Business ethics Flashcards
Introduction
economic problems with bad consequences mean we need more ethical business
religious scripture there is condemnation of lending money with high interest.
History = dishonest businessmen and equal efforts to stop them
Development in Britain
Industrial revolution = bad conditions/no rights
Over 200 years trade unions and parliament tried to improve conditions
Different worker acts
1970 there was an equal pay act for gender equality. unfair dismissal for pregnancy, people of colour etc.
dockers
1889, no guarantee of work and low pay if they had. poor and hungry, they went on strike, and a trade union was created.
Pope Leo XI
published a letter and followed by every Pope since: NML - workers should be treated with dignity and justice
Corporate social Responsibility
- no man or corporation is an island. we are always in a wider community, and have responsibilities to government too
- idea that companies have ethical duties to all the people in this wider community made of stakeholders
- workplace = major part of life - identity
Cardinal Nichols 7 principles
1) Human dignity
2) Common good
3) Solidarity
4) Subsidiarity
5) Fraternity
6) Temple
7) Reciprocity
8 Sustainability
Human dignity
Man made image of God
Secularly we have value as human
invokes Kant’s second form of the categorical imperative
-William Temple also argued that good work is for the sake of people and always personal
Common Good
set of social conditions that allow people to develop.’
a state of affairs in which everyone can flourish best.
Solidarity
people are inter-dependent, need each other and are responsible for each other
Subsidiarity
decisions should be made at the lowest level compatible with efficiency. nationally, locally or internationally? a village getting a new bench should be their discussion, not a government one.
Fraternity
everyone should treat everyone as brothers. fellowship is social glue
Temple, deeper than liking someone.
Reciprocity
giving everyone what is due to them and being willing to do more than just justice but charity
Sustainability
we are all responsible for maintaining the earth and its resources for future generations
Criticisms of Cardinal Nichols
business is a harsh environment that has no place for sentimentality
- is business not better and more effective if it is ethical? we trust honest people and give business to businesses who treat us well. it is a two-way system.
Utilitarian approach to CSR
Support free market economics without state intervention
- left alone to lead to the greatest good
- depends on what view as good but if good of the persons then good of every stakeholder is the best approach
Critics on Utilitarian approach to CSR
rejects natural human rights, it leads to problems
should 500 children work in awful conditions so that 100,000 or more people get their product which makes them happy?
-mill’s levels of pleasure may come into play here and say that the suffering of the 500 children workers would outweigh the happiness of the 100,000
Kant approach to CSR
duty for duty’s sake. a shopkeeper is honest because it is the right thing to be
Critics on Kants’ approach to CSR
outcomes matter, and if a shop is not successful then the owner is not serving everyone. but duty is close to responsibility
-the second categorical imperative is also important. act for the good of persons and do not use them as means to ends. prioritising good of persons means many ethical problems are solved.
Whistleblowing
seeing and reporting something like bribery is whistle blowing
-often don’t whistle-blow due to fear/repercussions/ ‘its not my place’
Is loyalty a virtue
companies in general seek loyalty to make the business the best it could be, but when it comes to whistle blowing it seems that loyalty is then misplaced, or could stop an employee from acting.
contract between employer/employee
responsible to employer? Community?
-difficulty comes through contractual obligation to our employer. beyond the words of a contract there is a requirement to act truthfully. this contract is not with your boss. the difficulty is then that if our boss is the one who is acting dishonestly, we have to question where our loyalties lie.
Kant on whistleblowing
our duty includes loyalty. but are we willing to universalise corruption, or covering it up?
against this, thought must be given to consequences. a dutiful employee must prevent wrongdoing.
there is also an issue of right and wrong duties. which duty do you follow, to your employer or to the world? nazis were loyal to nazism, but it wasn’t right.
Utilitarianism on whistleblowing
is the greater good served by allowing corruption? cover up could lead to more damage.
good ethics is good business
a dishonest business is not a successful one. the example of sports organisations: no one would pay to watch sport if they knew it was all set up and fixed. the organisations have a duty to be honest to all their stakeholders. major sports generate major revenue. to be dishonest is to lose this important stream of income to many people.
there is also problems with people losing homes, and even lives, in the process of building stadiums for events like the football world cup and the olympics. these issues also apply in other types of business. if banks are corrupt this affects everyone with a bank account. people trust banks to use their money so if confidence goes down the results are massive on the economy as a whole.
Ethical businesses
attract more customers and employees. it also prevents forced government action. markets can incentivise ethical behaviour by allowing a place only for companies who act in this way.
window dressing
milton friedman argued against this idea of businesses having to be ethical. he claims businesses only act in an ethical manner to attract business. companies like Macdonalds sell products like salads to be pro-health but the truth is the salads are worse for you than multiple burgers. friedman claims it is public relations stuff to make businesses attractive while they continue to run regularly.
globalisation
growth of modern communication, movement of people, trade etc and the phenomenon of economic and cultural movements across nations. companies becoming worldwide. and the issues that come with it.
pope st john XXIII
utlines the issues with relations between developed and developing countries.:
- neo-colonialism is the problem. even wealthy countries are not blind to the poverty in other countries. lasting peace will not happen if this kind of ‘economic and social imbalance’ exists.
- economically developed countries must resist neo-colonialism and that it would have a ‘harmful impact international relations and constitute a menace to world peace’ if it occurs.
neo-colonialism
nation dominating another through providing aid and turning them into clients while doing so. they use resources from other countries. global companies’ reach is often wider than some entire countries’ reach
-moral question is whether they use these resources for the good of the company or for the nation involved. are they giving back in the same way they are taking?
Kant - Globalization
exploiting natural resources or peoples for cheap labour, then a companies is acting for its own good and using people as a means to an end: this is not a good thing. no one could universalise exploitation as it has no good will and its not dutiful.
Utilitarianism globalization
utilitarianism: lack of protection for the exploited due to lack of natural rights. the suffering of a few workers in a far country for the benefit of millions is accepted.
peter singer would argue that a poor person in a poor country is as capable of suffering as anyone else, so they should be treated the same as any worker in england
