This note explains managing for stakeholders, an emerging view that, basically, businesses and the executives who manage them actually do and should create value for customers, suppliers, employees, communities, and financiers (or shareholders)--which contrasts with the dominant idea that businesses are to be managed solely for the benefit of shareholders. The note examines why the dominant model is no longer viable in today's business world and then goes on to define the basic ideas of managing for stakeholders (and why it solves some of the problems of the dominant model) and to sketch three primary arguments from ethical theory for adopting managing for stakeholders.

This case picks up after the end of "ExxonMobil and the Chad-Cameroon Pipeline (A)" (UVA-E-0262), presenting additional facts, advancing in the story, and setting up a new and challenging decision to be made about the project.

This case presents the dilemma of a multinational oil and gas company, ExxonMobil, as it factors in the ethics issues related to the environment and cultural differences in deciding whether to proceed with building a pipeline in Chad and Cameroon, two of the poorest and most corrupt developing countries in West Africa. The many players in this project included the World Bank, which cofinanced the project and put restrictions into place that would hopefully prevent government corruption in both Chad and Cameroon and many environmental and human rights groups that warned of potential disaster. The case also covers the environmental and social analysis of the areas that would be affected by the pipeline.

Although more consumers are answering questions about where they purchased merchandise in the United States with "I got it at Wal-Mart," the retail behemoth has questions it needs answered about the current, international issues it faces. Where, when, and how can it use its capabilities in other countries? And how can capabilities and knowledge developed in one part of the globe be used in North America, South America, Asia, and Europe to repeat its success? The case provides a strategic analysis of the problems of international expansion as Wal-Mart dreams of hearing the I-got-it-at-Wal-Mart answer spoken in many languages.

This brief note explains the concept of virtue as it appears in the literature on business ethics. It examines the relationships among virtue, character, and right action.