6. Ethics And Professionalism Flashcards
What does the Greek word ‘ethos’ mean?
Custom, habit, character or disposition
What are three categories of ethical theories?
1) meta- origin of principles
2) normative - criteria of right and wrong
3) applied - controversial issues
What is ethics used for?
Consider moral dilemmas
Decide on right action
Take responsibility
What is moral absolutism?
There are universal moral rules
Circumstances and consequences are not to be considers when deciding if something is moral or not
Universal laws can be made
What are some criticisms of moral absolutism?
Circumstances and consequences ARE relevant
Diversity and tradition holds different things to be morally acceptable
What is moral relativism?
Morals that respect cultural diversity
Moral actions are in the eye of the beholder
Circumstances and consequences of actions are taken into account
What are some objections to moral relativism?
There is some deeper principal than simply general agreement of a group of people
What is a third way between moral relativism and absolutism?
There are a small number of absolute rules
Many ethical positions depend on culture
Define ethics.
A branch of philosophy which defines what is good for individuals and society
Name three branches of normative ethics
Virtue theory
Duty theory
Consequentialist theory
What is virtue ethics?
Cf Plato and Aristotle
Concerned with personal qualities
E.g. Objectivity, altruism, loyalty, wisdom, courage, fairness, prudence
What is duty theory?
Cf Kant
Do the right thing for the right reason because it is right
Some things are universally right (categorical imperatives)
Consequences are irrelevant to rightness or wrongness
What is consequentialist theory?
Judge moral good by the consequences of an action
Greek teleological
3 types:
- Ethical egoism
- Ethical altruism
- Utilitarianism
What is ethical egoism?
Make the best decision for the person taking the action
What is best for me?
What is ethical altruism?
Act based on what is best for everyone other than the person taking the action
What is best for everyone else?
What is utilitarianism?
Decide morality by the what causes he greatest good for the greatest number of people.
What is best for society?
What are the characteristics of a rules based code of conduct?
Prescriptive
Rigid
Letter of law
What are the characteristics of a principles based code of conduct?
Broad guidance
Spirit of the law
Name five classes of ethical threat.
- Self-Interest
- Self-Review
- Advocacy
- Familiarity
- Intimidation
What is self-interest as a threat to ethics?
Where the agent has an incentive to do something not in the best interest of the client
E.g. Sales targets; other personal business interest; gifts and hospitality
What is self-review as a threat to ethics?
Where agent is called on to review their own work.
E.g. They move to an internal audit position or an external regulator. Unlikely to be entirely objective about their own work.
What is Advocacy as a threat to ethics?
Where agent has a dual role regarding the client- on one hand to objectively review, and on the other hand to represent them.
Could arise in bank credit process?
What is familiarity as a threat to ethics?
Agent’s objectivity regarding the client is compromised due to a long-running business or personal relationship
What is intimidation as a threat to ethics?
Agent’s objectivity regarding the client is compromised due to threats by the client, e.g. Loss of business, damage to reputation etc.
