We live in an age of innovation, the growth of free markets, and a world economy. New technologies, roles for government, and players on the global scene offer challenging opportunities, demands, and constraints. More peoples and nations are working together to spread freedom and democratic principles; to nurture free markets; to protect individual property rights; and to encourage respect for human rights, the rule of law, and the environment.

With increasing urgency, market and social forces are rewriting the roles and responsibilities of business as well. Though the profit motive of business is understood and accepted, people do not accept it as an excuse for ignoring the basic norms, values, and standards of being a good citizen. Modern businesses are expected to be responsible stewards of community resources working toward the growth and success of both their companies and their communities.

Government has an important role in the spread of freedom and democratic capitalism. It provides for the essential market-oriented legal framework and reliable dispute resolution processes that allow businesses to compete fairly on the quality, prices, and delivery of their goods and services alone. It enforces laws, regulations, and judgments to safeguard the social order its citizens value. It cannot, however, act alone. Businesses and civil society must also be involved in solutions to community problems. They can help in the fight against the corruption that saps national resources. They must reform the unethical business practices that breed cynicism and distrust in communities.

Businesses are at the strategic center of a civil society, and they have a stake in their communities. They depend on free markets and good public governance for their growth and success, but they are also authors of their own destiny. Through responsible business conduct, they contribute to the essential social capital of trust and fairness that makes good governance and free markets possible.

Markets become free and remain free if their players are responsible and respect the basic values of honesty, reliability, fairness, and self-discipline. The alternatives to responsible business conduct are inefficient markets and costly government regulation. Free flows of capital, talent, knowledge, and creativity are possible where communities are known for transparency, respect for property, a market-oriented legal framework, and reliable dispute resolution mechanisms. The alternatives are a lack of capital, high transaction costs, limited markets, underdevelopment, and poverty.

In short, owners and managers must temper the competitive aspects of capitalism with concerned citizenship. They must take individual responsibility for the decisions and activities of their enterprises and their impact on the culture of their enterprise and its stakeholders. A business needs committed, productive employees, agents, and suppliers to create goods and services. It needs loyal, satisfied customers and consumers to make a profit. It needs people who believe in it and in its prospects enough to invest. It needs to take the long view and to respect the physical environment and the prospects of future generations.

Over the past few decades, governments, international institutions, transnational organizations, organized labor, and civil society have been engaged in an ongoing dialogue into the role of business as responsible stewards. Standards, procedures, and expectations for business are emerging worldwide. Enterprises and markets that are unaware of them, or fail to plan their futures with them in mind, will be unable to participate in the global dialogue and will risk being left behind as the global market economy expands.

Businesses around the world are designing and implementing business ethics programs to address the legal, ethical, social responsibility, and environmental issues they face. By addressing these issues in a systematic way, enterprises can improve their own business performance, expand opportunities for growth, and contribute to the development of social capital in their markets. They can realize specific business benefits, such as:

* Enhanced reputations and good will

* Reduced risks and costs

* Protection from their own employees and agents

* Stronger competitive positions

* Expanded access to capital, credit, and foreign investment

* Increased profits

* Sustained long-term growth

* International respect for enterprises and emerging markets

Enterprises that excel in these areas create a climate of excellence for their employees, shareholders, and communities, and contribute to the economic wellbeing of their countries.

No single volume can tell individual businesses what decisions and activities will foster and meet the reasonable expectations of their stakeholders. Each enterprise faces unique political, economic, social, and technological pressures. Moreover, each has a unique organizational culture that influences all that its members think, say, and do. However, a guide can demonstrate a process through which owners and managers can identify enterprise stakeholders; can foster reasonable stakeholder expectations; and can inspire, encourage, and support responsible business conduct.