Business Ethics Midterm

Consequentialism

- Focus on the results of what you do, not what you do. More worried about outcome then action

Altruism

- If the actions consequences are more beneficial then unfavorable for everyone except the person who acts. Does whatever can be do so that OTHERS will be happier. -The same may go for the political protester who ends up jailed and forgotten forever. That's self-sacrifice, but she did it for the cause and not for all the others. -The fireman may lose his life rescuing a victim, but this is because he's doing his job, not because he's decided to live for the sake of others. -All altruists, finally, are selfless, but not all those who sacrifice themselves are altruists

Utilitarism

- The outcome matters, not the act. - Pursue the greatest good for the greatest number - "Happiness calculator" - Think about wether it'll make people happier or sadder

Egoism

- Whatever action serves my self-interest is also the morally right action. Whats good for me in the sense that it gives me pleasure and happiness is also good in the sense that its the morally right thing to do. - Not ALWAYS selfish - Egoists aren't against other people, they're for themselves, and if helping others works for them, that's what they'll do.

Bentham

-Two further varieties of utilitarianism are hedonistic and idealistic . -Both seek to maximize human happiness, but their definitions of happiness differ. -Hedonistic utilitarians trace back to Jeremy Bentham (England, around 1800).

Enlightened Egoism

-is the conviction that benefitting others,acting to increase their happiness can serve the egoist's self-interest just as much as the egoist's acts directly in favor of him or herself. - ex. One simple and generic manifestation of enlightened egoism is a social contract. For example, I agree not to steal from you as long as you agree not to steal from me.

Choose how to end the following sentence in the most accurate way: "When we do business ethics we...

...give reasons about how things should be within the business world

J.S. Mill

A contemporary of Bentham, John Stuart Mill → ethics is about maximizing pleasure, but his more idealistic utilitarianism distinguished low and highbrow sensations. Pleasures with higher and more real value include learning and learnedness. These aren't physical joys so much as the delights of the mind and the imagination. For Mill, consequently, libraries and museums are scenes of abundant pleasure, much more than any bar.

Soft VS. Hard Utilitarianism

A narrow distinction with far-reaching effects divides soft from hard utilitarianism. Soft utilitarianism is the standard version; when people talk about a utilitarian ethics, that's generally what they mean. Hard utilitarianism, on the other hand, demands more: an act is ethically recommendable only if the total benefits for everyone are greater than those produced by any other act.

Invisible Hand

Adam Smith (1723-90) is known for making a connected point on the level of broad economic trade and capitalism. In the end, it usually doesn't matter whether people actually care about the well-being of others, Smith maintains, because there exists an invisible hand at work in the marketplace.

According to Kant, which of the following are NOT included as Guardians?

An Angel

External Costs

An external cost occurs when producing or consuming a good or service imposes a cost upon a third party

Doing business ethics requires

Arranging values to guide decisions. Understanding the facts Constructing arguments

What is business ethics?

Business ethics is the study of proper business policies and practices regarding potentially controversial issues, such as corporate governance, insider trading, bribery, discrimination, corporate social responsibility and fiduciary responsibilities

Cause Egoism

Cause egoism works from the idea that giving the appearance of helping others is a promising way to advance my own interests in business.

Rights VS. Duties

Duties- tend to be ethics about what you CAN'T do. Tend to be protective in nature; about assuring people aren't mistreated. Rights- tend to be about what you CAN do. Tend to be liberating in nature; assuring that you're as free as possible.

According to Plato, fairness is treating equals equally and unequals unequally

False

According to our textbook, custom, tradition and habits cannot guide our decision.

False

According to the text, all egoists are self-centered and and untrustworthy.

False

According to the textbook, it is morally wrong for universities to profit with textbooks.

False

According to the textbook, the basic question of utilitarianism is quantitative.

False

Business ethics does not get involved with personal issues, it is just related to the business aspect. For personal issues we just practice ethics in general.

False

Hedonistic and idealistic utilitarianism try to minimize happiness.

False

In egoism, the means justify the ends,

False

Jeremy Bentham was more idealistic than John S. Mill

False

Kant demands the freedom of the private use of reason at all times.

False

Rules and Formulas are beneficial to man's Enlightenment

False

Soft utilitarianism posits that for a decision to be morally right, it must provide benefit for everyone and it should do it better than any other act.

False

To practice true altruism, one must suffer in life.

False

Utilitarianism does not care about happiness, only about the outcome of the moral decision.

False

We currently live in an Enlightened Age

False

When a soldier dies in combat, that is altruism.

False

In the article from the Wall Street Journal you read that is part of chapter one, some argue that colleges should provide free textbooks to students. Who of the following was proposing that idea?

James V. Koch, former president of Old Dominion University and the University of Montana

According to Russell, the main goal of philosophy is to obtain...

Knowledge

What does Kant compare the immature people to?

Livestock

According to Kant, what is Enlightenment?

