Module 3 Qui

Problem with relativism

- it emphasizes peoples' differences while ignoring their basic similarities

Teams

-Bring together the expertise of employees from several different areas of the organization

committee

-Formal group of individuals assigned to a specific task

Work groups

-Subdivide duties within specific functional areas of a company - May or may not work in the same department

There are four organizational culture classifications:

1. Apathetic culture 2. Caring culture 3. Exacting culture 4. Integrative culture

Core Values of Marriott

1. put people first 2. pursue excellence 3. embrace change 4. act with integrity 5. serve our world

Veil of ignorance

A thought experiment that examined how individuals would formulate principles if they did not know what their future position in society would be

Rule utilitarians

Argue that general rules should be followed to decide which action is best

Cultural audit

Assessment of an organization's values

Distributive justice

Based on the evaluation of the outcomes or results of a business relationship

Flood attacks

Carried by botnets that launch distributed denial of service DDOS and denial of service DOS attacks, attack IP addresses and domain names to flood the system with malicious request, often leading to connectivity problems and service failures for legitimate users of the system

Implementation in centralized and decentralized orgs

Centralized: High Decentralized: Low

Adaptability in centralized and decentralized orgs.

Centralized: Low Decentralized: High

Egoism

Defines right or acceptable actions as those that maximize a particular person's self-interest as defined by the individual - or: •Defines right or acceptable behavior in terms of its consequences for the individual

Utilitarianism

Defines right or acceptable actions as those that maximize total utility or the greatest good for the greatest number of people

Self control

Definition the disposition to pass up and immediate advantage or gratification, the ability to avoid exploiting a known opportunity for personal gain. Context gives up short term self interest for long-term benefits

figure: Framework for Understanding Ethical Decision Making in Business

Ethical issue intensity, individual factors, organizational factors, opportunity>>> business ethics evaluations and intentions>>>> ethical or unethical behavior - The factors shown in Figure 6-1 determine why different individuals perceive ethical issues differently and define them as ethical or unethical

Relativist

Evaluates ethicalness subjectively on the basis of individual and group experiences

Usually comes from upper management

Explicit statements of values, beliefs, customs, and expected behavior

Deontology

Focuses on the preservation of individual rights and on the intentions associated with a particular behavior rather than on its consequences

Act deontologists

Hold that actions are the proper basis to judge morality or ethicalness

Internal control

Individuals with this locus of control believe they control the events in their lives by their own effort and skill; they view themselves as masters of their destinies and trust in their capacity to influence their environment.

Nonconsequentialism

Regard for certain behaviors as inherently right, and determination of this rightness focuses on individual actor, not on society

Instrumentalists

Reject the ideas that (1) ends can be separated from the means that produce them and (2) ends, purposes, or outcomes are intrinsically good in and of themselves -A more modern view

Utilitarianism

Seeks the greatest good for the greatest number of people

T or F: Under Dodd-Frank, whistle-blowers who provide information that aids in the recovery of more than $1 million could receive 10 to 30 percent of that amount.

T

Why employees think it's OK to steal

The highest is company won't know this anything missing (24%) next highest is not paid enough( 21%) next can't afford to buy the item (17%) boss is rude (13%)

Hedonism

The idea that pleasure is the ultimate good, or the best moral end involves the greatest balance of pleasure over pain

Nationality

The legal relationship between a person and the country in which they are born

Social engineering

The manipulation of people to obtain the information needed to log into networks and systems to steal financial data, money, and other valuable information from an individual or business

Act utilitarians

The rightness of each individual action must be evaluated to determine whether it produces the greatest utility for the greatest number of people

Immediate job context

Where individuals work, whom they work with, and the nature of the work

Plato

argued that the good life is a mixture of (1) moderation and fitness, (2) proportion and beauty, (3) intelligence and wisdom, (4) sciences and arts, and (5) pure pleasures of the soul

Adam Smith

considered the father of free-market capitalism, believed business was and should be guided by the morals of good people

