BUSINESS ETHICS Flashcards

1
Q

MORAL INTUITION

A
  • We all have intuitive moral feelings about certain things
  • When we explore these acts further, we may change our minds or at least see another viewpoint
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2
Q

KEY ISSUES WITH BUSINESS ETHICS

A
  1. Business ethics and public opinion
  2. What does ‘Business ethics’ mean?
  3. Four important ethics questions
  4. Three models of management ethics
  5. Developing moral judgement
  6. Elements of moral judgement
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3
Q

PUBLICS OPINION ON BUSINESS ETHICS

A
  • Public’s interest in business ethics increased during the last 4 decades: Collapse of the financial market and Govt bailouts
  • Public’s interest in business ethics spurred by the media: investigative reporting on TV shows
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4
Q

ETHICAL ISSUES IN BUSINESS

A
  • Employee-Employer Relations (e.g. employee theft)
  • Employer-Employee Relations (e.g. discrimination)
  • Company-Customer Relations (e.g. poor quality goods)
  • Company-Shareholder Relations (e.g. poor reporting practices)
  • Company-Community/Public Interest (e.g. environmental issues)
  • Sole practitioner- client relations (e.g. misrepresentation to clients)
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5
Q

BUSINESS - DEFINITION

A

Business – person or person offering goods or services to others with the aim of making a profit
- E.g. as an Osteopath you will offer your services to your clients in return for them paying you a fee

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6
Q

ETHICS - DEFINITION

A

Ethics – Moral principles governing a person’s behaviour
- Ethical behaviour usually viewed as being positive i.e. telling the truth, behaving with integrity etc

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7
Q

WHAT DOES BUSINESS ETHICS MEAN?

A
  • Moral principles concerning acceptable and unacceptable behaviour by business people.
  • Business ethics is the behaviour that a business adheres to in its daily dealings with the world.
  • To some people, businesses are interested in making money, and that is the bottom line. Making money is not wrong in itself.
  • It is the manner in which some businesses conduct themselves that brings up the question of ethical behaviour.
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8
Q

WHY SHOULD BUSINESSES BEHAVE ETHICALLY?

A
  • Protection of brand and representation
  • The right thing to do
  • Customer trust and loyalty
  • Investor confidence
  • Public acceptance/recognition
  • Disadvantages – short term costs
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9
Q

ETHICAL RELATIVISM

A
  • Ethical relativism - One can argue that there are no moral absolutes, no moral rights or wrongs but instead based on social norms
  • Indeed, the conventional approach to business ethics appears to involves a comparison of a decision or practice to prevailing societal norms
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10
Q

ETHICAL RELATIVISM - ADVANTAGES

A

Advantage – allows people/businesses to adapt ethically as culture, knowledge and technology changes in society

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11
Q

ETHICAL RELATIVISM - DISADVANTAGES

A

Disadvantage – Ethics is relative, just because a group of society think something is right, does not necessarily make it so

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