Business ethics Flashcards
Define ‘capitalism’
An economic system based on private ownership of how things are made and sold, in which businesses compete freely to make profits
Define ‘shareholder’
A person who has invested money in a business in return for a share of the profits
Define ‘corporate social responsibility’
A sense that businesses have wider responsibility than to their shareholders including their communities and their enviornment
Define ‘whistle-blowing’
When an employee discloses wrongdoing to the employer or public
Define ‘globalisation’
The international integration of economies, industries, markets, cultures and policies
Define ‘stakeholder’
A person who is affected by or involved n some form of relationship with a business
Define ‘consumerism’
A set of social beliefs that put a high value on acquiring material things
Is corporate social responsibility an example of socialism or capitalism?
Socialism
What is Kant’s view on how people should be treated within a business, (workers and customers)?
- Treat people as an end in itself not a means to an end
- Companies that control and monitor employees seem to be without respect for human dignity
- Companies that don’t ensure safe working conditions are treating their workers as a means
- You cannot mislead customers with false information
What is the general view of utilitarianism in business ethics?
- If the greatest good is to get the greatest profit then maximise income at all costs
- Don’t just act in the interest of the shareholder but also the stakeholders, workers, the environment, the community and the national economy
Explain Kant’s shopkeepers example
1) Honest because they’re scared of being caught to give short change
2) Honest because it’s their duty
Only the second shopkeeper is being moral
Give a disadvantage of Kant’s views
Abstract - tells us what is right and wrong but not how to act
Give a disadvantage of Utilitarianism
No regard for human value
Milton Friedman
Textbook
Give a quote from Adam Smith
“It is not from the omnibenevolence of the butcher… we expect our dinner but from their regard to their own self-interest”
Adam Smith is the founder of (1)
Capitalism
Karl Marx - Gov intervention is essential to avoid what?
Exploitation of workers
What is the Protestant work ethic?
Hard work, frugality and discipline are an aspect of a person’s salvation, capitalism incentivises human behaviour for the result of self-interest
What are two disadvantages of the Protestant work ethic?
- Encourages greed and moral corruption
- Capitalism encourages consumerism at the expense of human relationships
How are whistleblowers treated by law in the UK?
Protected as witnesses and so don’t need to provide evidence
What are two advantages of whistleblowing?
- Improves work safety
- Encourages businesses to accept social corporate responsibility
What are Kant’s views of whistleblowing?
Accepted as long as people are not treated as an end and so duty beyond employment encourages people to take personal risk
What is the Utilitarian view on whistleblowing?
Depends on the severity caused by the wrongdoing, it is justifiable for companies to break rules to succeed whereas rule utilitarians believe that the greatest good comes from following rules
What are imperatives? (Kant)
What are Kant’s two types?
Instructions telling people what to do
Categorical and hypothetical
