Evaluating business ethics Flashcards
Define ethical theories
The rules and principles that determine right and wrong for a given situation
Outline the two extreme positions of ethical theories?
- Ethical absolutism (traditional western modernist( there are eternal, universal, applicable moral principles. right and wrong are objective qualities that can be rationally determined.
- Ethical relativism (contemporary): Morality is context-dependent and subjective. there are no universal right or wrong that can be rationally determined. depends on person and local culture.
Distinguish between normative and descriptive ethical theories?
- Normative ethical theories: are those that propose to prescribe the morally correct way of acting
- Descriptive ethical theories: seek to describe how ethics decisions are actually made in business
What two groups can normative theories be divided into?
- Consequentialist ethics: address right and wrong based on the outcomes of the decision
- Non-Consequentialist ethics: concerned with the actions not the consequences of them
What are the consequentialist theories?
- Egoism: founded on the principle of self-interest as the basis of morality.
- humans limited insight into consequences of our actions.
- Adam smith argues this to be acceptable. pursuit of self interest works in an economic system=invisible hand.
- two approaches: desire vs selfishness. - Utilitarianism(utility): focuses on wider social outcomes, an action is morally right if the total net benefit of the action exceeds the total net of any other action.
- greatest happiness principle
- focus solely on the consequences of an action
- compare good outcomes against bad outcomes, and collective welfare
- two types: Act(single) and Rule(classes) utility
What are the main limitations and problems of utility? (3 things)
- Subjectivity: classifying each consequence of an action as pleasure or pain is subjective
- Problems of quantification: difficulty in assigning cost and benefits to each situation
- Distribution of utility: the interest of the minority are neglected, if greatest good is assessed for the greatest number.
What are the non-consequentialist theories?
- Ethics of duties: concerned with what people do, not with the consequences of their actions.
- Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)
- based on rules of right and wrong set by humans who are moral actors
3 principles: - Consistency: action is right if rules governing it are followed by everyone.
- Human dignity: treat humans with respect
- Universality: the rules of actions should be acceptable by others (New York times test)
- Ethics of rights and justice: mainly concerned with human rights
Rights: persons entitlement, focus on persons actions or actions of others towards person. two types: - Legal rights: system of laws
- Moral rights: ethical standards from individual perspective
Justice: balance of benefits and costs distributed among members of a group or society. Everyone gets what they deserve human rights.
What are the problems of ethics of duties?
- Undervaluing outcomes: less consideration of the outcomes of ones actions
- Complexity: the theory itself is simple , however can be complex to apply
- Misplaced optimism: humans are rational beings, very idealistic than a reality.
What are the problems of ethics of rights and justice?
- how can a company pay shareholders, executives, office workers etc so that everyone gets a fair compensation for their input into the corporation.
- basics: how can a company act so that everyone gets an exact fair share of the benefits?
What are some alternative perspectives on ethical theory?
- Approach based on character and integrity:
1. Virtue ethics: formation of virtuous character is first step towards morally correct behaviour.
2. Acquired traits: intellectual virtues, moral virtues.
3. Feminist ethics: prioritises empathy, harmonious and healthy socio relationships, care for others and avoids hard. (key elements relationships, responsibility, experience) - Approaches based on procedures of norm generation:
4. Discourse ethics: solve ethical conflicts by providing a process of norm generation through rational reflection on the real-life experiences of all relevant participants - Approaches based on empathy and moral impulse:
Postmodern ethics: questions link between rationality and morality - morality is a moral impulse towards others
- question everyday practices and rules by following emotions, inner conviction and gut feeling
- no ethical rules and principles of what is right and wrong
What is the typical and pluralistic perspective?
Typical perspective:
ethical dilemma-> lens of ethical theory-> single normative consideration for solving the ethical dilemma
Pluralistic perspective: Suggest that all these theoretical approaches throw light from different angles on one and same problem
Complementary rather than mutually exclusive
ethical dilemma-> prism of ethical theories-> variety of normative considerations in solving the ethical dilemma