What are the organizational factors?

corporate culture, ethical culture, significant others, obedience to authority

justice

evaluates ethicalness on the basis of fairness: distrubutive, procedural, and interactional

what are the individual factors?

gender, education, nationality, age, locus of control( internal and external)

The concept of a moral philosophy is _____________

inexact and must be assessed on a continuum rather than as static entities

Corporate culture is often expressed _______________ through statements that communicate the wishes of management (both direct and indirect).

informally

A culture that emphasizes the importance of ethics and social responsibility can ______________________

reduce misconduct.

ethical corporate culture measurement standards focus on ____________________

risk, compliance, and reporting. - They are not a complete measure of the aspects of a company that make up its ethical culture.

requires a code of ethics for top financial officers.

section 406

Milton Friedman

supported this viewpoint, contending the market will reward or punish companies for unethical conduct without the need for government regulation

trust

the predispostion to place confidence in the behavior of others while taking the risks that the expected behavior will not be performed context: elimintates the need for and associated cost of monitoring compliance with agreements, contracts, and reciprocal agreements , as there is the exception a promise or agreement can be relied on

More damage in monetary and emotional loss are caused by white-collar crime in one year than by ________________

violent crimes over several years combined.

-Factors that make up a person's moral philosophy are __________

weighted differently in a business (profit) situation.

Idealism

•A moral philosophy that places special value on ideas and ideals as products of the mind

Relativist perspective

•Definitions of ethical behavior are derived subjectively from the experiences of individuals and groups

Moral philosophy

•The specific principles or values people use to decide what is right and wrong -Determining how conflicts in human interests are to be settled -Optimizing mutual benefit of people living together in groups

Corporate culture

- A set of values, norms, and artifacts, including ways of solving problems that members (employees) of an organization share - -Mission statements and objectives

Age

- An individual factor that has a complex relationship with business ethics - An individual factor that has a complex relationship with business ethics

Economic value orientation

- Associated with values quantified by monetary means; according to this theory, if an act produces more economic value for its effort, then it should be accepted as ethical

White-collar crime

- Crimes perpetrated every year by nonviolent business criminals - Offenders tend to be highly educated, in positions of power, trust, respectability, and responsibility. - Corporate culture can transcend the individual's beliefs. (With time, patterns become institutionalized, sometimes encouraging unethical behaviors.) •For companies with a high number of ethical or unethical employees, people who are undecided about their behavior are more likely go along with their coworkers. •Some businesspeople may have inherently criminal personalities.

Obligation theories

- Emphasize the means and motives by which actions are justified, and are divided into the categories of teleology and deontology

Goodness theories

- Focus on the end result of actions and the goodness or happiness created by them

Instrumental concern

- Focuses on positive outcomes, including firm profitability and benefits to society

•Integrative culture

- High concern for people and performance

•Caring culture

- High concern for people but minimal concern for performance issues

Categorical imperative

- If you feel comfortable allowing everyone in the world to see you commit an act and if your rationale for acting in a particular manner is suitable to become a universal principle guiding behavior, then committing that act is ethical

External control

- Individuals with this locus of control see themselves as going with the flow because that is all they can do (life events are due to uncontrollable forces).

•Exacting culture

- Little concern for people but a high concern for performance

Ethical awareness

- The ability to perceive whether a situation or decision has an ethical dimension

Ethical issue intensity

- The relevance or importance of an event or decision in the eyes of the individual, work group, and/or organization -Personal and temporal in character to accommodate values, beliefs, needs, perceptions, the special characteristics of the situation, and the personal pressures prevailing at a particular place and time

Significant others

- Those who have influence in a work group, including peers, managers, coworkers, and subordinates

An ethical decision-making model does not _________________

- help in determining if a business decision is right or wrong. -It is intended to provide insights about ethical decision making in businesses. -Business ethics involves value judgments and collective agreement about acceptable patterns of behavior. •Gaining an understanding of the factors that make up ethical decisions helps in differentiating between an ethical issue and a dilemma.

