Quiz #1

Autonomy (Ch. 3)

- "Self-rule" - The capacity to make free and deliberate choices. The capacity for autonomous action is what explains the inherent dignity and intrinsic value of individual human beings

Egoism (Ch. 3)

- A consequentialist theory, but it focuses exclusively on the happiness of the individual making the decision - As a psychological theory, egoism holds that all people act only from self interest. Empirical evidence strongly suggest that this is a mistaken account of human motivation - As an ethical theory, egoism holds that humans are to act for their own self interest. Ethical egoist typically distinguish between one's perceived best interest in one's true best interest

Normative Ethics (Ch. 1)

- A normative discipline, ethics deals with norms and Standards of appropriate and proper behavior - Establish the guidelines or standards for determining what we should do, how we should act, what type of person we should be - Philosophers emphasize that ethics is normative, dealing without reasoning about how we should act

Virtue Ethics (Ch. 3)

- An approach to ethics that studies the character traits or habits that constitute a good human life, a life worth living - The virtues provide answers to the basic ethical question "What kind of person should I be?"

Utilitarianism (Ch. 3)

- An ethical tradition that directs us to decide based on overall consequences of our acts - An ethical theory that tells us that we can determine the ethical significance of any action by looking to the consequence of that act - Typically identified with the policy of "maximizing the overall good" or, in a slightly different version, of producing "the greatest good for the greatest number"

Categorical Imperative (Ch. 3)

- An imperative is a command or duty; categorical means that it is without exception - Categorical imperative is an overriding principle of ethics - Philosopher Immanuel Kant offered several formulations of the categorical imperative: act so as the maximum implicit in your acts could be world to be a universal law; treat persons as ends and never as means only; treat others as subjects, not objects

Ethical Relativism (Ch. 3)

- An important perspective within the philosophical study of ethics that holds that ethical values and judgments are ultimately dependent on, or relative to, one's culture, society, or personal feelings - Relativism denies that we can make rational or objective ethical judgments

Principle-Based Framework (Ch. 3)

- Directs us to act on the basis of moral principles such as respecting human rights - A framework for ethics that grounds decision making in fundamental principles such as justice, liberty, autonomy, and fairness - Principle-based ethics typically assert that individual rights and duties are fundamental and thus can also be referred to as a rights-based or duty-based approach to ethics - Often distinguish from consequential frameworks, which determines ethical decisions based on the consequences of our acts

Principles (Ch. 3)

- Ethical rules that put values into action - Principles create ethical duties that bind us to act or decide in certain ways

Personal and Professional Decision Making (Ch. 2)

- Individuals within a business setting are often in situations in which they must make decisions both from their own personal point of view and from their perspective of the specific role they fill within an institution - Ethically responsible decisions require an individual to recognize that these perspectives can conflict and that A life of moral integrity must balance the personal values with the professional role-based values and responsibilities

Practical Reasoning (Ch. 1)

- Involves reasoning about what one ought to do - Contrasted with theoretical reasoning, which is concerned with what one ought to believe - Ethics is a part of practical reason

Theoretical Reasoning (Ch. 1)

- Involves reasoning that is aimed to establishing truth and therefore at what we ought to believe - Contrast with practical reasoning, which aims it determining what is reasonable for us to do

Descriptive Ethics (Ch. 1)

- Provides a descriptive and empirical account of those standards that actually guide behavior, as opposed to those standards that should guide behavior - They provide an account of how and why people do act the way they do - they describe

Perceptual Differences (Ch. 2)

- Psychologists and philosophers have long recognized that individuals cannot perceive the world independently of their own conceptual framework - Experiences are mediated by and interpreted through our own understanding and concepts. - Ethical disagreements can depend as much on a person's conceptual framework as on the facts of the situation - Unpacking our own and others' conceptual schema plays an important role in making ethically responsible decisions

Social Ethics (Ch. 1)

