Business Ethics Flashcards
Friedman
ethical businesses should maximise profit whilsts acting in the law and advocates for minimal state intervention
Marx
businesses under capitalism are unethical
for a business to be ethical fair wages and working conditions must be considered
whistleblowing and CSR can never go far enough
Kant
businesses must prefporm their moral duties and not focus on the outcome of business decisions
businesses must treat people with inherent dignity
Bentham
businesses should indvidually judge every decision on it’s outcome and maximise overall happiness
Mill
Businesses should follow general ethical principles that lead to overall quality pleasures
Soloman
importance of moral culture within businesses
Define coorperate social responsibility
businesses have a responsibility in the environment and in the community
Define Globalisation
businesses are becoming global entities with huge amounts of power
caused 70% of people in poverty in 1960s drop to 12% in 2012
Define whistleblowing
going public to reveal unethical practices of a business
Kant on whistleblowing
if it is required as a duty (truthfullness) then it is moral
Utilitarianism on whistleblowing
If it promotes happiness then it is ethical
Natural law on whistleblowing
If it upholds justice then it is moral
Situation ethics on whistlebowing
situational - and if it is the most loving thing to do then it is moral
Explain friedmans shareholder theory
inspired by Adam Smith
Businesses’ only exist to maximise profit not to act ethicallly
Explain Edward Freemans stakeholder theory
Goes against friedman - businesses have a moral duty to act ethically to employees, consumers and to society
Give an example of a business that focuses on treating workers well
Pantogonia - focuses on sustanability and fair wages
What is an MNC
Multi-national corperation
Explain a case study for CSR
The Body Shop
founded in 1976 by Anita Roddick
Fair Trade: promotes fair trade with ethically sourced ingredients and paying producers fairly
Campaigns against animal testing and encourages customers to recycle
Has also been involved in several social causes such as human rights, animal welfare and environmential protection
What are the 2 strands of CSR
Environmental CSR - businesses have a responsibility to not destroy the environment
Social CSR - businesses have the responsibility to not mistreat their workers, customers or wider community e.g. minimum wage
Utilitarianism on CSR
Environmental CSR is valid but Social CSR may not always be depending on the situation - if it promotes general happiness to exploit workers then that is ethical
Kantian on CSR
All violations of CSR treat people as m ere means to a end so therefore morally wrong
What are the ethical issues that Globalisation present
- off-shore outsourcing - when a country closes a factory in a 1st world country and opens it in a 3rd world country - leads to loss of jobs in 1st world country and exploitation in 3rd
- can influence a country’s laws as they have a lot of financial power which can be exchanged with government for law changes
- Globalisation leads to monopolies - businesses having so much power to eliminate competition and dominate the market - destroys benefits of free-market capitalism: innovation and economic growth
Explain a case study for Globalisation
Google - controls 90% of the global search engine market and primary player in digital advertisements
The European Union has fined Google multiple times over anti-competitive practices, particularly related to its dominance in search and advertising.
Utilitarianism on Globalisation
Utilitarians likes Adam smiths free market capitalism ideas but would generally not apporive of the way globalisation destroys competition as this does not promote happiness
