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