Kohlberg's Model of Cognitive Moral Development stages (6)

- stage 1: Punishment and obedience - Stage 2: Individual instrumental purpose and exchange - stage 3: Mutual interpersonal expectations, relationships, and conformity - stage 4: Social system and conscience maintenance -Stage 5: Prior rights, social contract, or utility - Stage 6: Universal ethical principles

values

- subjective and related to choice - used to develop norms - provides guidance to organizations - differs across cultures and firms

The difference between deontology, teleology, and virtue ethics is _______________

- the first two are applied deductively to problems, whereas virtue ethics is applied inductively.

values examples

- we will offer the best quality products in the industry - we will establsih trustworthy relationships with stakeholders = we will encourage teamwork and collaboration to come up with the best solutions

Principles examples

- we will work to ensure the rights of all of our stakeholders - we will practice transparency in all of our communications - we will obey all relevant laws in the countries in which we do business

Principles

- widely accepted - used to develop values and standards - establishes pervasive boundaries for behvior - valued across cultures

•Middle-top 40%

-Always try to follow company policies, rules -Strong grasp of corporate culture's definition of acceptable behavior

Qui tam relator

-An employee who provides information to the government about a company's wrongdoing under the Federal False Claims Act -Whistle-blowing requires the individual have adequate knowledge of wrongdoing that could damage society.

Industry competition determined by:

-Barriers to entry into the industry -Available substitutes for the products produced by the industry rivals -The power of the industry rivals over their customers -The power of the industry rivals' suppliers over other rivals

Sarbanes- Oxley 404 intent is to_____________

-Expose mismanagement, fraud, theft, and abuse -Sustain a corporate culture that does not allow these conditions and actions to exist

•Middle-bottom 40%

-Go along on most matters -Most concerned about the social implications of their actions

•Top 10%

-Maintain formal ethical standards that focus on rights, duties, and rules -Believe that their values are right and superior to the values of others

An ethical corporate culture is measured in the following ways: (5)

-Management and board demonstrate commitment to integrity, core values, ethics codes through communications and actions -Employees encouraged and required to have hands-on involvement in compliance, especially internal control systems and reporting systems -Ethical leadership starts with the tone at the top -Employees expected to receive communication through resolutions and corrective actions related to ethical issues -Employees can report policy exceptions anonymously to any member of the organization

•Companies convert basic principles into core values:

-Provide the abstract ideals; operate in a sustainable manner, collaboration and teamwork, avoid bribery; provide a blueprint into the firm's goals, ethical decision making

•Bottom 10%

-Take advantage of situations to further their own personal interests -More likely to manipulate, cheat, act in a self-serving manner

Qualitative hedonists

-Those who believe it is possible to get too much of a good thing

Quantitative hedonists

-Those who believe more pleasure is better

Virtue ethics 4 componenets

1. -Good corporate ethics programs encourage individual virtue and integrity. 2. •By the employee's role in the community (organization), these virtues form a good person. 3. •An individual's ultimate purpose is to serve society's demands and the public good and be rewarded in their career. 4. •The well-being of the community goes hand in hand with individual excellence.

Questions to Ask Before Engaging in External Whistle-Blowing (5)

1. Have I exhausted internal anonymous reporting opportunities within the organization? 2. Have I examined company policies and codes that outline acceptable behavior and violations of standards? 3. Is this a personal issue that should be resolved through other means? 4 .Can I manage the stress that may result from exposing potential wrongdoing in the organization? 5. Can I deal with the consequences of resolving an ethical or legal conflict within the organization?

economic freedom ranking

1. Hong Kong 2. Singapore 3. New Zealand 4. Switerland 5. Austrailia 6. US 7. Mauritus 8. Gorgia 9. Canada 10. Ireland 11. Denmark 12. Lithuania 13. United Kingdom 13. Chile 14. Estonia

Two basic dimensions to describe an organization's culture:

