What is ethics?
The discipline that examines a person's moral standards or the moral standards of society to evaluate their applicability & reasonableness to the situation in an individual's life
What ethics is NOT
1.) Feelings: a sensation or an emotional state like joy
2.) Religion: ethics can include religion, but many people are not religious; ethics applies to everyone and isn't confined to religion
3.) Following the law: the law can deviate from what is ethica
What is business ethics?
Specialized study of moral right and wrong that focuses on moral standards as they apply to business organizations and their behavior
- Business ethics is about how we behave (the standards by which we hold ourselves accountable) AND about relationships (
3 levels that ethical issues can occur
1.) Individual: how we act as individuals in the workplace; ethical questions about a person's character, behavior, and their actions
2.) Organizational (corporate): how business org. are structured and how they work. Examines policies, climate, norms, et
When examining ethical issues in the workplace...
1.) We shouldn't hide behind the fiction of the corporation
2.) As humans, we control, decide, and carry out what the corporation does
3.) As individuals, we are influenced by other workers and the organization
4.) We as individuals still make the choice
3 different management situations with varying ethical considerations
1: Ethical considerations in each situation --> managing and leading contain many ethical decisions. Every decision effects people, the business environment, and the natural environment.
2: Competing forces --> make ethical decisions between financial per
3 steps for managers
1.) Identify stakeholders
2.) Have a framework to arrive at your decisions
3.) Communicating
Pressures and Factors affecting the morality of managers
1.) Individual and cognitive factors:
-Ignorance: can account for bad ethical choices; can almost be willful and intentional
- Considering limited alternatives: when faced with a situation with 2 clear paths, a person only considers these 2 factors; they
What is personal ethics?
Refer to the rules by which an individual lives his or her personal life.
- Ethics and business ethics is a two-fold investigation that includes the activity of the investigation and the results. The focus/subject of the investigation is morality
What are moral standards?
The norms about the kinds of actions believed to be morally right and wrong, as well as the values placed on what we believe to be morally good and morally bad
Elements of moral standards
1.) Personal goals = our expectations of outcomes; these are what we want out of life. Can include personal possessions like cars, homes, etc. They can include family, social justice, etc.
2.) Personal norms = our expectation of behavior; the way we expec
Influences on elements of moral standards
- Cultural and religious traditions have variations and this affects GNB&V which affects that individuals MS.
- Takeaway points: A,B,C.
A: Religious, cultural, economic, and social will affect your moral standards
B: People hold their different economic a
Why moral standards are NOT an adequate framework for ethical issues
1.) Moral standards are subjective; they vary from person to person
2.) Moral standards are variable; they vary by country, time, religion, etc.
3.) Moral standards conflict; one persons will conflict with another person's
Why should we be moral?
Amoral person --> an individual who does not stop to think about the rightness or fairness of his/her decisions, but instead concentrates upon profits (or some other goal) for their employer and personal benefits for themselves
Ethical relativism: there i
Moral responsibility and stakeholders
Moral responsibility= 1.) a person's moral duty or their moral obligation; the recognition of ethical dilemmas or issues
2.) Affixing or placing blame? --> No
- Key managerial function is to recognize that you have moral responsibility
3 components of the managerial function of moral responsibility
1.) Realize that others are being morally impacted
2.) We need to be able to identify the groups being impacted (the stakeholders)
3.) Determine, do we have moral responsibility or not?
Key elements for recognizing moral responsibility
A. Causality --> an individual caused or helped cause injury or wrong or they failed to prevent it when they could have
B. Knowledge --> the individual made the decision knowing what they were doing
2 exceptions: Ignorance (does not relieve of your moral
What are mitigating factors?
Reduce the managers overall moral responsibility
A. Degree of contribution/ participation: some actions will involve several parties to determine if something is unethical
B. Difficulty due to duress: pressures placed on you to perform an action to determ
Corporate and subordinate responsibility
1.) Corporate: actions and decisions within a company are made by many people; who is responsible when many people are involved?
2.) Subordinate: carries out an act that the supervisor told him to carry out and they both know it's wrong
What is a stake and what are stakeholders?
Stake: an interest or share or undertaking
Stakeholders: an individual or group who can affect or be affected by the achievement of an organizations actions, activities, decisions, etc.
