Chapter 2

  1. Ethical Values
    • Legal regulation
    • Professional codes of ethics
    • Codes of ethics from business organizations
    • Individual values

    • NBES
    • National Business Ethics Survey
  2. Ethics and Society
    • Public Education and Family Structure
    • Economic Independence
    • News Media and the Internet
  3. Ethics and Government
    Business and industry have developed codes of ethics to self regulate within business organizations.
  4. The Nature of Ethics
    • The Wealth of Nation's written in 1700's by Adam Smith
    • What is it that makes us care about the fortune of others?
    • What is morality?
    • What are ethics?
    • How are morality and ethics similar?
    • How do ethics relate to law?
    • What are the major ethical systems?
    • How do these systems apply to business decision making?
  5. Ethics and Morality
    • Morality: is the collection of values that guide our behavior.
    • Ethics: A systematic statement of right and wrong together with a philosophical system that both justifies and necessitates rules of conduct.
    • the Good: in philosophy the moral goals and objectives that people choose to pursue.
  6. Ethics and Law
    Ethical values are ultimately superior to law in ensuring responsible business behavior. i.e. price gouging is considered unethical.
  7. Two Systems of Ethics
    Formalism & Consequentialism
  8. Formalism
    • Formalism: an approach to ethics that affirms an absolute morality. A duty-based view of ethics.
    • Duty: moral obligation not to lie. Duty not to lie, duty not to divulge confidences.
    • Categorical imperative: (Kant) you have a moral duty to ADT in the way you believe everyone should act.
    • Social contract theory:(Rawls) "veil of ignorance" means to think ethically you must lose the assumption that what you personally need or want is necessarily morally correct.
  9. Consequentialism
    • Consequentialism:  concerns itself with the moral consequences of actions rather than with the morality of the actions themselves.
    • Utilitarianism: judges actions by usefulness, by whether they serve to increase the common good. Does the end justify the means?
    • Protestant ethic: honesty and keeping promises.
  10. Sources of Values for Business Ethics
    • Legal regulation
    • Professional codes of ethics
    • Organizational codes of ethics
    • Individual values
  11. Legal Regulaation
    • Liberty and rights: rights and liberty of others
    • Good Faith: honesty in intent & honesty in fact
    • Due care: the common good, exercise due care, negligence.
    • Confidentiality: the legal requirement of honoring confidentiality appears in agency law generally and in the professional-client relationship in particular.
    • Conflicts of interest: attempt to serve 2 masters, no agent or employee of one principal can secretly work for another whose interest competes with that of the first.
  12. Professional Codes of Ethics
    Self-regulation: business code of conduct.
  13. Organizational Codes of Ethics
    • Fundamental honesty and adherence to the law
    • Product safety and quality
    • Health and safety in the workplace
    • Conflicts of interest
    • Fairness in selling/marketing practices
    • Financial reporting
    • supplier relationships
    • Pricing, billing, and contracting
    • Trading in securities/using inside information
    • Payments to obtain business/Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
    • Ac querying and using information about others
    • Security
    • Political activities
    • Protection of the environment
    • Intellectual property/proprietary information
  14. Individual Values
    • Have I thought about whether the action I may take is right or wrong?
    • Will I be proud to tell of my action to my family? To my employer? To the news media?
    • Am I willing for everyone to act as I am thinking of acting?
    • Will my actions violate the law?
  15. The Obstacles
    • the Emphasis on Profit
    • The Effect of the Group
    • The Control of Resources by Nonowners
  16. The Steps
    • Involvement of top management
    • Openness in communication
    • Consideration of all stakeholders

    Stakeholder theory: holds that ethical corporate behavior requires that directors and managers take into account everyone whose interest the corporation impacts.


        

  17. The Rewards
    A business that does not act ethically severs itself from society, from the good, and ultimately from its own source of support.
  18. The Morality of Property
    • Criticism of property
    • Support of property
Author
Ladybird1106
ID
293145
Card Set
Chapter 2
Description
The Role of Ethics in Decision Making
Updated