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Ethical Values
- Legal regulation
- Professional codes of ethics
- Codes of ethics from business organizations
- Individual values
- NBES
- National Business Ethics Survey
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Ethics and Society
- Public Education and Family Structure
- Economic Independence
- News Media and the Internet
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Ethics and Government
Business and industry have developed codes of ethics to self regulate within business organizations.
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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?
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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.
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Ethics and Law
Ethical values are ultimately superior to law in ensuring responsible business behavior. i.e. price gouging is considered unethical.
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Two Systems of Ethics
Formalism & Consequentialism
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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.
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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.
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Sources of Values for Business Ethics
- Legal regulation
- Professional codes of ethics
- Organizational codes of ethics
- Individual values
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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.
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Professional Codes of Ethics
Self-regulation: business code of conduct.
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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
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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?
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The Obstacles
- the Emphasis on Profit
- The Effect of the Group
- The Control of Resources by Nonowners
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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.
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The Rewards
A business that does not act ethically severs itself from society, from the good, and ultimately from its own source of support.
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The Morality of Property
- Criticism of property
- Support of property
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