of Zimbabwe, it is the socio-economic challenges faced by the country since the turn of the new millennium that has invited and incited serious debate on the subject of business ethics. Amidst such challenges,the myth of amoral business has fast gained root in the Zimbabwean business sector thereby aggravating the country’s crisis. It is in this light that the book explores the myth of amoral business and the concept of business ethics; to justify the necessity of integrating a culture of ethics in business even during a time of crisis, economic or otherwise.The

book thus notes that though the integration of business and ethics in the face of socio-economic and political challenges in Zimbabwe is riddled with numerous absurdities and controversies; cultivating an ethic culture is a necessary in business decision making by business people, if the country’s business sector is to gain a modicum of respect. In the attempt to harmonize business and ethics even in times of crises, a comparative analysis of the political and economic situations in the pre-Government of National Unity (pre-GNU) period from 1980 when Zimbabwe got its national independence from Britain, and the political and economic situations in the post-GNU period is made. The post-GNU period is the time after the Government of National Unity (GNU) between Zimbabwe’s political rivals: the two formations of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)- (MDC-T and MDC-M)- and Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU PF) was formed in February 2009. The book notes that there is a positive correlation between a political democracy and a liberalized economy that embraces and cherishes business ethical values, and success thereof. It further argues that the formation of the GNU, that has sought to democratize the political landscape and the market as well as minimizing the redolence of profiteering by some business people, has helped in arresting the endemic economic crisis that has troubled Zimbabwe since the turn of the new millennium. Initially, the concepts “business”, “ethics” and “business ethics” are critically analysed before the relationship between ethics, business and business ethics is pronounced as that of “usual bed fellows” and never “mortal enemies”. In this light, the book criticizes, dismantles and dispels the myth of amoral business practices and pronounces the indispensability of an ethical culture in the Zimbabwean business landscape as a necessity. This way, the interdependence and indispensability of business and ethics in Zimbabwe, Africa, and all societies characterized as war

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