Business Ethics Test #3 Flashcards
What is Catholic Social Teaching? What is its overall point? Why is it referred to as the Church‘s ―best kept secret?
CST refers to the body of writings that the Catholic Church maintains concerning important social, economic, and political issues. The overall point is to demonstrate the communal dimension of Christian faith. BKS because most American Catholics are unaware that the writings even exists.
What are mishpat and tsedaqah? Why are they important for understanding the Hebrew Scripture message?
M: justice, T: righteousness. They mean avoiding violence, fraud, or any other actions that undermine communal life while at the same time pursuing that which sustains the life of the community. Hebrew Scriptures not only describe how people should live in relation to one another they also demonstrates what happens when justice and righteousness are lacking
What two ―great values concerning social life are emphasized in the Old and New Testaments? What relevance do these values have for Christians today?
Faith- is not simply a private affair between the Christian and god. Demonstrate solidarity with the poor, powerless, and outcasts of society.
Contrast society- true human worth is not by how much wealth or power one possess but in the fact that we were created in gods image and likeness and true human power is exercised through the practice of love, justice, and service
What three ―conclusions‖ about material wealth can be drawn from the teachings of the early church Fathers?
1: Christians are called to renounce wealth and power as the ultimate values in their lives
2: all material goods are bestowed by god for the benefit of all
3: while there is nothing inherently wrong with the possession of material goods, problems inevitably arise in terms of their use
If the principles of CST do not tell us exactly how to act in a specific situation, what is their purpose?
CST offers a moral guide for how to live the Christian faith in the world. The principles offer a framework for moral decision making regarding how to live as individuals in society and how to formulate public policy.
. What is the principle of human dignity? What is its theological basis? What does this principle mean in practice?
Human dignity is all people are created in the image and likeness of God, and because God became human through the person of Jesus Christ, each individual maintains an inherent dignity and infinite worth. In practice this means one cannot exploit others, treat them as a means to one’s own end, or ignore the consequences of one’s actions on them
What are the principles of community and the common good? How is the common good defined by the Second Vatican Council and Pope Benedict XVI?
Community- we humans are one family and that we need one another. Physically our basic material needs and socially we fulfill ourselves only in relationship with one another. Common Good- because all people live, work, and fulfill themselves in community with one another they must look to fulfill not only their individual good but work to build a society that benefits all people. Second- the sum of those conditions of social life which allow social groups and the individual members relatively thorough and ready access to their fulfillment. Benedict- the good of “all of us”. A good that is sought not for its own sake but for the people who belong to the social community and who can really and effectively pursue their good within
What are the principles of participation and subsidiarity
P: at all levels of society people have the right to participate in the decision making process concerning issues that affect them directly. S:as much as possible, public policy decisions should be made on the local level because the people who have the best knowledge of what needs to be done in a particular location are the ones who live their
What is the principle option for the poor? How do the US bishops say it must be ―applied‖ in terms of economic policy decisions?
Jesus championed the cause of the poor (materially and spiritually) so also his followers are called to do the same.it be done “at the service of all people, especially the poor.
What is the principle of stewardship? What makes stewardship distinct from care taking?
Right of the individual to own property. Which serves as a means to meet basic needs and that people are more diligent with their own property than with property commonly held. Caretaking means watching over something for someone during an absence but stewardship means accepting full responsibility for that which is in your care
What is the principle of solidarity? How does Pope John Paul II define solidarity?
The conscious decision to form community with the one for whom we have compassion, the one who is suffering.it is a firm and preserving determination to commit oneself to the common good.
What does it mean to say that CST is grounded in practical reality?
Does not arise from speculative theology or from technical theological arguments but from the reality of people’s lives
Why are the principles of CST morally binding on all people, not just Catholics?
They can be understood both philosophically (through human reason) and theologically (through gods revelation
Why does CST not tell us exactly how we should act in a given situation?
