Moral Philosophies and Business Ethics

Question 1

_______ defined three levels of moral reasoning: pre-conventional, conventional, and post-conventional.

Answer 1

Kohlberg

Explanation

Kohlberg believed that few adolescents can go beyond the Conventional stage into the Post-conventional stage. The Post-conventional stage is where other people’s approval no longer determines morals; in this stage people reason through to their own sense of what makes an action right.

Question 2

An important aspect of _________ moral reasoning is that moral judgment is based on approval.

Answer 2

conventional

Explanation

Approval from family, peers, etc is important to a person who is in the Conventional Moral Reasoning stage.

Question 3

According to Kohlberg’s Moral Stages of Development, the most ________ kind of person refrains from doing something wrong to avoid punishment.

Answer 3

immature

Explanation

According to Kohlberg’s theory, a person at the lowest level of moral development decides whether he will perform an action in terms of pleasant or unpleasant consequences of those actions, or in terms of the physical power of those who impose the rules. Later, in level 2, a more morally mature person bases his decisions on getting other people’s approval, or in level 3, out of a sense of right and wrong and his own conscience.

Question 4

The conventional level, according to Kohlberg, is the second level of moral development. In this level, the individual strives to maintain the ____________ of family, group, or nation, regardless of the consequences.

Answer 4

expectations

Explanation

In this level there is such a strong desire to find acceptance and respect from those around you that you will do anything to please others, even if the outcome is negative. Example: Young men who are willing to go to fight a war for their country may be terrified of injury and death, but it is more important for some of them to go and receive praise and approval from family and society.

Question 5

Kohlbergs _________________ level is the final level of moral development, one where moral development is characterized by self-chosen ethical principles that are comprehensive, universal, and consistent.

Answer 5

post-conventional

Explanation

An example of this may be seen in the actions of King Arthur who was known as a valiant and noble king. He strove to maintain respect, morality, and dignity at all costs. The three main stages of moral development according to Kohlberg are Pre-conventional / Pre-moral, Conventional / Role Conformity, and Post-conventional / Self-accepted Moral Principles.

Question 6

_____________’s Categorical Imperative states that if an action is not right for everyone, then it is not right for anyone.

Answer 6

Immanuel Kant’s

Question 7

Immanuel Kant’s general theory on ethics was that humans are subject to hypothetical and _________ imperatives, of which the latter binds us morally into acting in a particular manner.

Answer 7

categorical

Explanation

The categorical imperative binds rational human beings to act in a moral way, simply because we are rational beings. For example, when we are deciding how to act in a particular situation, we must ask whether we would be prepared for every person to follow that rule all the time thereby making it a universal law. If yes, then the act is allowable. If no, then the act is morally wrong.

Question 8

Kant states in his writings, Act in such a way that you always treat humanity… never simply as a means, but always at the same time as an end. This means that we must never consider people as a resource to be used to get what we want. If a law is not _________, you will be treating the other people as a means to your ends.

Answer 8

universal

Question 9

Carl was convicted of murdering his employer Rod when the latter fired him; a Kantian would choose capital punishment for Carl on the basis that the punishment chosen should be _____ to the crime committed.

Answer 9

equal

Explanation:

This is what Kant argued for the right to retaliation in equal measure. He felt that capital punishment was mandatory for murder.

Question 10

Richard is a farm owner who hires immigrant child workers every harvest time and pays a wage that is below the poverty line for 12 hours of daily work. He justifies his actions on the grounds that every other farm owner is doing the same thing, but if he adhered to _______ principles, he would realize that each person has intrinsic worth and hence should be treated with respect.

Answer 10

Kantian

Explanation

Kant believed that people have dignity because they are rational agents. Richard’s behavior is disrespectful because he does not pay his workers fairly and his long working hours are denying the children a right to an education. He is manipulating the children for his own benefit and that is morally unacceptable.

Question 11

ABC Pharmaceuticals tests its drugs on animal subjects, which is occasionally harmful to the animals. A Kantian would argue that animals are not ______ agents and hence can be used as a means to an end, with the qualification that we owe the animals an indirect duty to refrain from cruel treatment.

Answer 11

rational

Explanation

This is because Kant felt that cruel treatment to animals would soil our moral character and affect the way we treat other rational persons.

Question 12

Derek has been arrested on suspicion of kidnapping a teenage girl. He has admitted to the crime but refuses to tell the police officers where the girl is as he wants her to die. The officers debate whether they should beat the information out of him when Henry, a Kantian says that they should (Do it or Not do it?). _________

Answer 12

Not do it

Explanation

As a Kantian, Henry could possibly will a universal law permitting harm to someone in these circumstances but it will most certainly fail the respect for persons formulation.

Question 13

A hypothetical country has no regard for environmental sustainability and contributes to 30% of the planets carbon dioxide production. A Kantian would argue that a _________ law cannot be willed to pollute the world to benefit one nation and that the country is being disrespectful because pollution harms people.

Answer 13

universal

Explanation

The effects of pollution is a depletion in natural resources which in turn harms people, hence the countrys actions are breaching the respect for persons formulation of the categorical imperative.

Question 14

The CEO of XYZ Company says, “In our corporation, we comply with our duty to make the safest products for our customers, no matter what the consequences to our bottom line.” The CEO’s beliefs are grounded in the _______ theory of ethics.

