Kimakowitz, Ernst von2019-09-252019-09-252014-01-06http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12424/199079When one looks at the role the private sector has been assigned to play in society, one finds definitions like: to supply goods and services that people want and/or need. Or to generate employment opportunities and, thereby, sustainable livelihoods within an economy. Or to be a source of innovation and a center providing creative solutions to existing challenges. This list could go on for much longer, but, where is the argument that defines the role of business in society as an instrument to maximize the monetary return on investment for businesses‘ financiers – whether they are shareholders or other forms of ownership? When one looks at the reality of many businesses, though, it seems that this is exactly what businesses are doing: they try to ‗make money‘ rather than ‗make goods and services,‘ thus turning the underlying rationality about the role of business in society on its head. It is not a case of a business serving the interest of society and, consequently, those people who chip in their money must get a decent return to reward them for the risks they have taken. Instead, most businesses strive to maximize the return for their financiers and they therefore need to offer goods and services for which they can generate demand.Pages: 32engWith permission of the license/copyright holdercorporate responsibilitygolden rulebusiness ethicsGlobal ethicsPolitical ethicsEconomic ethicsBusiness ethicsEthics of economic systemsMethods of ethicsPhilosophical ethicsEnvironmental ethicsEthics of global commonsGeneral theology/otherPreprint