The Business Ethics Blog

Welcome to Day 2 of the Business Ethics Blog Blogaversary celebration. Yesterday – in true egocentric blogger form – I summarized what regular readers have learned about me over the last year. But enough about me: what about the blog? What topics have dominated this space over the last 12 months?

Retrospective Summary (Nov. 2005-Nov.2006):

16 entries on Wal-Mart
16 on Pharma
10 about Corporate Social Responsibility
9 about Enron
7 on charity/philanthropy
6 on biotech
5 on measuring and/or awards for ethics
4 on organic foods
4 on SUV’s & the swell folks who make ‘em
3 on the “Triple Bottom Line”
3 on Coca Cola
(if you’re curious, the complete list of all blog entries is here)

What does this list tell us? Well, probably not much. It tells us that Wal-Mart and Pharma are in the news a lot (but note that it takes the entire pharmaceutical industry to keep up with Wal-Mart in this regard!), and that I find both interesting.

OK, that list brings me to the second contest of the week (still 2 more to go after this). What issue isn’t on that list, but should be? More specifically, what is the most neglected business ethics issue you can name?
To be eligible, submissions should:
– name the issue
– explain why it’s important (in case it’s not obvious), and
– illustrate the neglect (“no Google news hits,” “no books on the topic,” “lack of media attention,” whatever)
Email me your submission. Best submission — as judged by me — wins the prize.
The prize again is a copy of John Roberts’ book, The Modern Firm, courtesy of Oxford University Press Canada. (FYI, the book isn’t about ethics, but I assign it in my Business Ethics course. Or, as I tell my students, it IS a book about ethics — really rich in normative content — it’s just that Roberts doesn’t happen to use the word ethics.)
The contest will stay open for 48 hours; I’ll judge entries & post the winner on Thursday.
[UPDATE: Several people have told me the contest deadline is too short. So, I’m going to keep the contest open until I have a critical mass of entries to sift through.]