Business Ethics Chapter 1 and 2
Morality in the narrow sense
Concerns the principles that do or should regulate people's conduct and relations with others.
Conscience
Evolved as we internalized the moral instructions of the parents of other authority figures who raised us as children.
Cultural Ethical Relativism
Moral/right if a society says its right. Deontological- not based on consequences. Strengths- future is strong and has lots of pride. Very black and white. Weakness: Minority has no voice or opinion. Majority rules. Theory doesn't hold up. Albert Carr- business is like poker, it has its own moral standards.
Morality in the broad sense
Not just the principles of conduct that we embrace but also the values, ideals, and aspirations that shape our lives.
Human Rights
Particular roles, special relationships, or specific circumstances. Human rights are universal, human rights are equal rights, human rights are not transferable nor can be relinquished, human rights are natural rights.
Psychological Egoism
People are constructed that they must behave selfishly. All actions are selfishly motivated and that truly unselfish actions are therefore impossible.
Paradox of Hedonism
People who're exclusively concerned with their own interests tend to have less happy and less satisfying lives. Individuals who only care about themselves.
Invalid argument
Premises do not entail its conclusion.
Valid argument
Premises logically entail its conclusion
Groupthink
Pressure for unanimity within a highly cohesive group overwhelms its members' desire or ability to appraise the situation realistically and condor alternative courses of action.
Compliance Contribution Consequences
The need for compliance with the rules. The contributions business can make to society. The consequences of business activity.
Business people
Those who participate in planning, organizing, or directing the work of business.
Act utilitarianism
We must ask ourselves what the consequences of a particular act in a particular situation will be for all those affected. Do what is expected in that situation to have the best consequences for the greatest number of people.
Metaphysic Epistemology
explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world that encompasses it. The theory of knowledge, especially with regard to its methods, validity, and scope.
Positive rights
human beings have in receiving certain benefits. Have others provide us with certain goods, services, or opportunities.
maxim
the subjective principle of an action, the principle that people in effect formulate in determining their conduct.
Sound arguments
true premises and valid reasoning
Six Points About Utilitarianism
1. We must consider unhappiness or pain as well as happiness 2. Actions affect people to different degrees 3. Anything might be morally right in some particular situation 4. Maximize happiness in the long run 5. Acknowledge that we often do not know with certainty what the future consequences of our actions will be 6. Does not require us to disregard our on pleasure.
Counterexample
An example that is consistent with the premises but is inconsistent with the conclusion.
Categorical imperative
Action done to someone can be done back to me, universal norm. We should always act in such a way that we can will the maxim of our action to become a universal law. Universal laws are set, can't lie or cheat. Have to follow the law. universalization of an action. No grey area.
Deontological theories
Action is good if it follows the rules/ standards of cultural duties/ laws. right and wrong are determined by more than the likely consequence of an action. Other factors are also relevant to the moral assessment of an action.
Proceduralism
Action is right if a group makes a consensus view fairly. ex. Jury
Rights Theory
Action is right if it follows the basic human rights.
Egoism Theory
Advocates individual self interest as its guiding principle, teleological. Strengths: efficient Weakness: not really a theory. Just promoting self interest, no guidelines. Allows actions that are immoral.
Business
Any organization whose objective is to provide goods and services for profit.
Rule utilitarianism
Applying the principles of utility to justify rules. The past, from experience already know what establishes the most units of happiness. Use it as a guide. What is the most loving thing to do. the utilitarian standard hold be applied not to individual action but to moral codes as a whole.
Moral Standards
Behavior that seriously affects human well-being.Takes priority over other standards. The soundness of moral standards depends on the adequacy of the reasons that support them.
Administrative Regulation
Boards or agencies whose functions include issuing detailed regulations covering certain kinds of conduct.
Constitutional Law
Court rulings on the requirements of the Constitution and the constitutionality of legislation.
Ethics
Deals with individual character and the moral rules that govern and limit our conduct. It investigates questions of right and wrong, duty and obligation, and moral responsibility.
Kantz Theory
Deontological. Something is morally right if it is performed out of good will. Strengths: Produces better people because it takes a stronger person to act on good will. Think about your actions to better society. Weakness: Not a good guidance. Hard to know when to make exceptions. Can't resolve conflicting situations. No perfect society. 1. action must be performed out of good will 2. action must be consistently universalized 3. have to treat other human beings as ends and never as means only. Only when we act from duty does our action have moral worth. Good will is the only thing that is good in itself.
Self-interest
Doing what's best for you even if it's wrong.
Professional Codes of Ethics
Govern the conduct of members of a given profession
Argument
Group of statements
Organizational Norms
Holds its members together, committed to the group. Performance, loyal, no breaking laws, and not over-invested in ethical behavior.
Divine Command Theory
If something is wrong, then the only reason it is wrong is that God commands us not to do it.
Bystander apathy
In emergencies, we seem naturally to let the behavior of those around us dictate our response.
Diffusion of responsibility
Inside an organization leads individuals to have a diluted or diminished sense of their own personal moral responsibilities.
W.D. Ross
Kantian. Deontological. Rejects utilitarianism because you can't reduce moral code down to maximum happiness. Different relationships in different contexts have different standards. Prima facie- an obligation that can be overridden by a more important obligation. Be able to choose and prioritized.
Statutes
Laws enacted by legislative bodies. Make up a large part of the law and are what we speak of "laws."
Negative rights
Somebody has an obligation to refrain from acting in a specified way. the vital interests that human beings have in being free from outside interference. Bill of Rights and rights to freedom from injury and to privacy.
Social Contract Theory
Something is morally right if it secures basic common goods, basic needs in life.
Utilitarianism Theory
Teleological. Something is morally right if it has the best consequences for the most amount of people. Most units of happiness. Strengths: Good in organizational context like business. Brings happiness. Very flexible, most amount of good the action can be anything. Weakness: Everyone has different definitions of happiness, grey area. Some actions can still be morally wrong. Jeremy Bentham-Father of utilitarianism. Quantitative, total amount of pleasure, most amount of happiness. John Stuart Mill- wants quality of pleasure.
Common Law
The body of judge-made law that first developed in the English-speaking world centuries ago when there were few statutes.
Etiquette
The norms of correct conduct in polite society or to any special code of social behavior or courtesy.
Business ethics
The study of what constitutes right and wrong, or good and bad, human conduct in a business context.
Hypothetical imperatives
What we must do on the assumption that we have some particular goal.
Supererogatory actions
actions that it would be good to do but not immoral not to do.
Moral arguments
arguments whose conclusion are moral judgments.
Ideal
morally significant goal, virtue, or notion of excellence worth striving for.
Normative Theories
principles for distinguishing right actions from wrong actions.
Consequentialist theories (Teleological)
the moral rightness of an action is determined solely by its results. If the consequences are good, then the act is right.
Optimal moral code
what rules can reasonably be taught and obeyed.