Man's emergence from his self-imposed immaturity

How would you better describe the first chapter of the textbook that you just read:

Meta-Ethics

Monetary Utilitarianism

Money and happiness → monetary utilitarianism

Match each concept with an example Morality Ethics Meta-ethics Business ethics

Morality "Do not kill living organisms" Ethics Some cultures consider the consumption of beef morally wrong. Meta-ethics Ethics can be normative or descriptive. Business ethics Mylan, by increasing the price of Epipen, is doing something morally wrong trying to benefit from the pain of others and from the lack of competition within its business field.

Morality VS. Ethics Vs. Metaethics

Morality is the set of rules defining what ought to be done; ethics is the debate about what the rules should be; metaethics investigates the origin of the entire field.

Who said it? in the chapter 1 we find examples about how to see the issue of the textbooks from different authors. Referring to one of them, chapter 1 says that moral rules are just different interpretations of reality. Who was this philosopher?

Nietzsche

Descriptive VS. Normative Ethics

Normative- concerns how people ought to act Descriptive- depicts how people actually are acting

What choice best describes Rawls' "Veil of Ignorance"?

Not considering your race, gender or socio-economic class to defend specific policies.

Planned VS perceived obsolescence

Planned- "Designed for the dump" companies make stuff to be disposed of earlier so we will buy more stuff when it needs to be replaced Perceived- Convinces us to throw away useful stuff by changing the way it looks

What did Kant believe is the relationship between rationality and morality?

Rationality requires us to be moral.

Categorical Imperative

Something you need to do all the time: there are ethical rules that don't depend on the circumstances and its the job of the categorical imperative to tell us what they are. "Act only according to that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law." Or, "Act as if the maxim of your action were to become by your will a universal law of nature." To discover your duty, see if your maxim accords with this rule

Material Economy

Stuff moves through a system. Extraction Production Distribution Consumption Disposal

Veil Of Ignorance

The idea that when you set up rules for resolving dilemmas, you don't get to know beforehand which side of the rules you will fall on. Rawls suggests that you imagine yourself in an original position behind a veil of ignorance. Behind this veil, you know nothing of yourself and your natural abilities, or your position in society. You know nothing of your sex, race, nationality, or individual tastes.

Libertarianism

The libertarian or "classical liberal" perspective is that peace, prosperity, and social harmony are fostered by "as much liberty as possible" and "as little government as necessary." libertarian ideas of individual rights, economic liberty, and limited government have contributed to history-changing movements like abolition, women's suffrage, and the civil rights movement. Libertarian is not a single viewpoint, but includes a wide variety of perspectives. Libertarians can range from market anarchists to advocates of a limited welfare state, but they are all united by a belief in personal liberty, economic freedom, and a skepticism of government power. ex. Laissez faire Capitalism and free markets

What is philosophy?

The object of philosophy is the logical clarification of thoughts. Philosophy is not a theory but an activity. A philosophical work consists essentially of elucidations. The result of philosophy is not a number of 'philosophical propositions', but to make propositions clear. Philosophy should make clear and delimit sharply the thoughts which otherwise are, as it were, opaque and blurred.

What are "Duties"?

The rules describing how the world is in moral terms

According to Kant, bad acts are bad because they are ilogical.

True

Altruism is a consequentialist ethics, only outcomes matter.

True

An ethics based on means, and not ends, focuses on duties and rights.

True

Consequentialism deals with the effects of the decisions and not with the principles you use to take them.

True

Enlightened egoism is the idea that benefiting other will benefit me.

True

Ethical egoism posits that every action that serves my interest is morally right.

True

Freedom is both a consequence and a requirement of enlightenment.

True

Monetized utilitarianism relates happiness to money

True

Utilitarianism is a consequential ethics

True

3 types of outcomes for consequentialism

Utilitarian Altruist Egoist

Ways to dispute arguments in ethics

a. Facts b. Values c. Reasoning (!!)

Russell says that in philosophy, whenever definite knowledge concerning any subject becomes possible, the subject

ceases to be called philosophy and becomes a separate science

Nudge Theory

concept in behavioural science, political theory and economics which proposes positive reinforcement and indirect suggestions to try to achieve non-forced compliance to influence the motives, incentives and decision making of groups and individuals.

According to Russell, while philosophy diminishes our feeling of certainty as to what things are, it also

increases our knowledge of unfamiliar and liberating possibilities

What is Ethics?

is concerned with fundamental principles of right and wrong and what people ought to do inform our judgements and values and help individuals decide on how to act Guidance on acting ethically is informed by accepted ethical theories, principles and frameworks.

Problem of Philosophy?

is not a single matter within its sphere which is not still in dispute conflicting opinions touching a single matter

When we practice business ethics we provide arguments based on many aspects, but only one invites counter arguments, if they are clear. which one?

reason

According to Russell, perhaps the chief value of philosophy is to be found through

the greatness of the objects that it contemplates