1.1 -1.3
Example of Moral Reasoning
(1) Racism is bad (2) Kelly is a racist. (3) Kelly is immoral.
Moral Reasoning should be
(1) logical (2) accurate, relevant, and complete (3) consistent
4 Steps to Ethical Behavior
(1) recognizing an ethical situation (2) choosing the ethical course of action (3) deciding to do the ethic course of action (4) carrying out the decision
"Over 2,000 people smoke marijuana." Is this a normative or descriptive claim?
Descriptive
Where do moral standards come from?
Family, Friends, Church, etc.
Which type of standard is Group 1? Which is Group 2?
Moral, nonmoral
"People should not smoke weed." Is this a normative or descriptive claim?
Normative
Kohlberg's 3 Levels of Moral Development
Pre-conventional Conventional, and Post-conventional
Types of Ethical Issues
Systemic, Corporate, Individual
Shareholder view of CSR
a company's only responsibility is to legally and ethically make as much money as possible for its owners (shareholders)
Corporate social responsibility (CSR)
a corporation's obligation to society
Ethical or moral relativism
a person's action is morally right if it accords with the ethical standards accepted in their culture (and vice versa)
Normative Study
an investigation that attempts to conclude whats good and bad, right or wrong
Descriptive Study
an investigation that attempts to describe the world without drawing conclusion
Microsocial norms (and example)
apply only in specific societies (i.e. can smoke weed in California)
Hypernorms (and example)
apply to people in all societies (i.e. human rights)
Preconventional
child level based on consequences and self-centered
Distorting Harm
denying or disregarding harm (e.g. victims just exaggerated the harm)
What is necessary for moral reasoning?
emotions
Individual Ethics
ethical questions about an individual's decisions, behavior, or character
Corporate Ethics
ethical questions regarding a corporation's policies, culture, climate, etc
Systemic Ethics
ethical questions surrounding social, political, legal, or economic systems
Forms of Moral Disengagement
euphemistic labeling, justifying actions, advantageous comparisons, displacement of responsibility, diffusion of responsibility, distorting the harm, and dehumanization, and attribution of blame
Moral seduction
exert subtle pressures that can gradually lead an ethical person into decisions to do what he or she knows is wrong (e.g. new employees changing morals to fit company)
Integrative Social Contracts Theory: 2 Kinds of Morals
hypernorms and microsocial norms
The ability to distinguish from moral and nonmoral norms is _________
innate and universal
Justifying Actions
justify actions due to moral cause (e.g. terrorism)
Law of agency
law that specifies the duties of persons— "agents"—who agree to act on behalf of another party—the "principle"
Conventional
living up to expectations set by loved ones
Stakeholder view of CSR
managers should give all stakeholders (anyone affected by or affecting the company) a fair share of the benefits a business produces
Diffusion of Responsibility
minimizing involvement (e.g. I was one out of many people involved)
"It's wrong to murder" is an example of a
moral norm
"Injustice is bad" is an example of a
moral value
Postconventional
no longer simply accepts values and norms
Moral Standards
norms and values about the kinds of actions believed to be morally right or wrong
Displacement of Responsibility
put responsibility on someone else (e.g. my boss told me to)
Moral Disengagement
rationalizing immoral behavior as legitimate, as a way of justifying one's own bad acts
Moral Reasoning
reasoning process by which human behaviors, institutions, or policies are judged to be in accordance with or violation of moral standards
Attribution of blame
redirecting the blame
Advantageous Comparisons
see situation in context of larger evils (e.g. not as bad as the other company)
6 Characteristics of Moral Standards
serious, above other values, not established by authority figures, universal, impartial (equal), associated with emotions
Business Ethics
specialized study of morality as it applies to business institutions and behaviors
Nonmoral standards and norms (aka conventional)
standards by which we judge what is good or bad in a nonmoral way
The government culture which allows bribery is an example of ______________; a business which chooses to accept bribes from other businesses is an example of ________; an individual choosing not to accept a bribe due to morals is an example of __________
systemic ethics, corporate ethics, individual ethics
Morality
the standards that an individual or a group has about what is right and wrong
Ethics
the study of morality
From the age of ____ we can distinguish ________
three, moral from nonmoral
From the age of ____ we tend to think that _____ are more serious than ___________
three, moral, nonmoral
3 Components of Moral Reasoning
understanding of our moral standards, info about what's being evaluated, a moral judgement about what's being evaluated
Euphemistic Labeling
veiling a situation (e.g. downsizing employees instead of firing staff)
Dehumanizing the victim
victims aren't real or fully humans (e.g. Nazi Germany and the Jews)