Business Ethics - Chapter 1

Professional Codes of Ethics

the rules that are supposed to govern the conduct of members of a given profession (lies between etiquette and law)

Business Ethics

the study of what constitutes right and wrong (or good and bad) human conduct in a business context. Closely related moral questions arise in other organizational contexts.

Ethical Relativism

the theory that what is right is determined by what culture or society says is right

Groupthink

when pressure for unanimity within a highly cohesive group overwhelms its members' desire or ability to appraise the situation realistically and consider alternative courses of action

Invalid Argument

whose premises do not entail its conclusion

Valid Argument

whose premises logically entail is conclusion

Divine Command Theory

if something is wrong (like killing an innocent person for fun), then the only reason it is wrong is that God commands us not to do it

Bystander Apathy

in emergencies, we seem naturally to let the behavior of those around us dictate our response

Diffusion of Responsibility

inside an organization leads individuals to have a diluted or diminished sense of their own personal moral responsibilities

Our relationship with the law is best described by..?

To a significant extent, law codifies a society\'s customs, norms, and moral values

4 Types of Law

1) Statues 2) Administrative Regulations 3) Common Law 4) Constitutional Law

3 Things Moral Judgments Should Be

1) logical 2) based on facts 3) based on sound or defensible moral principles

Morality in the Broad Sense

Meaning not just the principles of conduct that we embrace but also the values, ideals, and aspirations that shape our lives

Criticisms of Ethical Relativism

Some societies tolerate or even encourage: Polygamy Stealing Slavery Cannibalism Ethical Relativism undermines any moral criticism of the practices of other societies and ignores the concept of moral progress

Organizational Norms

acceptable standard of behavior within an organization

Counterexample

an example that is consistent with the premises but is inconsistent with the conclusion

Moral Arguments

arguments whose conclusions are moral judgments

Good moral judgments should be logical and...?

based on facts and acceptable moral principles

Conformity

behavior in accordance with socially accepted conventions or standards

Administrative Regulations

boards or agencies whose functions include issuing detailed regulations covering certain kinds of conduct

The authors use the murder of Kitty Genovese to illustrate what?

bystander apathy

Morality and self-interest

can sometimes conflict

Moral Standards

concern behavior that seriously effect human well-being, takes priority over other standards, and depends on the adequacy of the reasons that support them

Morality in the Narrow Sense

concerns principles that do or should regulate peoples conduct and relations with others

Constitutional Law

court rulings on the requirements of the Constitution and the constitutionality of legislation

Ethics

deals with individual character and the moral rules that govern and limit our conduct. It investigates questions of right and wrong, duty and obligation, and moral responsibility.

The famous experiments by social psychologist Solomon Asch shows us what?

even temporary groups can pressure people to conform

Philosophical Discussion

generally involves the revision and modification of arguments; in this way progress is made in the analysis and resolution of moral and other issues

Argument

group of statements, one of which (called the conclusion) is claimed to follow from the others (called the premises).

Unsound Arguments

have at least one false premise or invalid reasoning

Sound Arguments

have true premises and valid reasoning

How did Aristotle view morality?

it's necessary for us to try to be virtuous or excellent human beings

Statutes

laws enacted by legislative bodies

Paradox of Hedonism

people who are exclusively concerned with their own interest tend to have less happy and less satisfying lives than those whose desires extend beyond themselves.

Common Law

the body of judge-made law that first developed in the English-speaking world centuries ago when there were few statutes

Etiquette

the norms of correct conduct in polite society or, more generally, to any special code of social behavior or courtesy. (observing the rules of etiquette does not make one moral)