Hypernorms

Hypernorms are a concept from Business ethics that applies to principles so fundamental that, by definition, they serve to evaluate lower-order norms, reaching to the root of what is ethical for humanity.'principles so fundamental that they constitute norms by which all others are to be judged. Hypernorms are discernible in a convergence of religious, political and philosophical thought. An 'authentic norm' is one that is generated within a community's moral free space and which satisfies the requirements of terms 1 and 2 of the macrosocial contract. Authentic norms are based upon the attitudes and behaviors of the members of their source communities. A 'legitimate norm' is an authentic norm that is compatible with hypernorms.' Hypernorms are a concept from Business ethics that applies to principles so fundamental that, by definition, they serve to evaluate lower-order norms, reaching to the root of what is ethical for humanity. They were first proposed Thomas Donaldson and Thomas W. Dunfee as part of an integrative social contract model of business ethics.Donaldson and Dunfee have described hypernorms as: