ABSTRACT
Often, academic work seems to be detached from everyday life, but sometimes it seems to reflect a genuine social concern. Since the early 1980s business ethics has grown in importance, and in that sense, has become fashionable. There has been a steady increase in press coverage, journals, conferences, consultancies and books that relate in various ways to business ethics. But is all this chatter about responsibility, codes of conduct or business communities just an upsurge that will dwindle soon enough? The common sense answer is that there has been an increasing perception of some kind of crisis of trust in business life, and perhaps in public life more generally. Cynicism, and some kynicism, is all around us nowadays. Collectively, we are finding it increasingly difficult to believe in politicians, religious leaders, journalists and artists. And if we can’t believe in those kind of people, then what chance do business organisations have?
