Abstract
The familiar issue of corporate social responsibility takes on a new topic. Added to the list of concerns from affirmative action and environmental integrity is their growing contributions to education. At first glance, the efforts may appear to be ordinary gestures of communal good will in terms of providing computers, sponsoring book covers, and interactive materials provided by Scholastic Magazine. A closer view reveals a targeted market of student life who are vulnerable to commercials placed in these formats. Among the most effective corporate intervention is Channel One News. It offers a newsworthy show but with mandatory commercial viewing. This increasing trend of corporations intervening to assist schools that need more money and/or equipment is disingenuous.
In this essay, I present the background of this commercialization of education and demonstrate the violations against student autonomy and integrity. Although there may be utilitarian merits to some interventions, I argue that these infringe upon the moral value of personhood. Advertising in schools in its current practice is immoral on deontological grounds.
I construct a framework for a resolution between corporations and education through a Covenant. This Covenant will provide the moral duty that corporations have to the autonomy of the student-learner. The agreement will sanction some assistance to schools but not without the consent of local educational constituents and principles of the Covenant.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arrington, R.: 1982, ‘Advertising and Behavior Control’, Journal of Business Ethics I, 1.
Bain, A.: 1859, The Emotions and the Will (John Parker and Son, London).
Bandura, A.: 1986, Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social-Cognitive Theory (Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ).
Bandura, A.: 1965, ‘Influence of Model's Reinforcement Contingencies on the Acquisition of Imitative Responses’, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1, 589–595.
Bandura, A., L. Reese and N. Adams: 1982, ‘Microanalysis of Action and Fear Arousal as a Function of Differential Levels of Perceived Self-Efficacy’, Personality and Social Theory 13, 173–199.
Baron, M.: 1984, ‘The Alleged Moral Repugnance of Acting from Duty’, Journal of Philosophy (April), 197–220.
Bayles, M. (ed.): 1968, Contemporary Utilitarianism (Doubleday, Garden City).
Beck, L. W.: 1960, A Commentary on Kant's Critique of Practical Reason (University of Chicago Press, Chicago).
Benn, S.: 1988, A Theory of Freedom (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge).
Bentham, J.: 1789, Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation (Hafner Press, Oxford, 1948).
Blanshard, B.: 1961, Reason and Goodness (George Allen and Unwin, London).
Blum, L.: 1988, ‘Gilligan and Kohlberg: Implications for Moral Theory’, Ethics 98, 472–491.
Brandt, R. B.: 1979, The Right and the Good (Oxford University Press, Oxford).
Carter, S.: 1996, Integrity (Basic Books: New York).
Chisholm, R. M.: 1964, Human Freedom and the Self (University of Kansas Press, Lawrence).
Christman, J. (ed.): 1989, The Inner Citadel: Essays on Individual Autonomy (Oxford University Press, New York).
Crittenden, J.: 1993, ‘The Social Nature of Autonomy’, The Review of Politics 55 (Winter), 35–65.
Crittenden, P.: 1990, Learning to be Moral: Philosophical Thoughts About Moral Development (Humanities Press International, New Jersey).
Daniels, N.: 1978, Reading Rawls: Critical Studies of a Theory of Justice (Basil Blackwell, Oxford).
Dunn, J.: 1987, ‘The Beginnings of Moral Understanding: Development in the Second Year’, in J. Kagan and S. Lamb (eds.), The Emergence of Morality in Young Children (Chicago University Press, Chicago).
Durham, T.: 1984, ‘Information, Persuasion, and Control in Moral Appraisal of Advertising Strategy’, Journal of Business Ethics III, 3.
Duska, R. and J. Whelan: 1975, Moral Development: A Guide to Piaget and Kohlberg (Paulist Press, New York).
Dworkin, G.: 1988, The Theory and Practice of Autonomy (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge).
Edwards, C.: 1987, ‘Culture and the Construction of Moral Values’, in J. Kagan and S. Lamb (eds.), The Emergence of Morality in Young Children (Chicago University Press, Chicago).
Eisenberg, N.: 1986, The Altruistic Emotion, Cognition and Behavior (Erlbaum, Mahwah, NJ).
Feinberg, J.: 1992, Freedom and Fulfillment: Philosophical Essays (Princeton University Press, Princeton).
