Business Ethics
comprises the principles, values, and standards that guide behavior in the business world
Principles
are specific and pervasive boundaries for behaviors that are universal and absolute
Values
used to develop norms that are socially enforced.
Consumer Bill of Rights
1962 JFK said four basic rights: safety, informed, choose, be heard
Social Responsibility
an organization's obligation to maximize its positive impact on stakeholders and minimize its negative impact economic legal ethical and philanthropic
Federal Sentencing guidelines for Organizations
approved by congress in November 1991 follow standards and you won't be held responsible if wrongdoing is found
Defense Industry Initiatives
1986 guide corporate support for ethical conduct
Sarbanes Oxley
ethics reform in 2002, increased accounting regulations, CEO and chief financial officer held personally responsible in ethical wrongdoing
didd-frank wall street reform and consumer protection act 14
addressed some of the issues related to the financial crisis and recession, designed to make the financial services industry more ethical and responsible. Required regulators to create hundreds of rules to promote financial stability, improve accountabili
Ethical Culture
the character of the decision making process that employees use to determine whether their responses to ethical issues are right or wrong
Stakeholders
have a stake in the company and its outcomes
Stakeholder Orientation
the degree to which a firm understands and addresses stakeholder demands. generate data. Distribution of information. Organizations responsiveness
primary stakeholder
those whose continued association is absolutely necessary for a firm's survival including employees, customers, investors, and shareholders
secondary stakeholder
do not typically engage in transactions with a company are therefore not essential to its survival including media, trade associations, and special interest groups
stockholder interaction model
relationship between businesses and stakeholders
cooperate citizenship
is often used to express the extent to which businesses strategically meet the economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic responsibilities placed on them by various stakeholders
reputation
one of an organization's greatest intangible assets with tangible value
corporate governance
involves the development of formal systems of accountability, oversight, and control
shareholder model of corporate governance
founded in classical economic precepts, including the goal of maximizing wealth for investors and owners
stakeholder model of corporate governance
adopts a broader view of the purpose of business. Although a company certainly has a responsibility for economic success and viability to satisfy its stockholders, it must also answer to other stakeholders
interlocking directorate
the concept of board members being linked tumor than one company
execute compensation
one of the biggest issues of corporate boards of directors face.
integrity
one of the most important and oft-cited elements of virtue, and refers to being whole, sound, and in an unimpaired condition
honesty
refers to truthfulness or trustworthiness
fairness
the quality of being just, equitable, and impartial
equality
about the distribution of benefits and resources
reciprocity
an interchange of giving and receiving in social relationships
optimization
the trade-off between equity and efficiency
ethical issue
a problem, situation, or opportunity that requires an individual, group, or organization to choose among several actions that must be evaluated as right or wrong, ethical or unethical
ethical dilemma
a problem, situation, or opportunity that requires an individual, group, or organization to choose among several actions that have negative outcomes
abusive or intimidating behavior
common ethical problem for employees. Refer to physical threats, false accusations, being annoying, profanity, ect
lying
untruthful statements that result in danger or harm, white lies that do not cause damage but instead function as excuses or a means of benefitting others and statements obviously that meant to engage or entertain without malice
conflict of interest
exists when an individual must choose whether to advance his or her own interests,t hose of the organization, or those of some other group
bribery
practice of offering something in order to gain an illicit advantage from someone in authority
active bribery
the person who promises or gives the bribe commits the offense
passive bribery
an offense committed by the official who receives the bribe
facilitation payment
made to obtain or retain business or other improper advantages do not constitute bribery payments for us companies in some situations
corporate intelligence
the collection and analysis of information on markets, technologies, customers, and competitors, as well as on socioeconomic and external political trends
hacking
considered one of the top three methods for obtaining trade secrets
system hacking
assumes attacker already has access to a low-level, privileged-user account
remote hacking
involves attempting to remotely penetrate a system across the internet
physical hacking
requires the CI agent enter a facility personally.
social engineering
the tricking of individuals into revealing their passwords or other valuable corporate information
shoulder surfing
someone simply looks over an employee's shoulder while he or she types in a password
password guessing
another easy social engineering technique, If a person an find out personal things about someone, he or she might be able to use that information to guess their password
dumpster diving
once trash is discarded onto a public street or alley, it is considered fair game, Trash can provide a rich source of info for any CI agent
whacking
wireless hacking
phone eavesdropping
a person with digital recording device can monitor and record a fax line, By playing the recording back an intruder can reproduce an exact copy of a message without anyone's knowledge
discrimination
on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, martial status, sexual orientation, public assistance status, disability, age, national origin or veteran status is illegal in the us
equal employment opportunity commission
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age discrimination in employment act
specifically outlaws hiring practices that discriminate against people 40 years of age or older, as well as those that require employees from making employment decisions
affirmative action program
company cannot refuse to hire an individual, maintain a system of employment that unreasonably excludes an individual from employment, discharges on individual, or discriminates against an individual with respect to hiring, employment terms, promotion, or
sexual harassment
any repeated, unwanted behavior of a sexual nature perpetrated upon one individual by another
hostile work environment
three criteria must be met: conduct was unwelcome, the conduct was severe, pervasive, and regarded by the claimant as so hostile or offensive as to alter his or her conditions of employment; and the conduct was such that a reasonable person would find it
dual relationship
personal, loving, and/or sexual relationship with someone with whom you share professional responsibilities
unethical dual relationship
those where the relationship could potentially cause a direct or indirect conflict of interest or a risk of impairment to professional judgement
fraud
any purposeful communication that deceives, manipulates, or conceals acts in order to harm others
accounting fraud
usually involves a corporation;s financial reports, in which companies provide important information on which investors and others base decisions involving millions of dollars
marketing fraud
the process of dishonestly creating, distributing, promoting, and pricing products
puffery
exaggerated advertising, blustering, and boasting upon which no reasonable buyer would rely and is not actionable under the Lanham Act
implied falsity
the message has a tendency to mislead, confuse, or deceive the public
literally false
2 subcategories
test prove: the advertisement cites a study or test that establishes the claim
bald assertions: the advertisement makes a claim that cannot be substantiated, as when a commercial states a certain product is superior to any other on the mar
labeling issue
intended to stave off the increasing scrutiny of critics who believe that energy drink caffeine levels are unsafe
consumer fraud
occurs when consumers attempt to deceive businesses for their own gain
insider trading
illegal-the buying or selling of stocks by insiders who possess information that is not yet public
legal- involves legally buying and selling stock in an insider's own company, but not all the time
intellectual property rights
involve the legal protection of intellectual property such as music, books, and movies
privacy issue
includes monitoring employees' use of available technology and consumer privacy