Question

Following the class, students will write a brief entry in the Weekly Readings Review section under Discussions in Collaborate briefly identifying the key concepts that week’s readings.
As the theory component of this subject is heavily weighted to the first 7 weeks, students are expected to keep up-to-date with reading the literature. This assessment is designed to encourage students to engage in critical reading and analysis of the material to be able to contribute to class and group-based discussions and activities

Answer

Reading Review 4

Name of Student:

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The chapter discusses the moral dilemmas that human-environmental relationships pose for business. It analyzes both the problem of pollution and the various ethical issues arising from the ongoing overexploitation of natural resources as well as the way humans treat animals. The main concern of the chapter is to identify the responsibilities of business as far as efforts to address the problems of resource depletion, environmental degradation, and abuse of animals are concerned.

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The paper begins with a highlight of the various ways in which ecological degradation occurs; these ways include agriculture, water pollution, air pollution, climate change due to atmospheric pollution, and nuclear wastes. The chapter’s preoccupation with aspects of ecological degradation provides a connection with business aspects. In all the chapter’s sections, Shaw (2005) makes explicit mention of the relationship between business and ecological degradation, and specifically business responsibilities as well as ethical issues that business operators should address.

Based on this discussion, it is not in doubt that business has a responsibility in addressing the issue of environmental exploitation and resource depletion. Most wastes are produced by business in the process of producing goods and services. Thus, it is the moral duty of businesses to address the environmental problems that arise from that process (Shaw, 2005). The chapter also highlights the unfortunate phenomenon characterized by the business attitude of viewing the natural world as the provider of free, unlimited goods, thereby encouraging resource depletion.

On the issue of moral problems, the chapter stresses that every individual has a right to an environment that is livable. This means that business owners and individuals who abuse the environment to the extent of making it unlivable are behaving in an unethical manner. To address this ethical issue, businesses should promote environmental protection as an issue of collective interest to humankind (Shaw, 2005).

The other crucial issues the chapter examines include costs of protecting the environment, the issue of determining who should pay those costs, approaches to the pursuit of environmental goals, and the deeper question of environmental ethics. The three approaches for promoting environmental goals that the chapter addresses include pricing mechanisms, incentives, and regulations. In conclusion, the chapter uses a straightforward approach to demonstrate that business operators are to blame for environmental degradation and resource depletion.

References

Shaw, W. (2005). Business Ethics, Fifth Edition. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.