Chapter 4 - Ethics and Social Responsibility
social responsibility
a businesses' obligation to pursue policies, make decisions, and take actions that benefit society
ethical responsibility
a company's social responsibility not to violate accepted principles of right and wrong when conducting its business
economic responsibility
a company's social responsibility to make a profit by producing a valued product or service
legal responsibility
a company's social responsibility to obey society's laws and regulations
accommodative strategy
a social responsiveness strategy in which a company accepts responsibility for a problem and does all that society expects to solve the problem
reactive strategy
a social responsiveness strategy in which a company admits responsibility for a problem but does the least required to meet societal expectations
proactive strategy
a social responsiveness strategy in which a company anticipates a problem before it occurs and does more than society expects to take responsibility for and address the problem
stakeholder model
a theory of corporate responsibility that holds that management's most important responsibility, long-term survival, is achieved by satisfying the interest of multiple corporate stakeholders
shareholder model
a view of social responsibility that holds that an organization's overriding goal should be profit maximization for the benefit of shareholders
overt integrity test
a written test that estimates job applicants' honesty by directly asking them what they think or feel about theft or about punishment of unethical behaviors
personality-based integrity test
a written test that indirectly estimates job applicants' honesty by measuring psychological traits, such as dependability and conscientiousness
whistleblowing
reporting others' ethics violations to management or legal authorities
social consensus
agreement on whether behavior is bad or good
principle of personal virtue
an ethical principle that holds that you should never do anything that is not honest, open, and truthful and that you would not be glad to see reported in the newspapers or on tv
principle of utilitarian benefits
an ethical principle that holds that you should never take any action that does not result in greater good for society
principle of distributive justice
an ethical principle that holds that you should never take any action that harms the least fortunate among us: the poor, the uneducated, the unemployed
principle of individual rights
an ethical principle that holds that you should never take any action that infringes on others' agreed-upon rights
principle of long-term self-interest
an ethical principle that holds that you should never take any action that is not in your or your organizations long-term self-interest
principle of religious injunctions
an ethical principle that holds that you should never take any action that is not kind and that does not build a sense of community
principle of government requirements
an ethical principle that holds that you should never take any action that violates the law, for the law represents the minimal moral standard
primary stakeholder
any group on which an organization relies for its long-term survival
secondary stakeholder
any group that can influence or be influenced by a company and can affect public perceptions about the company's socially responsible behavior
ethical behavior
behavior that conforms to a society's accepted principles of right and wrong
employee shrinkage
employee theft of company merchandise
compliance program steps
establish, assign, delegate, encourage, train, enforce, improve
personal aggression
hostile or aggressive behavior toward others
basic model of ethical decision making
identify the problem, identify the constituents, diagnose the situation, analyze your options, make your choice, act
factors that contribute to ethical intensity
magnitude of consequences, social consensus, probability of effect, temporal immediacy, proximity of effect, concentration of effect
kew gardens principles
need, proximity, capability, last resort
stakeholders
persons or groups with a "stake," or legitimate interest, in a company's actions
social responsiveness
refers to a company's strategy to respond to stakeholders' economic, legal, ethical, or discretionary expectations concerning social responsibility
probability of effect
the chance that something will happen that results in harm to others
proximity of effect
the chance that something will happen that results in harm to others
ethical intensity
the degree of concern people have about an ethical issue
preconventional level of moral development
the first level of moral development in which people make decisions based on selfish reasons (punishment and obedience-instrumental exchange)
conventional level of moral development
the second level of moral development in which people make decisions that conform to societal expectations (good boy, nice girl - law and order)
ethics
the set of moral principles or values that defines right and wrong for a person or group
discretionary responsibilities
the social rules that a company fulfills beyond its economic, legal, and ethical responsibilities
proximity of effect
the social, psychological, cultural, or physical distance between a decision maker and those affected by his or her decisions
postconventional level of moral development
the third level of moral development, in which people make decisions based on internalized principles (social contract-universal principle)
temporal immediacy
the time between an act and the consequences the act produces
magnitude of consequences
the total harm or benefit derived from an ethical decision
concentration of effect
the total harm or benefit that an act produces on the average person
property deviance
unethical behavior aimed at the organization's property or products
production deviance
unethical behavior that hurts the quality and quantify of work produced
workplace deviance
unethical behavior that violates organizational norms about right and wrong
political deviance
using one's influence to harm others in the company