1.Concern for people 2.Concern for performance

•Three strike theory:

1.Strike one: Kohlberg's original work of CMD came from psychologist and philosopher Jean Piaget's research with children about the nature and development of intelligence. When Kohlberg transferred Piaget's theory to adults, he did not take into account the full functioning and development of the adult brain. 2.From a philosophical perspective, CMD argues for a hierarchical or steplike progression of moral philosophies starting from the lowest and going to the highest. This contradicts basic moral philosophy because there is no hierarchy. Each moral philosophy should be equal to the others. 3.Finally, research suggests that CMD has a high reliability but not validity. If a person shoots at a target and the shots are all close together, you can state there is high reliability. However, if the shots are all down and to the right, and the goal was to hit the center, then you have low validity.

Variation in Employee Conduct

10%- Follow their own values and beliefs; believe that their values are superior to those of others in the company 40$- Always try to follow company policies 40%- Go along with the work group 10%- Take advantage of situations if the penalty is less than the benefit and the risk of being caught is low 40 percent of a company's employees always try to follow company policies and rules. These workers not only have a strong grasp of their corporate culture's definition of acceptable behavior but also attempt to comply with codes of ethics, ethics training, and other communications about appropriate conduct.

Economic freedom

A concept based on self-ownership, the right to choose, voluntary exchange, open markets, and clearly defined and enforced property rights

Phishing

A form of social engineering to steal personal information by tricking them into entering the password, login details, and others sensitive information

Identity theft

A hacker steals your identity through identifiable information such as your name, Social Security information, or drivers license

Enlightened egoism

A long-range perspective and allows for the well-being of others although their own self-interest remains paramount

Obedience to authority

A reason employees resolve business ethics issues by simply following the directives of a superior

Gratitude

A sign of maturity that is the foundation of civility and decency context the recognition that people do not succeed alone

education

A significant factor in the ethical decision-making process; generally, the more education or work experience people have, the better they are at making ethical decisions.

Virtue ethics

Assumes what is moral in a given situation is not only what conventional morality requires but also what the mature person with a "good" moral character deems appropriate or: Argues that ethical behavior involves not only adhering to conventional moral standards but also considering what a mature person with a "good" moral character would deem appropriate in a given situation

Interactional justice

Based on the relationships between organizational members, including the way employees and management treat one another

Flexibility in centralized and decentralized orgs.

Centralized: Low Decentralized: High

Problem recognition in centralized and decentralized orgs

Centralized: Low Decentralized; High

Rules and Procedures in centralized and decentralized orgs

Centralized: Many and formal Decentralized: Few and informal

Dealing with changes in centralized and decentralized orgs

Centralized: Poor environmental complexity Decentralized: Good

Division of labor in centralized and decentralized orgs

Centralized: clear-cut Decentralized: ambiguous

Use of managerial techniques in centralized and decentralized orgs

Centralized: extensive Decentralized: minimal

Coordination and control in centralized and decentralized orgs

Centralized: formal and impersonal Decentralized: informal and personal

Span of Control in centralized and decentralized orgs

Centralized: many employees Decentralized: few employees

Rule deontologists

Conformity to general moral principles based on logic determines ethicalness

Procedural justice

Considers the processes and activities that produce a particular outcome

Illegal content

Content that is against the law (copyrighted materials, shall pornography sites that sell illegal substances in offer prostitution services)

Botnets

Controlled computers that are linked to a network and spread harmful software and files to launch cyber attacks, infect private systems, spread spam campaigns, and steal information

Normative approaches

How organizational decision makers should approach an issue -Different from a descriptive approach that examines how organizational decision makers approach ethical decision making

Top ten types of fraud

Identity theft, imposter scams, online shopping in negative reviews, credit bureaus, information furniture's, and report users, banks and lenders, Internet services, auto related, debt collection, prizes, sweepstakes, and lotteries, healthcare

gender

In ethical decision making, research shows that in many aspects there are no differences between men and women.

