Corporate governance? : an ethical evaluation of the Second King report in the light of Peter Ulrich's integrative economic ethics

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:This assignment is an ethical evaluation of the Second King Report on CorporateGovernance. I focus on the relationships between the shareowners, the managementand all stakeholders other than shareowners. The instrument used to assess the reportis the concept of Integrative Economic Ethics shaped by Peter Ulrich.The Second King Report argues that a company should meet besides its economicneeds as well as social and environmental objectives. Therefore, the company has totake responsibility for creating 'sustainable' value in all these three areas.Stakeholders have to be approached inclusively and pro-actively. These are newprimary business imperatives due to the increasing social power of companies.However, the report is based upon a one dimensional approach in which the economicbottom line is decisive, and social and environmental interests are only considered ifthey serve the sustainability of business success. Likewise the inclusive stakeholderapproach is a shortcoming, because stakeholder interests are not regarded aslegitimate claims within a moral discourse in which all those citizens partake that areaffected or involved by the company's activities. Not legitimacy but the stakeholders'relevance for the 'shareowner value' is the determining argument. Conflicting moralclaims are not solved by good reasons, but are decided on a priori in favour of thecompany's overriding goal, which is to make profit. Profit orientation of a company,however, is not an empirical 'fact' but a normative choice, which is for or againstspecific interest groups and as such has to be legitimised in a moral discourse. Sincethe report does not subordinate profit orientation under the primacy of ethics, itswhole corporate ethical concept is shaped by 'functionalism' even to the extent, that'ethics' itself is viewed as an economic 'factor'. Yet, this contradicts the controversialand un-objective nature of ethics. In conclusion the report's entire argument is basedupon pure strategic economic grounds and, thus, cannot be considered as ethical at all.Shifting the social and environmental corporate responsibility to the market system isbased upon unfounded belief in the 'metaphysics of the market'. This, however, doesnot lie in the enlightened self-interest of a corporate citizen, as the market is merelyruled by power and counter-power - which is only beneficial for those specificsocietal groups with the sufficient monetary power to stay competitive. On thecontrary, the equality of all citizens in a deliberative democracy must be safeguarded.The liberal idea of a just and well-ordered society implies the understanding of the company as a corporate citizen. As such its corporate ethics has to entail not onlysecuring a company's integrity through business principles, but also a socio-politicalco-responsibility which obliges the company to shape the framework of marketcompetition to enable life-conducive value creation. The general public of free andmature citizens is the locus where all claims, including corporate ones, have to bemorally justified.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University