The church does not usually propose single concrete teachings on social issues which means faithful Catholics and non-Catholics can disagree as to how the principles of CST should be applied in specific situation
How did Pope John Paul II respond to the question of whether capitalism should be the “model” for nations seeking to move toward sustained economic development?
What John Paul II was saying here is that, yes, capitalism can be a vehicle to foster economic development, but only if it operates within a defined legal and ethical framework.
How did the Second Vatican Council and the United States Catholic bishops link faith with business? What practical implication follows from this linkage?
The overall point here is that the moral precepts recognized by the Church apply to actions performed in the corporate name in the same way they apply to those performed in the individual’s private life. There is no distinction between the two. In a practical sense, this means that business people are not immune from the duty to act ethically.
According to the principle of human dignity, what is the primary goal of business? How did Pope Leo XIII and the United States Catholic bishops speak to human dignity in their writings?
Primary goal of any business enterprise should be the well-being of the human person, not the pursuit of profit. According to the pope, “Each requires the other; capital (understood as owners) cannot do without labor nor labor without capital.”.
For what three specific reasons does CST maintain that human work has an inherent dignity? What specific implications does this teaching have for American corporations?
First, work is the principal means by which we satisfy our material needs. Second, work is a means to participate with God in the continual re-creation of the world. Third, CST maintains the dignity of work because individuals “become who they are,” in part, through their work activity (who we are as a person).
First, it means that corporations have a moral obligation to pay employees a just or living wage, one that is sufficient to meet the basic needs of the employee’s family and to allow for future investment. Corporations also need to reevaluate their levels of executive compensation. Corporations should offer employees health care and disability benefits as well as a retirement or pension program. Corporations to examine the practice of outsourcing. Support of labor unions
How has CST traditionally viewed labor unions? What are the rights and duties involved with union membership?
Catholic Church has upheld the right of every worker to join a union if he or she chooses, as well as the duty of management to recognize and respect this right.
According to the pope, workers maintain a “natural right” to join these associations, and they cannot be prevented by anyone from becoming members of them. Workers may legitimately resort to calling a strike when this is the only means of justice available to them.
How did Popes John XXIII and John Paul II uphold the principle of community in speaking about business activity?
Pope John Paul II echoed his predecessor by stating that a business must not be viewed solely as a “society of capital goods.” Instead, it must be viewed as a “society of persons” within which individuals “participate in different ways and with specific responsibilities” to achieve an overall good. Pope John XXIII insisted that regardless of their size, corporations must offer workers the opportunity to purchase shares of stock. By offering workers opportunities for ownership, businesses would “assume the character of true human fellowship whose spirit suffuses the dealings, activities and standing of all its members.”
- How did the U.S. Catholic bishops uphold the principle of the common good in speaking about business activity?
Speaking specifically to the business community, they maintained that the degree to which economic activity fulfills the demands of justice is contingent upon how its resources are managed by owners, managers, and “investors of financial capital.”
- What is shareholder theory? What is stakeholder theory? According to CST, which is primary?
shareholder theory maintains that because the shareholders actually own the corporation, management’s primary responsibility is to them. Stakeholder theory, on the other hand, recognizes that many constituencies are affected by the corporation’s actions. Stake is primary.
- Concerning stewardship of resources, what two implications follow from the teaching that no one owns resources absolutely?
no one can control their use without regard for the needs of others. “resources created by human industry” do not belong to the corporation alone, because in gaining these resources the corporation benefited from the earlier progress of others
- What arguments have companies historically used to defend their pollution? What is the difference between having dominion over the created order and having domination over it?
it is far less costly to release pollutants into the environment than it is to deal with them in other ways. Contributing to this were the beliefs that the environment’s carrying capacity is so large that each firm’s contribution of pollution is relatively insignificant, and that the environment is a “free good” that can be used without reimbursing anyone for its use. dominion over the earth, which means that they are fully responsible for how they treat it and for how they use its abundance.