Stage 5: Prior rights, social contract, or utility

Individuals are concerned with upholding the basic rights, values, and legal contracts of society. Individuals feel a sense of obligation or commitment to other groups and recognize that in some cases legal and moral points of view may conflict

Moral intensity

Individuals' perceptions of social pressure and the harm they believe their decisions will have on others

Bristol Myers Squibb principles of integrity

Keep patience at the center of everything we do, value and respect one another and share in our mission to discover, develop and deliver innovative medicines that help patients preveal over serious diseases, act with honesty and integrity inside and outside of a market place, cultivate environments where our principles of integrity are embedded into what we do every day, ensure accuracy quality in appropriate handling and use of company information and other assets in everything we do, ensure accuracy in the reporting of all business expenses

Stage 6: Universal ethical principles

Right is determined by universal ethical principles everyone should follow. People have certain inalienable rights that are universal in nature and consequence. These rights, laws, or social agreements are valid not because of a particular society's laws or customs, but because they rest on the premise of universality.

Exploit kits

Software to manipulate the vulnerabilities of remote software

potentially unwanted program (PUP)

Software( adware, malware) a user never installed, often included in another software the user agreed to install

Equality principle

States that each person has basic rights that are compatible to the basic liberties of others

Teleology

Stipulates acts are morally right or acceptable if they produce some desired result, such as realization of self-interest or utility - or : •Refers to moral philosophies in which an act is considered morally right or acceptable if it produces some desired result, such as pleasure, knowledge, career growth, the realization of self-interest, utility, wealth, or even fame

Moral leadership

Strength of character, peace, of mind, and heart, leading to happiness in life context a trait of leaders who follow a consistent pattern of behavior based on virtues

Is relativism relatively correlated to a person's sensitivity to ethical issues?

T

T or F : Most organizations develop a set of core values to provide enduring beliefs about appropriate conduct within the firm

T

T or F: Goals/pressure differ in a person's personal and professional lives.

T

T or F: Moral philosophies are person-specific, while business ethics is based on decisions made by groups or when carrying out tasks to meet business objectives

T

T or F: Problems arise when employees encounter ethical situations they cannot resolve.

T

T or F: Sometimes a company makes questionable decisions from the perspective of individual worker's values and moral philosophies.

T

T or F: The four organizational culture classifications ride a continuum. Rarely does one observe a company at the extremes.

T

T or F: The term nature is crucial for deontologists. In general, deontologists regard the nature of moral principles as permanent and stable and believe compliance with these principles define ethicalness.

T

T or F: Unethical behavior is possible in centralized or decentralized structures when specific corporate cultures permit or encourage workers to deviate from accepted standards or ignore corporate legal and ethical responsibilities.

T

T or F: Values, norms, and artifacts are important in measuring an ethical culture.

T

T or F: •SOX and Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations (FSGO) institutionalized internal whistle-blowing

T

Tor F: As a result, it is important to be cautious when using CMD to explain why good people make bad decisions.

T

true or false: -Some managers view profit maximization as the ultimate goal.

T

true or false: •Moral philosophies are often used to defend a particular type of economic system (e.g., capitalism) and individuals' behavior within these systems

T

Team V.S Group

Team: The leader acts as a facilitator The members have active participation in the discussions and eventual outcome. The team members decide on the disbursements of work assignments. Group: The leader dominates and controls the group. The leader is apparent and will conduct the meeting. The leader usually assigns work to the members.

