In a field dominated by books that focus exclusively on the perspective of business in large corporations or that assume that business has a moral deficiency in need of reform, Al Gini and Alexei Marcoux offers students and business people alike a concise guide to what everyone ought to do when doing business. Where other books are organized topically, Gini and Marcoux look at the moral features of business that recur across topical areas, stressing the considerations that bear on business people whether they be corporate functionaries, principals in family businesses, or solo entrepreneurs who do it all, end to end. They present to students the essential concepts, ideas, and issues involved in ethics in business and emphasize the individual acting person and what it means to have character and integrity when doing business.

"This concise introduction to applied business ethics is refreshingly unlike most business ethics textbooks. While others focus primarily on negative examples of moral failure at the C-level (Enron) or blockbuster financial disasters (Bernie Madoff), Gini and Marcoux (both, Loyola Univ. Chicago) speak to the common activities of ordinary businesspeople. Their work addresses the question of what it means to be a person of character and integrity while engaged in entrepreneurial activity: buying, selling, and interacting with others. Traditional ethical philosophies (Mills's utilitarianism, Kant's duty-based and Aristotle's virtue-based ethics) are presented in a practical, nontechnical manner. The essential components of business activities are evaluated in discussions on the ethics of trust, truth, competition, loyalty, leadership, and the global marketplace. The excellent chapter titled "Work-Life Balance" raises the philosophical question of what our work is doing to us. "Even though work gives us our identity, and even if we love our jobs ... we also need an antidote to work in order to work well," it suggests. Extensive quotes and examples add clarity. Useful as primary or supplemental reading for business ethics courses. Summing Up: Recommended." - CHOICE

"The Ethics of Business, by Al Gini and Alexei Marcoux (hereafter, Gini/Marcoux), is . . . spirited and insightful." - Reason Papers