Fleischacker, S.: 1992, Integrity and Moral Relativism (Brill, Leiden).
Frankfurt, H.: 1971, ‘Freedom of the Will and the Concept of a Person’, Philosophical Review 68(1).
Frey, R. G. (ed.): 1984, Utility and Rights (University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis).
Friedman, M.: 1962, Capitalism and Freedom (University of Chicago Press, Chicago).
Gaita, R.: 1981, ‘Integrity’, Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society Suppl 55, 161–176.
Gauthier, D.: 1986, Morals by Agreement (Oxford University Press, Oxford).
Gibbs: 1977, ‘Kohlberg's States of Moral Judgment: A Constructive Critique’, Harvard Educational Review 47, 42–61.
Glover, J. (ed.): 1990, Utilitarianism and its Critics (Macmillan, New York)
Goleman, D.: 1995, Emotional Intelligence (Bantam, New York).
Hayek, F.: 1976, The Mirage of Justice (Routledge and Kegan Paul, London).
Holt, R.: 1967, ‘On Freedom, Autonomy and the Redirection of Psychoanalytic Theory: A Rejoinder’, International Journal of Psychiatry 3, 524–536.
Hook, S. (ed.): 1958, Determinism and Freedom in the Age of Modern Science (Collier, New York).
Hospers, J.: 1971, Libertarianism (Nash, Los Angeles).
Johnson, O.: 1977, ‘Heteronomy and Autonomy: Rawls and Kant’, Midwest Studies in Philosophy 3, 277–279.
Kagan, J.: 1987, ‘Introduction’, in J. Kagan and S. Lamb (eds.), The Emergence of Morality in Young Children (Chicago University Press, Chicago).
Kane, R.: 1985, Free Will and Values (State University of New York Press, Albany).
Kant, I.: 1785, Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals, translated by L. W. Beck (Bobbs-Merrill, New York, 1959).
Kant, I.: 1788, Critique of Practical Reason, translated by L. Beck (Bobbs-Merrill, New York, 1956).
Kant, I.: 1775–1780, Lectures on Ethics, translated by L. Infield (Harper and Row, New York, 1963).
Kant, I.: 1797, The Metaphysical Principles of the Virtues, translated by J. Ellington (Bobbs-Merrill, New York, 1964).
Kerr, D.: 1984, Barriers to Integrity (Westview Press, Boulder).
Kohlberg, L.: 1981–1984, Essays on Moral Development. The Psychology of Moral Development, 2 vols. (Harper and Row, New York).
Kukathas, C. and P. Pettit.: 1990, A Theory of Justice and its Critics (Stanford University Press, Stanford).
Kurines, W. and E. B. Grief: 1974, ‘The Development of Moral Thought’, Psychological Bulletin 81, 453–470.
Langford, P.: 1995, Approach to the Development of Moral Reasoning (Erlbaum, Mahwah, NJ).
Larmore, C.: 1987, Patterns of Moral Complexity (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge).
Lyons, D.: 1965, Forms and Limits of Utilitarianism (Clarendon Press, Oxford).
Melden, A. I.: 1961, Free Action (Routledge and Kegan Paul, New York).
Mill, J. S.: 1861, Utilitarianism (Bobbs-Merrill, New York, 1957).
Nell, O.: 1975, Acting on Principle. An Essay on Kantian Ethics (Columbia University Press, New York).
Ross, W. D.: 1954, Kant's Ethical Theory (Oxford University Press, Oxford).
Santilli, D.: 1983, ‘The Informative and Persuasive Functions of Advertising: A Moral Appraisal’, Journal of Business Ethics II, 2.
Shapiro, D.: 1981, Autonomy and Rigid Character (Basic, New York).
Shweder, R. et al.: 1987, ‘Culture and Moral Development’, in J. Kagan and S. Lamb (eds.), The Emergence of Morality in Young Children (Basic Books, New York).
Swanton, C.: 1992, Freedom: A Coherence Theory (Hackett Publishing, Indianapolis).
Wilson, G.: 1982, Free Will (Oxford University Press, Oxford).
Young, R.: 1986, Personal Autonomy: Beyond Negative and Positive Liberty (St. Martin's Press, New York).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Abbarno, G.J.M. Huckstering in the Classroom: Limits to Corporate Social Responsibility. Journal of Business Ethics 32, 179–189 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010627500567
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010627500567