- The area of ethics that is concerned with how we should live together with others and how social organizations ought to be structured - Social ethics involves questions of political, economic, civic, and cultural norms aimed at promoting human well-being

Character (Ch. 3)

- The sum of relatively certain traits, dispositions, and habits of an individual. Along with rational deliberation and choice, a person's character counts for how she or he makes decisions and acts - Training and developing character so that it is disposed to act ethically is the goal of virtue ethics - A person's character is not independent of that person's identity

Values (Ch. 1)

- The underlying beliefs that causes us to act or to decide one way rather than another - Serve the ends of human well-being in impartial, rather than personal or selfish, ways

Morality (Ch. 1)

- Those aspects of ethics involving personal, individual decision making - "How should I live my life?" or "What type of person ought I be?" are taken to be the basic questions of morality - Can be distinguished from question of social justice, which address issues of how communities and social organizations ought to be structured

Human Rights (Ch. 3)

- Those moral rights that individuals have simply in virtue of being a human being - Also called natural rights or moral rights

Duties (Ch. 3)

- Those obligations that one is bound to perform, regardless of consequences - Duties might be derived from basic ethical principles, from the law, or from one's institutional or professional role

Ethical Values (Ch. 1)

- Those properties of life that contribute to human well-being and a life well lived - Include such things as happiness, respect, dignity, integrity, freedom, companionship, and health

Norms (Ch. 1)

- Those standards of appropriate and proper (or "normal") behavior - Establish the guidelines or standards for determining what we should do, how we should act, what type of person we should be - We can recognize many different types of values: financial, religious, legal, historical, nutritional, political, scientific, and aesthetic

Seperation Thesis (Ch. 1)

Asserts that ordinary ethical standards should be kept separate from, and not be used to judge, business decisions because business has its own standards of goods and bad

Ethics (Ch. 1)

Refers to how human being should properly live their lives

Personal Integrity (Ch. 1)

Refers to individuals completeness within themselves, often derived from the consistency or alignment of actions with deeply held beliefs

Ethical Decision-Making Process (Ch. 2)

Requires a persuasive and rational justification for a decision. Rational justifications are developed through a logical process of decision making that gives proper attention to such things as facts, alternative perspectives, consequences to all stakeholders, and ethical principles

Moral Imagination (Ch. 2)

When one is facing in ethical decision, the ability to envision various alternative choices, consequences, resolutions, benefits, and harms

Risk Assessment (Ch. 1)

a process to identify potential events that may affect the entity, and manage risk to be within its risk appetite

Psychological Egoism (Ch. 1)

an alleged theory of human motivation that claims that all human actions are selfish and motivated by self-interest

Stakeholder (Ch. 1)

anyone who can be affected by decisions made within a business. More specifically stakeholders are considered to be those people who are necessary for the functioning of a business

Decision-Making Process (Ch. 2)

1. Determine the facts of the situation 2. Recognize an ethical decision or an ethical issue - then identify the ethical issues involved 3. Identify and consider all of the people affected by the decision, the people often called stakeholders 4. Consider the available alternatives 5. Compare and weigh the alternatives on each stakeholder you define 6. Make a decision 7. Evaluate the implications of the decisions, monitor and learn from the outcomes, and modify actions accordingly when faced with future similar challenges

Explain three levels at which ethical decisions get made in business (Ch. 1)

1. Individual 2. Organizational 3. Broader Social and Governmental

Change Blindness (Ch. 2)

A decision-making omission that occurs when decision-makers fail to notice gradual changes over time

Consequentialist Theories (Ch. 3)

Ethical theories, such as utilitarianism, that determine right and wrong by calculating the consequences of actions

Inattentional Blindness (Ch. 2)

If we happen to focus on or are told specifically to pay attention to a particular element of a decision or event, we are likely to miss all of the surrounding details no matter how obvious

Normative Myopia (Ch. 2)

The tendency to ignore, or the lack of ability to recognize, ethical issues in decision making