week 1

Question 1

what is business ethics

Answer 1

Organizational principles, values, and norms that originate from individuals, organizational statements, or from the legal system

Guide individual and group behavior in business

Principles: Specific boundaries that should not be violated

Values: Existing beliefs and ideals that are socially enforced

Ethics - Behavior or decisions made within a group’s values

Question 2

what are principles

Answer 2

Specific boundaries that should not be violated

Question 3

What are values

Answer 3

Existing beliefs and ideals that are socially enforced

Question 4

what is ethics

Answer 4

• Behavior or decisions made within a group’s values

Question 5

define business ethics

Answer 5

organisational principles, values and norms that guide individual and group behaviour in business [see also chapter 5]

Question 6

explain the ‘grey area’

Answer 6

Potential decision rules for navigating the grey area
Could you tell your mother/ loved one’s)?
Would you want this on the front page of the news?
Decisions are made in business by groups of people that represent the business organization:
BUSINESS IS BUSINESS
Businesses must earn a profit [see chapter 2]
Business must balance their desire for profits against the needs and desires of society
And because of this
Misconduct is still rife in organizations today;
Every business has the potential for unethical behaviour;
Personal values may not be sufficient to handle the ethical issues that arise;
Organisations are culturally diverse and have a range of personal morals, so it is necessary to have collective agreement on codes of conduct that are reasonably capable of preventing misconduct – the close “calls” that fall into those grey areas.

Question 7

explain misconduct in the workplace

Answer 7

misue of company resources
abusive behaviour
harassment
accounting fraud
conflicts on interest
defective products
bribery
product knockoffs
employee theft

Question 8

reasons for studying business ethics

Answer 8

improves an individuals personal ethics
helps in addressing business strategy decisions that are complex and detailded

ensures collective agreement of organizational ethics

helps people with limited experiences making organizaitonal decisons

helps one identity and resolve ethical issues in a quick manner

Question 9

Standards and procedures for preventing misconduct

Answer 9

High level of oversight
Care in delegation of authority
Effective communication
Employee training
Systems to monitor, audit, and report misconduct
Consistent enforcement and continuous improvement

Question 10

define ethical culture

Answer 10

acceptable behavior as defined by the company and industry

Creates shared values and support for ethical decisions – driven by top management

Question 11

goal of ethical cultures

Answer 11

Minimize need for enforced compliance

Maximize utilization of principles/ethical reasoning in difficult or new situations

Question 12

Benefits of business ethics

Answer 12

employee commitment:
- Development of an ethical culture leads to employee retention and loyalty, which increases employee performance

Investor Loyaty:
Investors are aware of the contributions of ethical conduct in providing a foundation for efficiency, productivity, and profits in a firm

-Customer satisfaction:
Companies viewed as socially responsible gain a high amount of customer trust and satisfaction

-profits:
Ethical culture helps a company stay ahead of its competitors, thereby gaining more profits

Question 13

you think of ethics as ‘just a fad’? Why or why not? Have your views changed since reading this chapter? If yes, please discuss how.

Answer 13

Start with defining what is a fad•
Solutions which are transient, temporary
•Past management fads included quality circles, total quality management and self-managed teams
•
Demand for fads generated by managers seeking rational, ‘cutting-edge’ solutions to persistent organisational problems
•More than 30 year interest fuelled by media coverage of ethical lapses in every sector of society•Increased interest in ethics and values seen in proliferation of articles and books

Question 14

you think business ethics / social responsibility is important? Why or why not?

Answer 14

Public holds contemptuous mistrust of many professional groups
•Causes on cynicismoBusinesses preoccupation with gainoLack of reinforcement of ethical behaviouror Acceptance of unethical practices within business and industry
o Perception that only results are important oIneffective enforcement of ethics codes
•Business ethics gives an organisation the knowledge and skills necessary to:oSet ethical standards for themselves and their employeeso
Establish policies and practices that support ethical behaviouror
Provide managers the tools to manage unethical behaviour
•Have you observed / read / heard about situations where business ethics was important? Could and should the participants in your example behaved different? Discuss.

Question 15

identify reasons why an organisation would be interested in being ethical, and classify those reasons in terms of whether they represent moral motivation or economic motivation.

Answer 15

In  this  answer  you  can  start  with  the  various  reasons  why  an  organisation  may  want  to  act  ethically  and  then  classify  these  into  the  economic  and  moral  categories.  
Some  pointers  for  discussion:
•Possible answers with economic motives 
oAbility to attract employees
oBetter public image
oIndustry pressure
oSentencing guidelines 
•Possible answers with moral motives
oThe fair and right thing to do 
oConsistent with values of the organisation

Question 16

Do you believe that employees are more attracted and committed to ethical organisations? Are you? Why or why not? Make a list of the companies you would prefer to work for and the reasons why. Are there also companies that you would refuse to work for? Why?

Answer 16

Some pointers for discussion
:•Research suggests that individuals are attracted to ethical organisations
•Which organisation would you prefer to work for and why?
•What are the flaws in thinking only about economic motives?
•What are the flaws in thinking only about moral motives?

Question 17

Q4. Think about the four types of corporate social responsibility. Do you agree that they should be represented by a pyramid? Why or why not? What are the implications of stopping at a particular pyramid level? For example, would it be all right if a company took its sole responsibility to be financial responsibility? Can you think of a better way to graphically represent a company’s social responsibility?

Answer 17

Briefly discuss four types of corporate social responsibility: economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic•If you were an employee in an organisation, how would you know whether your company was committed to the concepts of social responsibility pyramid? •Would different levels of your organisation respond differently to the corporate responsibility pyramid?•Many would argue that philanthropy is not a responsibility. What do you think? If it is not, then where does the organisation’s responsibility stop?