Midterm exam Flashcards
Levels (4), Approaches (3)
Levels:
- International economic system
- National
- Corporate system
- Individual Worker
Approaches:
- Descriptive
- Normative
- Meta-ethical
Author and subject of Wealth of Nations
Author: Adam Smith
Subject:
Free market system, division of labor, capitalism
Regulation in USA that was passed after corporate scandal?
Sarbanes-Oxley Act, Enron
Weber’s Protestant Work Ethic? Religious ideas involved? Relation to modern capitalism?
Working diligently as a sign of grace, living a self-denying, frugal lifestyle believing that these ideals display one’s salvation in the Christian faith
Two problems with teamwork according to Sennett?
- Team member ideas may be left out due to disagreement or shyness
- Superficial, teammates may be inclined to avoid confrontation even when it is for the betterment of the group
Why did workers at Boston Bakery not find meaning in their work?
The tasks were too automated and the employees had no stake in the company causing them to be disinterested with being the best employee they can be
Two lessons to be learned from Davos business leaders
blank
Three stages of laid-off IBM professionals
- Betrayal
- Self-blame
- Acceptance
What is the reason Sennett thinks being the author of your own life is important for new work order nowadays?
If you depend on a company for work then you are a pawn of theirs, the sooner you realize you don’t need them and they don’t need is the first step to establishing value
Explanation of Taylorism and relation to dehumanization of work
Taylorism is a management system that attempts to analyze and synthesize work flows and production….discourages individual craftsmanship and production while encouraging mass production and making employees very replaceable
According to Baumeister, why is working solely for money not a good source of meaning of work
Money being a sole motivator for working is empty and oppressive
According to Baumeister, what attitude is involed when a person takes work as a career
work as a career is a way of creating, expressing, defining oneself
Example of internal calling
Person has a calling to spread the word of God and becomes a priest
Why does Baumeister believe that Protestant Work Ethic fails? (2 reasons)
- In reality there is a high degree of division of labor
2. Person is constantly facing internal contradictions
Reason Baumeister is cynical at the end of the article
Most people afraid to admit publicly that most aspects of work are tedious and unsatisfying and making money out of greed is not good
Religious ground for human work according to the Compendium
Human work proceeds directly from person’s created in the image of God
two of the rights of workers as listed in Compendium
right to pension, just wages, safe workplace, rest
what does Compendium expect from “people in science and culture” to do regarding the new work order
To continue expanding and being the protagonist when it comes to work (change with the times)
Type 1 Job and Type 2 Job
Type 1: every person has obligation to honor the great commandment and great commission
type 2: doctor, lawyer, teacher, etc.
Certain types of work that God cannot “call” somebody to do
tobacco bruh, pimping hoes, casinos, slanging drugs
We can easily get indirectly involved with unchristian business ventures. Example?
invest in a company that has close ties with another company that supports child labor in third world countries
Whats the point of having a class if ethics can’t be taught
class can guide us towards better ethical judements, ethical values are instilled in us as children
Good life according to Aristotle? Three areas of excellence a person should pursue?
good life is a life of virtue and pleasure along with excellence in whatever you do while practicing practical wisdom and understanding
need for ethical theories if we have moral intuitions
complicated situations may arise where our morals are torn and we don’t know what to do (lose-lose situation)
best definition of utilitarianism according to shaw
the conduct that is objectively right is the one that produces the greatest amount of happiness on the whole taking into account all whose happiness is affected by the conduct
difference between utilitarianism and egoism
utilitarianism takes into account the net happiness of everyone involved while egoism only takes into account the happiness of oneself or one’s company
idea of moral worth in kantian ethics w/ shopkeeper example
action only has moral worth if done with the motivation to fulfill the duty….store clerk accidentally short changes someone and goes out to repay him the money and right the mistake…the action only has moral worth of if the clerk repaid the man for the right reasons and wasn’t motivated by something else (promoting business)
Idea of categorical imperative in Kantian ethics with example of promise keeping
if you make a promise person must keep that promise no matter what based on the absolute requirement that asserts authority in all cases
utility is impartial while ethics of care is partial? what about kantian ethics?
impartial since there is only one right course of action under the categorical imperative with no leeway in deciding
objection to utility is that there is no absolute principle. example?
killing someone in order to save a thousand lives
prima facie duties vs kant’s ethics
prima facie duties assert that there are some situations where we have a moral obligation to perform one duty over another depending on the circumstances of the situation making it a more partial theory while kants ethics is completely impartial and says to absolutely follow the categorical imperative with one right/wrong behavior
what does it mean for a moral duty to be a prima facie duty?
some duties are more important than others depending on the specific circumstances of the situation
prima facie duty of fidelity
to respect explicit and implicit promises
should we identify duty of self-improvement with making money?
no not in call cases…person can make a lot of money in an immoral way and person can be dirt poor but live morally
audi’s five-step is not a utilitarian calculation or cost-benefit analysis. why?
- classify morally relevant duties
- identify conflicting duties
- assess duties
- select ethically viable options
- decide on course of action
example of person who follows all laws but is still behaving unethically
exploiting loopholes in contracts or taxes
concept of negative rights
person has a duty not to interfere with someone else’s rights
limitation of talk about rights/duties?
?
better way to avoid partiality in ethics of care?
?
why is common good something common according to the compendium
applies to everyone and everyone needs to be aware of the common good when making moral decisions and taking action
two of common good “social conditions” as outlined in compendium
- common good applies to all members of society
2. everyone has a right to enjoy the conditions of social life that are brought about by the common good
principle of subsidiarity
idea that matters should be handled by the smallest, lowest, least centralized form of authority that the situation allows for
