This groundbreaking new book by business scholar William C. Frederick presents an innovative, exciting - even revolutionary - view of corporate management and the challenges it confronts in today's world. The author proposes a management paradigm shift transforming the way corporations do business. Management scholarship and research may well be rechanneled from current orientations to new models, concepts, and theories of what it takes to manage corporations in a planetary world confronting climate change, energy crises, and securing the well-being of all global citizens. Natural Corporate Management (NCM) is an awareness and an acceptance by the managers of today's business corporations of the close functional linkage between natural forces and human economic choices. NCM is not a set of techniques or methods but is a growing consciousness by managers of the presence and influence of nature in all managerial decisions. The book's central theme is that business and nature are locked into an evolutionary partnership that defines all aspects of corporate management, including decisions, policy, goal-seeking, organizational design, workplace behavior, and productive operations. This partnership of Nature and Nurture yields economic, social, and ecological dividends for corporations, their stakeholders, and the global community. An "Evolutionary Cascade" depicts the various phases of evolutionary change - physical, organic, genetic, human, neurological, symbolic - beginning with the Big Bang origin of the Universe and continuing to modern times. These evolutionary events collectively influence the operational activities of all business firms. A "Natural Theory of the Firm" summarizes the NCM approach, as well as the mind-set of corporate managers, and the bio-socio-economic consequences of their decisions. This theoretically-innovative book proposes an agenda of corporate actions to promote long-term sustainability and economic well-being of business, its stakeholders, and planetary citizens everywhere. It will be essential reading for managers and researchers at all levels who wish to engage seriously with the challenges of organic life and its long-term sustainability.

This book is comprised of essays and research reports for the search for well-founded knowledge that can undergird the collective understanding of ethics and values in the business world. After surveying the research activities of business ethics scholars in this collection of papers, some progress has been made to provide perspective and guidance for the work of professional corporate managers, fresh insights that may lead to new theoretical breakthroughs and an empirical, experience-based foundation of knowledge to guide those who teach present and future corporate leaders. Thereby this book also offers guidance to researchers who intend to take the field of ethical issues in business forward using empirical methods.

This book attempts to bridge the gap between those who think businesses are overregulated and unnecessarily constrained and those who believe businesses are in need of constraint. Frederick explores issues facing managers and ways in which his book differs from conventional business ethics books.