'Deficient in Commercial Morality'? : Japan in Global Debates on Business Ethics in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries

Janet Hunter

ISBN 10: 1137586818 / ISBN 13: 9781137586810

Published by Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2016

About this Item

nach der Bestellung gedruckt Neuware - Printed after ordering - This enlightening text analyses the origins of Western complaints, prevalent in the late nineteenth century, that Japan was characterised at the time by exceptionally low standards of 'commercial morality', despite a major political and economic transformation. As Britain industrialised during the nineteenth century the issue of 'commercial morality' was increasingly debated. Concerns about standards of business ethics extended to other industrialising economies, such as the United States. Hunter examines the Japanese response to the charges levelled against Japan in this context, arguing that this was shaped by a pragmatic recognition that Japan had little choice but to adapt itself to Western expectations if it was to establish its position in the global economy. The controversy and criticisms, which were at least in part stimulated by fear of Japanese competition, are important in the history of thinking on business ethics, and are of relevance for today's industrialising economies as they attempt to establish themselves in international markets.

Seller Inventory # 9781137586810

Bibliographic Details

• Title: 'Deficient in Commercial Morality'? : Japan in Global Debates on Business Ethics in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan UK
• Publication Date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1137586818
• ISBN 13: 9781137586810
• Binding: Buch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 218W x 154H x 15D millimeters 218 millimeters width by 154 millimeters height by 15 millimeters depth
• Weight: 313 grams

About this title

Synopsis

This enlightening text analyses the origins of Western complaints, prevalent in the late nineteenth century, that Japan was characterised at the time by exceptionally low standards of 'commercial morality', despite a major political and economic transformation. As Britain industrialised during the nineteenth century the issue of 'commercial morality' was increasingly debated. Concerns about standards of business ethics extended to other industrialising economies, such as the United States. Hunter examines the Japanese response to the charges levelled against Japan in this context, arguing that this was shaped by a pragmatic recognition that Japan had little choice but to adapt itself to Western expectations if it was to establish its position in the global economy. The controversy and criticisms, which were at least in part stimulated by fear of Japanese competition, are important in the history of thinking on business ethics, and are of relevance for today's industrialising economies as they attempt to establish themselves in international markets.

About the Author

Janet Hunter is Saji Professor of Economic History at the London School of Economics, UK. She has published widely on the economic and social history of modern Japan, and is currently researching on concepts of ethical business practice in developing economies such as Japan, and the economic impact of the 1923 earthquake.