Week 6: Ethics

Question 1

What are Ethical Dilemmas and which types do exist?

Answer 1

• Situations requiring personal judgement without rules, policies or legal statues to guide the decision.
• Type A
  
  • Pros and cons to decision
• Type B
  
  • Clear right answer, but rationalize alternative

Question 2

What are international business ethics and why are they difficult?

Answer 2

• “Business conduct or morals of MNC’s in their relationships with individuals and entities”
• Practices illegal/unethical in some countries are norms for business in others.

Question 3

Ethical Analysis: What are traditional theories about ethics?

Answer 3

• Traditional theories
  
  • Consequentialist
    
    • Egoism
    • Ultilitarian
  • Non-consequentialist
    
    • Ethics of duties
    • Ethics of rights and justice
• Contemporary theories
  
  • Virtue ethics
  • Feminist ethics
  • Discourse ethics
  • Postmodern ethics

Question 4

What leads to unethical behaviour?

Answer 4

• Individual factors
  
  • Moral development
  • Ignorance level
  • Personal responsibility
  • Bias (Bazerman, Loewenstein & Moore)
• Organizational factors
  
  • Employ relationships
    
    • Weak, singular or unbalanced
  • Organizational culture
  • Ambiguity
  • Incentives that support self-serving biases
  • Pressure

Question 5

What supports ethical behaviour on an organizational basis?

Answer 5

• Inform: cross cultural differences
• Environment: Promote moral values
  
  • Formally: vision, recruitment process, incentives
  • Informally: organizational culture, role modeling

Question 6

How do I support ethical behaviour?

Answer 6

• As an individual:
  
  • To avoid rationalizing, ask yourself:
    
    • Am I lying, cheating or stealing?
    • Will anyone get hurt by my decision?
    • Am I violating any individual rights?
    • How would I feel if my decision was reported in the newspaper?
    • What if I did it a 100 times?
    • What is my gut feeling?
  • ⇒ What is my professional responsibility?
• In organizations:
  
  1. Distribute a written code of ethics
  2. Conduct ethics training seminars
  3. Link ethical behaviour to rewards
  4. Leader’s behaviour must be ethical
  5. Develop an ethics committee

Question 7

How do I cope with ethical dilemmas?

Answer 7

Question 8

What are the steps to an ethical decision?

Answer 8

• Consult laws of involved countries
• Consult international MNEs Codes of Conduct
• Consult organizatinal code of ethics and norms
• Consult superiors
• Weigh stakeholders’ interests
• Follow conscience and moral code

Question 9

How can I evaluate the ethics of a decision?

Answer 9

• Identify who is affected & the likelihood of consequences (interests)
• Identify applicable values
• Seek advice
• Ensure chosen solution is legal and supported by values

Question 10

How can we summarize the chapter of ethical analysis?

Answer 10

• Individual (bias) and contextual facilitate unethical behaviour
• Managers must be aware of these factors and where possible remove their influence
  
  • Implement strategies that support ethical behaviour
  • Follow rational decision-making, identify values & interests, implement authentically.