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Title: Common ground: An environmental ethic for Los Alamos National Laboratory

Conference ·
OSTI ID:5001860

Three predominant philosophies have characterized American business ethical thinking over the past several decades. The first phase is the ethics of self-interest'' which argues that maximizing self-interest coincidentally maximizes the common good. The second phase is legality ethics.'' Proponents argue that what is important is knowing the rules and following them scrupulously. The third phase might be called stake-holder ethics.'' A central tenant is that everyone affected by a decision has a moral hold on the decision maker. This paper will discuss one recent initiative of the Los Alamos National Laboratory to move beyond rules and regulations toward an environmental ethic that integrates the values of stakeholder ethics'' into the Laboratory's historical culture and value systems. These Common Ground Principles are described. 11 refs.

Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
W-7405-ENG-36
OSTI ID:
5001860
Report Number(s):
LA-UR-91-3111; CONF-9109274-2; ON: DE92002513
Resource Relation:
Conference: ECM 91 congress, Santa Fe, NM (United States), 18-20 Sep 1991
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English