Answer 14

Kantian

Explanation

The CEO cares about the companys duty to consumers, no matter what the consequences to the company’s profits. This is a Kantian approach to ethics.

Question 15

A _____ contract is an imaginary agreement entered into by people who sacrifice some of their liberty in order to prevent chaos.

Answer 15

social

Explanation

Enlightenment thinkers viewed the social contract as the partial sacrifice of liberty in order to produce the greatest happiness for the greatest number. Thought from this time period shifted the focus of criminal justice away from totalitarian state punishment and more towards human rights.

Question 16

Thomas Hobbes was a 17th Century philosopher whose social contract theory is based upon _____________.

Answer 16

self-interest

Explanation

Hobbes believed that in their natural state, without government or social order, humans would be in a state of constant war. The social contract theory states that humans entered into a social contract, surrendering their natural liberties in exchange for the order and safety provided by government.

Question 17

John Stuart Mill defines the __________________ principle as holding actions right in proportion where they promote happiness and wrong where they promote the reverse.

Answer 17

Greatest Happiness

Explanation

utilitarianism

Question 18

____ utilitarianism states that individuals should follow the correct moral rules based on the test of total well-being and where these rules conflict, we should revert to Act utilitarianism.

Answer 18

Rule

Explanation

Act utilitarianism is defined as the morally right act and the one that will bring the greatest increase in overall well-being.

Question 19

_____________ and John Locke are famous for their social contract theory, which was influential in the writing of the Declaration of Independence

Answer 19

Thomas Hobbes

Explanation

The social contract theory held that all people are free and equal and that they have the right to consent to be governed.

Question 20

The concept that governments must draw their authority from the governed is called _______ consent.

Answer 20

popular

Explanation

Popular consent was derived from Locke’s social contract theory.

Question 21

Hobbes, Rousseau, and Locke were similar in their ideas of a Social Contract which was the basis of all ____________.

Answer 21

civilization

Question 22

Rousseau was an 18th Century philosopher who influenced the American Revolution with his theory of the social contract whereby governments are given the right to rule society in exchange for protecting the rights and equality of all ________, and if they fail to do so, then the contract is breached and the people have the right to replace the rulers.

Answer 22

citizens

Explanation

His writings were powerful in convincing the people of their rights to good government and civil revolution where necessary to bring about this change. The outcome of the American revolution was essentially a constitutional contract stating the rights and freedoms of the people to be governed.

Question 23

__________ was a philosopher who utilized hypothetical social contracts to describe the Original Position where humans would be behind a veil of ignorance to ensure impartiality in the creation of moral principles.

Answer 23

John Rawls

Explanation

In the Original Position, humans would not know information about themselves that could be advantageous or disadvantageous. For example, they would not know their social status or race and they would not have yet joined any societal groups. This is the description of the veil of ignorance and ensures that moral rules created are fair to all since the individuals do not know what position they are in and cannot be biased in making the rules.

Question 24

People who subscribe to the ______________ theory of ethics that right or wrong is determined exclusively by the resulting outcome.

Answer 24

consequentialism

Explanation

For a consequentialist, if what follows an action is on balance of benefit to them, then that action is a “good” action and therefore we are “right” to do it. For a non-consequentialist, the beneficial or harmful consequences of an action are not considered when determining whether an action is right or wrong.

Question 25

__________ is an ethical theory which maintains that the ethics of an action do not depend on the consequences, but upon an important feature of the act itself.

Answer 25

Deontology

Explanation

A deontologist believes that it’s not enough just to produce the right results but that things must be done in a principled way.

Question 26

Modern deontological theory was most influenced by the philosopher ____.

Answer 26

Kant

Explanation

Kant believed the most important feature of any field (math, ethics, physics, etc) is consistency because human beings naturally reject contradictions.

Question 27

While deontological ethics are based on obligation, ____________ ethics are based on character.

Answer 27

teleological

Explanation

Teleological theories can take several forms including utilitarianisms “the greatest good for the greatest number.”

Question 28

Critics of Google may argue that they are psychological _______ because their actions are guided by motivations that advance their interests.

Answer 28

egoists

Explanation

Psychological egoism is different from ethical egoism because the latter is a moral standard where the overriding obligation is the promotion of ones own well-being.

Question 29

According to moral egoism, it is always acceptable to do what we believe to be in our own ____-interest.

Answer 29

self

Explanation

Moral egoism is sometimes called “ethical egoism”.

Question 30

Cultural _______ is where sociologists try not to let ethnocentrism affect their study of other cultures–they try to stay objective.

Answer 30

relativism

Explanation

Cultural relativism means the sociologist does not impose his own meaning on what is observed, or tries to focus only on the reason the observed element exists.

Question 31

___________ is where a person judges other cultures against the standards of his own culture.

Answer 31

Ethnocentrism

Explanation

Ethnocentrism is where a person tends to see his culture’s way of doing things as “normal,” or even superior. Sociologists try not to be ethnocentric–they want to be objective when studying other cultures.

Question 32

The Corporate _____ Officer of a company expresses this belief: “Our company believes we should be judged by our company’s announced views of what is right and wrong. We have a right to decide what behavior is acceptable or unacceptable, and we should be judged based upon how we live up to the standards we set for ourselves.” This view shows a preference for ethical relativism.

Answer 32

Ethics

Explanation

The Corporate Ethics Officer wants the company to be judged based upon its own feelings about what is right and wrong. This theory is not popular because members of society generally prefer universal standards of right and wrong.