unit 3 - moral judgments Flashcards
new approaches to moral judgment
- objectivism
- integrative social contract theory
- ethic of care
virture vs. vice
The name virtue ethics expresses the idea that ethics is about having virtue , the quality of having a good character.
The flip side is having a vice , which is the quality of having a bad character.
doctrine of the golden mean
For Aristotle, a mark of virtue is to develop a disposition that is the mean between two extremes, which has come to be called the doctrine of the golden mean . For example, courage is a virtue according to Aristotle, falling in between two extremes (vices) of cowardice and recklessness
objectivism - background info
Ethical decision rule #4 Objectivism
- Rand (Russian) - created objectivism
- Spent time US talking about american values
- Convince us that we have a wonderful system
- Founding values and treasure our history
Objectivism is a theory that pushes American values to the limit. Values capitalism, free markets, people must be alone to develop themselves
–> Bottom line: be rational, think hard, don’t let emotions dictate your actions, be all you can be so you can be the hest over your lifetime
objectivism (all)
AYN RAND
Objectivism is a theory that pushes American values to the limit. Values capitalism, free markets, people must be alone to develop themselves
–> Bottom line: be rational, think hard, don’t let emotions dictate your actions, be all you can be so you can be the hest over your lifetime
Big decision rule in Objectivism (Two parts of her rule):
- Be rational
- Americans can be sloppy as they think emotions give us reason to change how we interact with others
- She proposed that only way humans know things about position is through reasoning
- Primary obligation of human is to be rational at all time - Be all that you can be
- Build yourself into the best human you can be
- What would be best for me in the long run to develop myself
Pros
- Reinforces personal responsibility
- Rand wanted people to not be moochers
- Each human must have the responsibility for themselves so they can develop themselves so they can be responsible for both pros and cons in their life
- Virtuous thing for people who have large capabilities who exercised them to their fullest to also help others who are trying with what they have
Cons
- Individualistic and judgmental
- Self-centered theory
- Needs more community orientation
- Too judgmental because it is quick to say you’re not behaving this way so I won’t help you
- “You’re not pulling your own weight”
Management by Black Belt
- This small company and the founder wanted competitive and independent people
- We want people who will work their hardest
- He was founding his business with Rand’s principles
- Firm became lucrative
- Low turnover rate
- Judgmental and rational and competitive and productive
authentic norms
Authentic norms are only potentially acceptable from a moral point of view, however. Built from the ground up historically within specific regions and communities, authentic norms have the tremendous advantage of providing specific advice in business ethics—an important feature that general and broad ethical theories lack.
donaldson and dunfee’s principles
In sum, Donaldson and Dunfee believe the following principles will emerge from the macro-social contract:
- Local economic communities may specify ethical norms for their members through micro-social contracts
- Norm-specifying microsocial contracts must be grounded in informed consent buttressed by a right of exit, which establishes their authenticity.
- In order to be legitimate and obligatory, a microsocial contract norm must be compatible with hypernorms
donaldson and dunfee
Developed for global business
Ethical theory that is tailored for business
Integrates global and local norms
Social contract theory means it is created by people who come together for a formal agreement
integrative social contrast theory’s decision rule
DONALDSON AND DUNFEE
Decision rule
Action does not violate a global hypernorm or local authentic norm
- Global vs local
- Global hypernorm
People come together and come together to form rules that everyone can agree with it as our cultures all agree on it
Common morality - Two key hypernorms
1. Respect the dignity of all human beings
Look at who is harmed by your decisions
2. Respect human rights
Basic human rights cannot be violated
Context matters too in this theory
If it doesn’t violate a hypernorm and in sync with a local norm then it is ethical - Local authentic norm
1. How to figure this out? Do the locals approve if you do this behavior?
2. How would they disapprove of you if you do not do this behavior?
3. Everyone these does it (check out what the local business community do as long as it does not go against hypernorms)
integrative social contracts theory’s pros, cons and examples
Biggest pro
- Adapts to variations in local norms within some global limits
You care about the local culture (no “where I can from we..”
Respect other cultures
Biggest cons
- Local norms are vague and may give actors too much flexibility
Really hard to figure out local norms
How do you know if locals will disapprove of certain behaviors?
-Vague nature of norms
Individual beliefs can be rocky because if you respect your hypernorms and go to another country and behave differently, than can leave you at odds with personal beliefs
Example
- Levis Strauss and underage workers in Bangladesh
Levi was hiring children under 14 to do construction work on clothing
American consumers though this was unethical
Locals disagreed with activists
In the that country it does not violate local norm
Levi decided to stop child labor and pay for their school until they turn 15
ethics of care’s decision rule
CAROL GILLIAN
Ethic of care
Decision rule
Focus on relationships and responsibilities
- Kohlberg argued that not many women rose to the highest levels of moral development and feminist writers at Harvard came up with a different developmental stage for women
Found that women and men too become autonomous and focus on others
Ethics of care
Moral to focus on relationships AND responsibilities!
- Relationships
Its ok to have relationship with other people in the community and it is ethical to take care of others
Business application : you have relationships with suppliers, customers etc. so you take care of them. You ask how your suppliers are doing when facing setbacks - Responsibilities
Nozick said to focus on rights
Every right has a corresponding responsibility
Everyone around you has the responsibility to not force or fraud you
If you have a responsibility then so do others
Business: I have a responsibility to fulfill a contract
Objectivism is the antithesis of this theory
ethics of care’s pros, cons and examples
Biggest pro
- Protects the weak and dependent (you created that dependence)
Primarily beneficial because it protects the weak
Caring for those less fortunate/advantaged
You may get others help so they can benefit you too
Biggest con
- Neglects justice
Denies justice
Someone who did something wrong
Enable that behavior
Example
- Certain small, entrepreneurial businesses try this
Group or founder might have a different purpose for having a business than profit maximization
EX: The goal is to work 9-3 while their kid is at school while I also have fun so success in that small firm is that everyone works 9-3. So that means employees made it. Firm isn’t maximizing profit but that is not the goal of that specific firm.
Feminine firm
psychological vs ethical egoism
For shareholder proponents, an advantage to shareholder theory is that it more realistically characterizes the motives that most people bring to business and economic life. This position has two shades of meaning.
Psychological egoism is the descriptive view first introduced in Chapter 1 (box) that people are motivated only by their self-interests. Ethical egoism is the normative view that people ought to do whatever is in their self-interests.
How is shareholder primacy different from stakeholder theory?
Priorities. Shareholders focus mainly on the financial return on their investments, whether in the form of dividends or stock appreciation. Stakeholders focus on the company’s overall performance, how it treats customers, partners, and employees, and how it impacts the community, among other things.
