Title: Rationality, morality and Joel Bakan's The Corporation

Authors: Michael Haynes

Addresses: University of Wolverhampton Business School, Telford Campus, Telford TF2 9NT, UK

Abstract: The business corporation is at the centre of the modern global economy but does it act in the general interest? This paper explores Joel Bakan|s film and book critique of the corporation which suggests that it is characterised by a |pathological pursuit of power and profit|. It seeks to extend Bakan|s argument by reconsidering the ethical position of those who run corporations; the question of how far competition constrains their actions; and the extent to which the modern state can control corporations or is itself subject to similar pressures.

Keywords: business corporations; corporate governance; corporate ethics; competition; state; rationality, morality; business governance; Joel Bakan; The Corporation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBGE.2007.011930

International Journal of Business Governance and Ethics, 2007 Vol.3 No.1, pp.1 - 18

Published online: 01 Jan 2007 *

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