Chapter 1 The Foundation of Ethical Thought The purpose of this chapter is to give the students a broad overview of the theoretical foundation that supports ethical decision-making. It is from this theoretical grounding that the students can understand how their decisions related to ethical issues can impact not only themselves but others as well. In addition, this chapter introduces the structure of the textbook which allows the instructor to also explain his or her structure for the class. Key Learning Points There are a number of key learning points which can be accomplished when this chapter is presented to your students. These learning points include: 1. The chapter introduces the student to the concepts of ethics and business ethics. 2. Ethics is a complex concept to describe. Different philosophies have used different theories in order to help explain and guide ethical behavior. 3. Although some of the theories presented in this chapter were developed over two thousand years ago, they are appropriate and applicable to today‟s business environment. 4. This chapter demonstrates that the eight underlying principles presented in the Global Business Standards Codex are interrelated with each other as well as with the major philosophical theories related to ethics. 5. “Panera Cares Community cafes: A Loaf in Every Arm” demonstrates how one company can address the needs of many stakeholders. 6. Sir Nicholas Winton: A True Humanitarian demonstrates that one person can have an impact on many others by doing “the right thing” even at great personal risk. Panera Cares Community Cafes: A Loaf in Every Arm The opening vignette highlights how one company, Panera Bread, has developed an outreach program of providing food for which the customers will pay only what they can. If the customer does not have any money, they can donate 1 hour of volunteer work in exchange for the meal. An interesting fact is that 60 percent of the customers pay the retail value, 20 percent pay below the retail value, and 20 percent pay above the retail value of the meal.