business ethics exam 1

American Marketing Association

Association for marketing professionals that abides by a marketing code of ethics. Code speaks of no harm, fostering trust and improving customer confidence in the Integrity of the marketing Exchange.

code of ethics

a company's written standard of ethical behavior that are designed to guide managers and employees in making the decisions and choices they face everyday.

virtue ethics

a concept of living your life according to a commitment to the achievement of a clear ideal. for example, what sort of person would I like to become and how do I go about becoming that person?

culture

a particular set of attitudes, beliefs, and practices that characterize a group of individuals.

value system

a set of personal principles formalized into a code of behavior.

conflict of interest

a situation in which one relationship or obligation places you in direct conflict with an existing relationship or obligation.

ethical dilemma

a situation in which there is no obvious right or wrong decision, but rather a wrong or right answer, cannot be resolved with a satisfactory answer.

Society

a structured community of people bound together by similar traditions and customs.

Universal ethics

actions are taken out of Duty and obligation to a purely moral ideal rather than based on the needs of the situation, since the universal principles are seen to apply to everyone, everywhere, all the time.

descriptive approach

describe and tell expective actions and or behaviors. It is a summation of the Customs, attitudes, and rules that are observed within a business.

two approaches of business ethics

descriptive and prescriptive/ normative

Golden Rule

do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

simple truth

doing the right thing, something most people can understand and support.

3 resolution principles for resolving ethical dilemmas in business ethics

ends based, rules-based, the Golden Rule.

utilitarianism

ethical choices that offer the greater or greatest good for the greatest number of people.

three step process for solving an ethical problem

first analyze the consequences. second analyze the actions. third make a decision.

ethics

how people try to live their lives according to a standard of right or wrong Behavior.

code of ethics

key or Central guidelines or rules to enable / support daily work and decision-making.

sarbanes-oxley Act of 2002

law that introduced greater accountability for chief executive officers and board of directors in signing off on the financial performance records of the organizations they represent.

ethical reasoning

looking at the information available to us in resolving an ethical dilemma and drawing conclusions based on that information in relation to our own ethical standards.

morals vs. ethics

morals are how you treat people you know including yourself. Ethics are how you treat people you don't know and expect them to treat you.

morals

principles on which an individual makes judgments of what is good and bad.

prescriptive / normative

recommending actions. it evaluates the degree to which the observed Customs, attitudes, and rules can be considered ethical.

stakeholder

someone with a share or interest in a business Enterprise. Not all stakeholders are relevant in all situations. examples of stakeholders are stockholders, employees, customers, suppliers or vendor Partners, retailers or wholesalers, federal government, creditors, and community.

business ethics

the application of ethical standards to business Behavior.

oxymoron

the combination of two contradictory terms, such as deafening silence or jumbo shrimp. The terms Do Not Mirror each other. business ethics is considered an oxymoron due to the recent Financial occurrences.

GAAP

the generally accepted accounting principles that govern the accounting profession - not a set of laws and established legal precedents but a set of standard operating procedures within the profession.

organizational value chain

the key areas, functional and support inputs that an organization provides in the transformation of raw materials into a delivered product or service.

four basic categories of ethics

the simple truth. a question of someone's personal character or integrity. rules of appropriate individual Behavior. rules of appropriate behavior for community and Society.

applied ethics

the study of how ethical theories are put into practice.

corporate governance

the system by which business corporations are directed and controlled.

organizational culture

values, beliefs, and Norms shared by all employees of the organization, not competitors.

basic ethical theories

virtue ethics, utilitarianism, Universal ethics.

rules-based

what would happen if everyone made the same decision as you?

intrinsic value

where a value is a good thing in itself and is pursued for its own sake, whether anything comes from that pursuit or not. for example, happiness, health, and love.

instrumental value

where the pursuit of that value is a good way to reach another value. For example money to buy items to become happy.

ethical relativism

where the traditions of your Society, your personal opinions, and the circumstances of the present moment Define your ethical principles.

ends based

which decision would provide the greatest good for the greatest number of people?

types of conflict in an ethical dilemma

1. Truth Versus loyalty. 2. short-term versus long-term. 3. Justice versus Mercy. 4. individual versus community.

six key support line areas in an organization's value chain

1. human resource management. 2. Finance. 3. Information Systems. 4. management. 5. accounting. 6. auditing.

five key functional line areas in an organization's value chain

1. research and development. 2. Manufacturing. 3. marketing and advertising. 4. sales. 5. customer service.