Ethics and Social Responsibility: Asian and Western Perspectives

This book is the result of the collaboration of seven faculty members of the School of Law, Singapore Management University (SMU), who have been teaching Ethics and Social Responsibility as a core course at SMU for many years.

Almost all the currently available books on the subject are of Western origin, with concepts and examples largely drawn from the West. They deal with some problems that are not relevant to Asian students and are based on laws that may not find counterparts in Asia. Conversely, some issues that are of concern in Asia are either not dealt with at all or not dealt with adequately. There is a pressing need to correct this imbalance since Asia is currently home to more than half of the world's population and hosts several economic powerhouse countries. This book, while drawing upon the scholarship of the West, attempts to bridge the gap and stimulate thinking on ethics and social responsibility issues in a global perspective that Asians can relate to.

The book incorporates a number of special pedagogical features: An outline of the learning objectives for each chapter, the use of open-ended questions to provoke further reflection and discussion, illustrations and case studies to highlight certain ethical concepts and their applications, and review questions in each chapter which help consolidate students' understanding of the topics.

Although conceived as a textbook for students taking the course Ethics and Social Responsibility at SMU, this book will be equally useful to students pursuing similar studies at other tertiary institutions and professional bodies, professionals in the fields of accounting, law and finance, as well as businessmen and members of the general public who wish to gain an insight into ethics and social responsibility.