Empathy

The ability to share the feelings or emotions of others context: promotes civility because success in the market depends on the courteous Treatment of people who have the option of going to competitors, the ability to anticipate needs and satisfy customers and employees contributes to a firms economic success

Normative relativism

The assumption that one person's opinion is as good as another's - •Acknowledges that people have many different views •Observes the actions of members of an involved group •Attempts to determine group's consensus on a given behavior

Civility

The disposition or essence of courtesy, politeness, respect, and consideration for others context: relates to the process of doing business in a culturally correct way, thus decreasing communication errors and increasing trust

Learning

The disposition to constantly acquire knowledge internal and external to the firm, whether about an industry, corporate culture, or other societies context gaining knowledge to make better, more informed decisions

Fairness

The disposition to deal equitably with the perceived injustices of others context: often relates to doing the right thing with respect to small matters in order to cultivate a long-term business relationship

Truthfulness

The disposition to provide the facts or correct information as known to the individual context: involves avoiding deception and contributes to trust in business relationships

Realism

The view that an external world exists independent of our perceptions

Kohlberg's model of cognitive moral development

Theory in which people make different decisions in similar ethical situations because they are in different moral development stages

Online scams

Trick individuals into believing they will receive rewards and prizes such as charity fraud, online ticket fraud, gambling fraud, and fake gift cards

Stage 4: Social system and conscience maintenance

What is right is determined by considering duty to society, not just to certain other people. Duty, respect for authority, and the maintenance of the social order all become focal points at this stage.

Cyber stalking

When someone conceals their true identity, harassing a person through anonymous messages

Corporate culture has been associated with ___________________

a company's success or failure.

All three types of justice—distributive, procedural, and interactional—could be used to measure ___________________

a single business situation and the fairness of the organization and individuals involved.

Individuals use different moral philosophies depending on _______________

whether they are making a personal or work-related decision.

Basic relativism acknowledges ________

• that people have many different views •The relativist observes the actions of members of an involved group •Attempts to determine group's consensus on a given behavior

Decentralized organization

•- Decision-making authority is delegated as far down the chain of command as possible. -Flow of information in both directions -Managers can react more quickly to changes

Locus of control

•- Individual differences in relation to a generalized belief about how one is affected by internal versus external events or reinforcements

Compliance culture

•A legalistic approach to ethics -Codes of conduct established with compliance as their focus -Revolves around risk management -Lack of long-term focus on values and integrity

Ethical culture

•Acceptable behavior, defined by the company and industry - -Reflects the integrity of decisions made and is a function of factors, including corporate policies, top management's leadership on ethical issues, the influence of coworkers, and the opportunity for unethical behavior

Formal group

•An assembly of individuals with an organized structure that is explicitly accepted by the group - committee, work groups, teams

Monists

•Believe only one thing is intrinsically good

Centralized organization

•Decision-making authority is concentrated in the hands of top-level managers, and little authority is delegated to lower levels. -Suited to organizations that make high-risk decisions and have lower-level managers not highly skilled in decision making -Typically have little upward communication -Strict formalization, may be more ethical than decentralized

Stage 3: Mutual interpersonal expectations, relationships, and conformity

•Emphasizes the interests of others rather than simply those of themselves, although ethical motivation is still derived from obedience to rules.

Business Ethics Intentions, Behavior, and Evaluations

•Ethical business issues, dilemmas involve problem-solving situations where the rules governing decisions are often vague or in conflict. •When intentions and behavior are inconsistent with their ethical judgment, people may feel guilty. -The next step is changing the behavior to reduce such feelings •The road to success depends on how the businessperson defines success. -Success drives intentions and behavior in business either implicitly or explicitly.

Whistle-blowing

•Exposing an employer's wrongdoing to outsiders such as the media or government regulatory agencies -Sometimes used to refer to internal reporting

Justice

•Fair treatment and due reward in accordance with ethical or legal standards, including the disposition to deal with perceived injustices of others

Individual Factors in Business Ethics

•Individual moral decisions are much more complex than learning about different moral philosophies. -Individual values are not the only driver of ethical behavior in business. •A personal moral compass is important but is not sufficient to prevent ethical misconduct in an organizational context. •The development of strong abilities in ethical reasoning will probably lead to more ethical business decisions in the future than individualized character education for each employee.

Can People Control Their Actions Within a Corporate Culture?

