Business Ethics-Chapter 5
Ethical culture
Reflects whether the firm has an ethical conscience; is a function of many factors
Obedience to authority
Helps to explain why many employees unquestioningly follow superior's orders
Normative approaches
How organizational decision makers should approach an issue
Normative Considerations in Ethical Decision Making
Most organizations develop a set of core values to provide enduring beliefs about appropriate conduct; By incorporating stakeholder objectives into corporate core values, companies begin to view stakeholders as significant
Immediate job context
Where employees work, with whom they work, and the nature of the work
Descriptive approach
examines how organizational decision makers approach ethical decision making
Ethical decision making process
gender, education, nationality, age
Immediate job context
opportunity relates to individuals' immediate job context, where they work, whom they work with, and the nature of the work
External locus of control
seen as going with the flow because that is all they can do; events are due to uncontrollable forces
Ethical awareness
the ability to perceive whether a situation or decision has an ethical dimension
John Rawls
was one of the most influential philosophers in his research on how principles support the concept of justice
Internal locus of control
believe they can control events; are masters of their destinies and trust in their capacity to influence their environment
Corporate culture
A set of values, norms, and artifacts that members of an organization share
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
Individual Factors
People base their ethical decisions on their own values and principles of right or wrong
Moral Intensity
Relates to a person's perception of social pressure and the harm his/her decision will have on others
Locus of Control
Relates to individual differences in relation to a general belief about how one is affected by internal versus external events or reinforcements
Opportunity
The conditions in an organization that limit/permit ethical/unethical behavior; Opportunities for misconduct can be reduced by establishing formal codes, policies, and rules
Ethical-Issue Intensity
The perceived relevance or importance of an ethical issue to the individual, work group, and/or organization
Significant others
Those who have influence in a work group