ABSTRACT
This chapter proposes to develop a framework for ethical reasoning within Business Anthropology. It illustrates some challenges commonly encountered in the fieldwork. The chapter focuses on the heart of the matter, the challenges of ethical reasoning and moral agency in complex institutional environments. It also reviews several cases drawn from anthropological literature of ethical dilemmas in the business world, as an empirical foundation for the central argument: Moral development is a necessary part of institutional and professional development; codes are a useful but limited resource; and training in ethical reasoning comes not from memorizing codes but from working through difficult cases. A community of practice can provide ethnographers with trusted collaborators who can help him or her work through ethical difficulties. A Business Anthropology that embraces ethical commitments and communities of practice can be in the forefront of preserving Anthropology's mission in service of humanity.
