BUSINESS ETHICS

Question 1

Key Terms

Capitalism

Answer 1

• an economic system in which private individuals or businesses own capital goods.

Question 2

key terms

Shareholder

Answer 2

• A person who has invested money in a business in return for a share of the profits

Question 3

Key words

Corporate Social Responsbility (CSR)

Answer 3

• The idea that a business has responsiblity to the environment and its community
• There is two typres:
  1. ENVIRONMENTAL CSR
  2. COMMUNITY CSR

Question 4

Keyword

Whistle-blowing:

Answer 4

• The ethics around going public secrect unethical businenss pracstices

Question 5

keyword

Globalisation

Answer 5

• The issue that businesses are now global entities, giving them tremendous power.

Question 6

Introduction

Answer 6

• Business ethic is the idea that good ethics is good business is the view that good business decisions are good ethical decisions.
• This topic includes three sub-issues:
  1. Corporate social responsibility: the idea that a business has responsibility to the environment and its community.
  2. Globalisation: the issue that businesses are now global entities, giving them tremendous power.
  3. Whistleblowing:the ethics around going public to reveal secret unethical business practices.

Question 7

COMMUNITY CSR

Answer 7

• The responsiblity a business has to its social community, respecting human rights and avoid exploitation
• Respecing human rights and avoiding exploitaion

Question 8

ENVIRONMENTAL CSR

Answer 8

• The responsibility a business has towards the enviroonement
• Redicing negative impact on the environment such as pollution and non-recycled products

Question 9

Utilitarain on CSR

Answer 9

• Utilitarians and Kantians believe there should be some restrictions on business. Not all good business decisions which maximise profit will be ethically good. Not if they go against the general happiness or violate duty.
• Free market capitalism is the idea that the only responsibility of a business is to maximise profit for its shareholders
• They would likely accept environmental CSR because of how damagaing climate change can be to hapiness

Question 10

Kantian ethics on CSR

Answer 10

• The second formulation would require that market interactions do not involve the treatment of people as mere means. Labour should not be treated merely on a community. a basic level of respect must be given to employee and all stkeholders.
• Providing a safe work enviornment (community CSR)

Question 11

Gloablisation in Business ethics

Answer 11

• The problem with globalisation is that it can cause the violation of corporate social responsibilities and even undermine the free market itself.
• The issue of globlaisation is that it can cause the violation of corporate social responsibilities and evn undermore the free market itself.
• Offshore outsourcing – where businesses build products in factories in third world countries. This moves jobs from western countries to those countries which has made many industry workers unemployed.

Question 12

Utilitarianism on globalisation

Answer 12

Utilitarianism would be against the aspects of globalisation which undermine free markets, such as the power it has given business over policy making.

However, Utilitarianins might accept off-shore outsourcing so long as happiness is maximised.

Question 13

Kantian on globalisation

Answer 13

Globalisation seems problematic for Kant in that it can cause all of the corporate social responsibilities to be violated.

Question 14

Window Dressing & critique of CSR as hypocritical window-dressing

Answer 14

• The practice of making the financial statements of a business look more attractive to outsiders.
• A business which engages in CSR for public relations purposes might be doing so to distract from their unethical practices.
• Amazon is an example of window dressing = dont pay their taxes/ bust unions
• It’s not businesses giving away their profits for the good of society, it is a cold calculation that it would be more profitable for them = give a good impression of themselves to the public, in order to avoid the greater loss to their profits.
• This leads to the public to fall under ‘class consciousness’ = an attempt to disguise the fact that businesses are part of the cause of economic problems like inequality

Question 15

Issue within certain business approaches

1. The issue of calculation

Answer 15

• CSR: The effects of CSR are difficult to predict, both in terms of how much they might negatively cost a business and how much it might positively affect society or the environment
• GLOBALISATION: the effects of globalisation are very difficult to predict. It’s hard to say how much it might corrupt markets due to creating monopolies and buying off politicians.
• WHISTELEBLOWING: It’s possible that whistleblowing might cause a company to go bankrupt, causing unhappiness for its employees. It’s very hard to predict that, but then it’s very hard to know whether whistleblowing would maximise happiness.

Question 16

The issue of the value of consequences: Util vs Kant

Answer 16

• Kant faces this issue, but Utilitarianism does not. Sometimes actions have very good or bad consequences and Kant seems wrong for not thinking that morally relevant.
• The murderer at the door example attempts to show the downside of Kant’s rejection of consequences having moral significance.
• Whistleblowing – some cases of whistleblowing have very bad consequences. Just like with lying, Kant would say we must always tell the truth, even if it ends up killing people.
• AUtilitarian might reason that we should allow the exploitation because the happiness gained would far outweigh the suffering = for a good consequence

Question 17

The issue of intentions: Util vs Kant

Answer 17

• Utilitarianism faces the issue of intentions and character, but Kant does not.
• Utilitarianism only views the consequences of actions as good, not the intention or character (integrity) of the person who performs them. (Consequentialist)
• CSR: Applying this to business ethics, Utilitarianism would not care about a business merely engaging in CSR out of greed for profit or even for deception to distract from their other unethical practices
• Kantian ethics would not have this issue because for Kant good intention is essential. We must act out of duty (“duty for duty’s sake”) in order for our action to be morally good.

Question 18

Mill’s critque of The issue of intentions

Answer 18

• Mill argues that having a good character helps you become happy. Motives and character therefore do matter ethically, though not intrinsically(inheritly) but only insofar as they result in good consequences, in line with consequentialism.
• if the intention behind CSR involved greed or deception then that might have bad consequences overall or in the future and therefore can be thought of as morally wrong.