1.) This concept of stakeholder is a 2 way street; there is an exchan
3 organizational views of stakeholders
1.) Production view: suppliers, organization, customers
2.) Managerial view: suppliers, organization, customers + employees and stakeholders
3.) Stakeholder view: much broader viewpoint of the organization; its concerned with individuals who can be influe
What are primary and secondary stakeholders?
Primary stakeholders: direct influence and stake in the company's success
Secondary stakeholders: more removed and indirect influence
Your status as a stakeholder can change
NEXT SLIDES ARE THE HILL DISCUSSION
---
What approach does Hill take as his primary concern?
Takes an approach as God as his central interest and primary concern
Our tipping point as Christians is sin
Hill says, "sin is the refusal to emulate God and instead set our own and independent agendas
3 components of his model?
Holiness--Justice--Love
A business act is ethical if it reflects Gods holy, just, and loving character
Must have all 3 before an action can be considered moral
Ex: 3 legged stool
- if one leg is broken, it cannot do its job
2 takeaway points from Hill as business professionals
1.) We all have a fundamental flaw....sin
2.) We are all susceptible to the temptation of justifying unethical behavior
Key point Hill also makes: he says that most humans are neither wicked or angelic, but we are all somewhere in between
3 points to Hill's theocentric approach
1.) Ethics logically follows theology
2.) When we behave in a manner consistent with Gods character, we act ethically
3.) Value is placed on the life that seeks to emulate Gods character
What is Holiness and list the 4 primary elements of Holiness
Holiness: the concept of single minded devotion to God and absolute ethical purity
4 primary elements:
1.) Zeal for God: holiness calls us to zealously make God our highest priority.
- Holiness is fundamentally about priorities
- Holiness abhors when busi
3 erroneous views of Holiness
1.) Legalism: legalism reduces holiness to rule keeping
- Legalists follow policies and keep promises, but show very little emotional sensitivity to others
- Companies operated by legalists often become rigid and institutionalized
- Workers just learn to
NEXT FEW SLIDES ARE LECTURE SLIDES
---
What is a right and list the 3 types of rights in the business world
Right: an individuals entitlement to something. A right enables a person to choose freely whether to pursue certain activities or interests
1.) Legal right: legal claim to be treated in a certain way or to have a particular right protected
Ex: right to a
Positive and Negative rights
Negative Rights: duties others have to not interfere in certain activities of the person who holds the right
Positive Rights: duties of other agents (it is not always clear who) to provide the holder of the right with whatever he or she needs to freely pu
3 types of justice
1.) Distributed justice: concerned with the fair distribution of society's benefits and burdens
2.) Retributive justice: pertains to a situation where a penalty for wrongdoing is considered just and appropriate
3.) Compensatory justice: requires fairly re
Kohlberg's 6 stages of moral development
1.) Level one= the pre-conventional level --> the focus is on the self
- Main behavior reactions are in response to punishment and rewards
Stage 1: reaction to punishment
Stage 2: seeking of rewards
- Many people are at this stage in the business world; t
HILL CHAPTER 3 AND 4 NOTES
----
What is justice?
- Justice provides order to human relationships by laying out reciprocal sets of duties and rights for those living in the context of community
- The twin concepts of duties and rights are central to justice: we have been endowed with 2 fundamental rights
What are negative injunctions and affirmative duties?
Negative injunctions: we are obliged not to injure others
Affirmative duties: there is little unanimity about responsibilities toward those whom we have not harmed
4 basic aspects of justice
1.) Procedural rights: focus on fair processes in decision making includes due process and equal protection
Due process: (1) Requires decision makers to be impartial, to have no conflicts of interest. Impartiality forbids decision makers from having pree
What is compensatory justice?
When any of these 4 are violated, compensatory justice is needed.
- Justice tends to be cold and harsh, lacking the emotional heat and relational passion of holy love
Love= relationships
Holiness= purity
Justice= rights
---
Many consider love to be the centerpiece of Christian ethics
- Without a solid relational foundation, no group effort can succeed in the long run
---
Christian love has 3 primary characteristics
1.) Empathy: understanding, kindness, and sensitivity; empathy feels for others. Christian empathy encourages corporate executives to demonstrate heartfelt concern for the less fortunate, to take personal interest in the fate of severely ill associates an
What is altruistic sinning?
The laying aside of ethical conduct to please another