•Many people find it hard to believe an organization's culture can exert so strong an influence on individuals' behavior. •Ethical decisions within organizations are often made by committees and formal and informal groups, not by individuals. •Most new employees in highly bureaucratic organizations have limited input. Individuals entering business usually need years of experience within a specific industry to understand how to resolve ethical close calls

Pluralists

•Often referred to as nonhedonists, take the opposite position that no one thing is intrinsically good

Meta-ethical relativism

•Proposes that people naturally see situations from their own perspectives, and there is no objective way of resolving ethical disputes between different value systems and individuals

Descriptive relativism

•Relates to observations of other cultures

Values-based ethics culture

•Relies on an explicit mission statement that defines the core values of the firm and how customers and employees should be treated -Top-down integrity approach with shared values, norms that provide guides for behavior, and visible artifacts such as codes of ethics that provide a standard of conduct

Sarbanes-Oxley 404

•Requires firms to adopt a set of values that forms a portion of the company's culture -Characteristics of an ethical corporate culture were codified within its compliance section -Includes a requirement that management assess the effectiveness of the organization's internal controls and commission audits of these controls by an external auditor in conjunction with the audit of its financial statements

Stage 1: Punishment and obedience

•Right and wrong are not connected with any higher order or philosophy but rather with a person who has power.

Stage 2: Individual instrumental purpose and exchange

•Right is what serves individual needs. Individuals evaluate behavior on the basis of its fairness to them.

Organizational culture

•Shared values, norms, and artifacts that influence employees and determine behavior

Group norms

•Standards of behavior groups expect of their members -Help define acceptable and unacceptable behavior -Define the limit allowed on deviations from group expectations -Provide explicit ethical directions -Can relate directly to managerial decisions -Have the power to enforce a strong degree of conformity among group members -Can define the different roles for various positions within the organization

Difference principle

•States that economic and social equalities or inequalities should be arranged to provide the most benefit to the least-advantaged members of society

Consequentialism

•Teleological philosophies that assess the moral worth of a behavior by looking at its consequences

Opportunity

•The conditions in an organization that limit or permit ethical or unethical behavior •Can be deterred with formal codes, policies, and rules adequately enforced by management -Misconduct can still occur without proper oversight •Also comes from knowledge, exploiting knowledge

Ethics as a Component of Corporate Culture

•The ethical component of corporate culture is a significant factor in ethical decision making. •Culture dictates hiring people with specific, similar values. •If company's primary objective is to make as much profit as possible through whatever means, its culture may foster behavior that conflicts with stakeholders' ethical values. •If an organization values ethical behavior, it rewards them through recognition and awards in a consistent and balanced manner. •All performance at the threshold level should be acknowledged, with praise or rewards given as close to performance as possible.

Differential association

•The idea that people learn ethical or unethical behavior while interacting with others who are part of their role-sets or belong to other intimate personal groups --More likely to result in unethical behavior if the individual associates primarily with persons who behave unethically •Superiors in particular have a strong influence on the ethics of their subordinates. -Employees, especially young managers, tend to go along with their superiors' moral judgments to demonstrate loyalty.

Corporate culture

•The shared beliefs top managers in a company have about how they should manage themselves and other employees, and how they should conduct their business(es) -All organizations, not just corporations, have some sort of culture. -Corporate culture includes history and unwritten rules. -Leaders are responsible for the actions of their subordinates.

Institutional theory

•Theory that organizations operate according to taken-for-granted institutional norms and rules -Government, religion, and education are institutions that influence the creation of values, norms, and conventions.

Understanding Ethical Decision Making

•Top-level support for ethical behavior is instrumental in helping employees engage in their personal approaches to ethical decision making. •Normative perspectives set forth ideal goals to which organizations should aspire. •Knowledge about ethical decision making helps in making good decisions.

Informal group

•Two or more individuals with a common interest but without an explicit organizational structure - -Grapevine, informal channels of communication

John Rawls

•was one of the most influential philosophers in his research on how principles support the concept of justice. • believed justice principles were beliefs that everyone could accept—a key element in our own definition of principles.