Business Ethics Final Flashcards
Just Cause
Firing can only be done for reasons judged to be legitimate (theft, absenteeism, intoxication, substandard performance, downturn in business)
Just cause problems
Economic inefficiency, managerial inefficiency, unnecessary
National Labor Relations Act
(NLRA) prohibits employers form creating unions
Employment at Will (EAW)
EAW denies due process, rationality and fairness
EEOC (equal employment opportunity commission)
EEOC says employers can impose appearance policies and dress codes on all employees, as long as its not religious or ethnic discrimination
Pay equity for women
Equal pay act of 1963 prohibits pay discrimination based on gender
Sexual harassment
behavior is what constitutes harassment. When one is seeking sexual ends without concern for person, typically produces unwanted/unpleasant response
Interface carpet
From product sales to whole-product-life servicing. Is attempting to revolutionize the industry by taking responsibility for production-to-end-of-use loop in its entirety
Interface carpet steps
- eliminate waste 2. benign emissions 3. renewable energy 4. closing the loop 5. resource efficient transportation 6. sensitivity hookup (help people become aware) 7. redesign commerce to transform the industry
Sustainability
not using more resources than we can replace. critics say our resourcefullness will allow us to pursue other means if we run out
intrinsic
having value in itself, we value it for its own sake
negative externalities
cost imposed on a third party without their knowledge or consent
Arguments against free market view
1.externality of pollution often not accounted for 2. lack of markets for such goods as endangered species and scenic vistas 3. lack of tradable property rights for clean water, oceans, atmosphere 4. inability of future generations to represent their own interest in todays markets
Cost benefit analysis critique
1.certain decisions might be right even though its benefits do not outweigh cost 2. there are good reasons to oppose efforts to put dollar values on non-marketed benefits and costs 3. since there are many situations where you would not use CB, and many things should not be commodified, its best not to use it
Triple bottom line accounting
taking into account 3 lines: social, economical, envrionmental
absolute valuation
value is not dependent on any benefit, economic or otherwise. Its value is based on something unchanging- the honor of those who died for our country, intrinsic value of not eliminating a species
Existence values
the value of something’s existing (Mona Lisa)
Willingness to pay (WTP)
the value of the environment depends on what people now and in the future are willing to pay for it
Contingent valuation
method economists use to determine how much individuals are willing to pay for policies consistent with their disinterested moral beliefs
persuasive advertising
violates the autonomy of consumers and is wrong
Associative advertising
to get a consumer to buy a product advertisers identify a deep-seated non-market good in their product even though that may have little direct relationship to product. harms advertisers character and bad for consumers because they buy more and enjoy it less
Autonomy of action
i chose to do what i did (i was not forced)
autonomy of desire
i chose to desire what i desire (does advertising affect desires?)
Dependence effect (galbraith)
grows out of the process of production. the demand for a product wouldn’t exist if it werent contrived. production only fills a void itself created. advertising causes frustration, advertising creates desires, consumer’s autonomy is undermined
dependence effect (hayek)
if desires are not important because they’re not innate, doesn’t mean there not important. not a desire for literature until literature was created
colonial style practices
companies convert land form food crops to cash-crops
conflicts of development
arise because countries being compared are at different levels of economic development
conflicts of cultural tradition
happen at any level of economic development, reflect deeply held religious and cultural tradition
convergence points
- respect for human dignity, 2. respect for basic rights, 3. good citizenship
Guiding principles to distinguish between right and wrong
respect for core human values which give moral threshold for all business activity; respect for local traditions; belief context matters in deciding what is wrong and wrong
