1.1 Meaning of Business and Ethics Flashcards
Business | Definition + Whats the typical features?
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- definition varies from society to society and is a social question
- includes all economic transactions (between individuals, individuals and profit making organizations, or between organisations
- distinguishing feature: economic character (buyers sellers, employers and employees)
- distinguishing feature: takes typically place in organisations
Definition | Organization
- hierarchical system of functionally defined positions designed to achieve some goal or set of goals
Ethics | Definition
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- principles of conduct about an individual or a group, examines ones moral standards or of a society to evaluate their reasonableness
- the study of morality
- discipline hat examines ones moral sandards or moral standards of society to evaluate reasonableness and their implications
Morality | Definition
Consists of rules of human behavior and specifies that certain actions are wrong or immoral and that others are right or moral
Moral Standards | Definition
Non-Moral Standards | Definition
Norms about the kinds of actions that are morally right and
wrong, as well as the values placed on what is morally good or bad (i.e. welfare, duty, rights, fairness, honesty, dignity, and integrity)
The standards by which we judge what is good or bad and right or wrong in a non-moral way
What are the 6 characteristics of Moral Standards and Norms?
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- harm: Involve significant injuries or benefits (ex. moral standards against theft, rape, enslavement, murder, child abuse,
assault, slander, fraud, law-breaking) - authority: Not established by authority figures: rather rests on the
adequacy of the reasons that are taken to support and
justify them - priority: Should be preferred to other values including self-interest: does not mean that it is always wrong to act on self-interest
- impartiality: Based on impartial considerations: The fact that you will
benefit from a lie and that I will be harmed is irrelevant to
whether lying is morally wrong. - universality: Are felt to be universal. People must abide by these standard rules whether they want to or not
6: emotions: Associated with special emotions and vocabulary (guilt,
shame, remorse, etc.)
What does Moral Relativism mean?
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Objections?
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- There are no ethical standards that are absolutely true and that apply or should be applied to the companies and people
of all societies - When two people or cultures hold different moral views of an action, both can be right
- ## An action may be right for one person or society, and the same action, taken in the same way, may be wrong for another person or society
- There are eternal moral values and principles that are always applicable in all situations
- Some moral standards are found in all societies
- Moral differences do not logically imply relativism
- Relativism has incoherent consequences
- Relativism privileges whatever moral standards are widely accepted in a society
Whats the aim of business ethics?
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- neither defense status quo nor radically change it
- it aims to serve to remedy those aspects or structures that need to change
- and protect those aspects that are moral
What are the types of ethical issues?
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- systemic: about social, political or legal systems within companies operate
- corporate: about particular corporation and its policies, culture, climate or actions
- individual: about particular decisions, behavior or character
What are arguments of M. Friedmans about corporate responsibility?
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- its managers responsibility to act solely in the interest of shareholders bc they are the owners of the company they work for
- Social and environmental issues/problems are the responsibility of the state rather than corporate managers
What are arguments against the need for business ethics?
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- In a free market economy, the pursuit of profit will ensure maximum social benefit anyway
- manager’s most important obligation is loyalty to the company regardless of ethics.
- So long as companies obey the law they will do all that ethics requires
What are moral arguments in favor for the need of business ethics?
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What are business arguments in favor for the need of business ethics?
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- companies are powerful and this comes along with responsibility
- corporations and societies are mutually dependent
- ## companies create social and environmental effects (pos and neg) for which they should be help accountable
- Opportunity to attract new clients or to increase existing clients’ loyalty.
- Opportunity to reduce costs (e.g., energy savings).
- Opportunity to increase employees’ loyalty and engagement.
- Studies suggest that ethical businesses do not generate fewer profit long term
