Business Ethics Final Dash Spring 2021 ORU
5 rival principles of distribution
1) Each an equal share 2) Each according to individual need 3) Each according to personal effort 4) Each according to social contribution 5) Each according to merit
What are 2 responses to the tendency of vanishing individual responsibility?
1) to attribute moral agency to the corporation itself 2) to refuse to let individuals duck their personal responsibility
What 3 ways to defenders of capitalism respond to the inequality criticism?
1)By blaming government for interfering with the market 2)By arguing that the capitalist system can be internally modified by political action 3)By arguing that the benefits of the system outweigh its weak points
Impersonal egoists
Claim that the pursuit of one's self-interest should motivate everyone's behavior
Once again for those in the back, what related notions does talk of justice generally involve?
Fairness Equality Desert Rights
(T/F) "Etiquette" designates a special realm of morality
False
(T/F) According to Immanuel Kant, moral reasoning is based on factual knowledge.
False
(T/F) According to Jeremy Bentham, the question is not whether animals can feel pain, but whether they can talk and reason.
False
(T/F) According to Marx, the best economic system would be one where the means of production and distribution are in the hands of the bourgeoisie.
False
(T/F) Adam Smith made the point that individual pursuit of self-interest (egoistic conduct), even when subject to rules and constraints, always undermines the utilitarian goal of producing the most good for all.
False
(T/F) Ethical egoism says that human beings are, as a matter of fact, so constructed that they must behave selfishly.
False
(T/F) If it's true that individuals have a natural right to own property, then there can be no limits on this right.
False
(T/F) In a broad sense morality is the moral code of an individual or of a society (insofar as the moral codes of the individuals making up that society overlap).
False
(T/F) Inbreeding refers to longevity on a job or with a firm.
False
(T/F) It is not logical for corporations to acknowledge that business should be conducted morally.
False
(T/F) Nonconsequentialist theories of ethics never consider the consequences of an action or rule when making a moral judgment.
False
(T/F) Organizational norms always and inevitably lead to groupthink
False
(T/F) Recent studies have shown that neither corporate moral codes nor corporate culture affect whether individuals inside the corporation behave morally or immorally.
False
(T/F) Regulation is always the most effective way to allocate the costs of environmental protection.
False
(T/F) The capitalism that we know today in the United States is a "pure" form of laissez-faire capitalism.
False
(T/F) The rising affluence of people in the United States has meant a corresponding decrease in pollution and its attendant environmental problems in the United States.
False
( T/F) A hypothetical imperative tells us to act as we would want everyone to act in that situation.
False Hypothetical imperatives tell us what we must do on the assumption that we have some particular goal.
(T/F) An argument is valid only if all its premises are true
False (difference between valid vs sound arguments)
What does determining whether an argument is valid or invalid require?
Familiarity with the rules of logic
Moral attitudes are best depicted by which of the following?
Moral standards typically concern behavior that can be of serious consequence to human welfare.
Kant: the categorical imperative
Morality as a system of laws analogous to the laws of physics in terms of their universal applicability
What type of morality is business ethics mainly concerned with and why?
Morality in a narrow sense
Collective bargaining
Negotiations between representatives of organized workers and their employers regarding wages, hours, rules, work conditions, and participation in decision making that affects the workplace.
What causes capitalism to constantly change?
New socio-economic and political conditions arising
Does utilitarianism tell us which economic system will product the most happiness?
No
The Libertarian View: Nozick's theory of justice
Nozick developed an influential statement of the libertarian position in his book Anarchy, State, and Utopia, based on the idea of negative and natural rights borrowed from the writings of the British philosopher John Locke (1632-1704).
Libertarian View: Nozick's entitlement theory
Nozick maintains that people are entitled to their holdings (that is, goods, money, and property) as long as they have acquired them fairly.
The natural right to property
One basic defense of capitalism rests on a supposed natural moral right to property
What are unfair tests?
Ones that lack validity or reliability If they are culturally biased or if the skills they measure do not relate directly to job performance
What are rules of ettiquette?
Ordinarily nonmoral in character and are meant to serve as guidelines for socially acceptable behavior
How many manufacturing jobs have moved abroad since 1992?
Over 1.3 million
Rawls's: The maxim principle
People in the original position will also choose conservatively, by trying to maximize the minimum that they will receive. They want to make sure that the worst that could happen to them is the least bad of the alternatives.
Secondary boycott
People refuse to patronize companies that handle the products of struck companies.
Invalid argument
Premises do not entail its conclusion
Valid argument
Premises logically entail its conclusion
Rawls's: The veil of ignorance
To avoid disagreement with others while pursuing one's self-interest, all circumstances and conditions that can influence one's choice of principles of justice (economic background, talents, privileges, etc.) ought to be removed.
Adam Smith (1723-1790)
The main promoter of classical capitalism who argued that society can flourish if businesses are left to freely pursue their self-interests (under utilitarianism section)
Evolution of the corporation
The modern business corporation has evolved over several centuries. -The corporate form developed during the Middle Ages. -The first corporations were towns, universities, and ecclesiastical orders, chartered by government and regulated by public statute.
What does the moral point of view require regarding our self-interest?
The moral point of view requires that we restrict our self-interest to satisfy social co-existence
Morality in the narrow sense
The moral principles or rules that do, or should, govern the conduct of individuals in their relations with others
Utilitarianism
The moral theory that we should act in ways that produce the most pleasure or happiness (and least amount of suffering) for the greatest number of people affected by our actions
Moral principles and self-interest
The morality of an action can run counter to our self-interest
Diffusion of responsibility
The multiplicity, complexity, and distribution of tasks that can lead individuals to feel less responsibility or accountability for their actions
Our relationship with the law is best described by which of the following?
To a significant extent, law codifies a society's customs, norms, and moral values
Union tacticts
To get demands met, unions resort to practices such as direct strikes, sympathetic strikes, boycotts, or corporate campaigns - but such actions often raise moral issues.
Aristotle on justice as fairness
Treat similar cases alike except where there is some relevant difference
(T/F) A moral of Garrett Hardin's parable "The Tragedy of the Commons" is that there can be a difference between the private costs and the social costs of a business activity.
True
(T/F) A workplace environment in which employees are treated fairly and their inherent dignity respected is compatible with a firm's business goals.
True
(T/F) According to Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, pleasure is the one thing that is intrinsically good or worthwhile.
True
(T/F) According to John Kenneth Galbraith, business's social role is purely economic and corporations should not be considered moral agents.
True
(T/F) According to John Rawls, people in the original position do not know what social position or status they hold in society.
True
(T/F) According to Keith Davis, in addition to considering potential profitability, a business must weigh the long-range social costs of its activities as well. Only if the overall benefit to society is positive should business act.
True
(T/F) According to Melvin Anshen, the case for a broad view of corporate responsibility can be defended on the basis of there always being a kind of social contract existing between business and society.
True
(T/F) According to Robert Nozick, property rights exist prior to any social arrangements and are morally antecedent to any legislative decisions that a society might make.
True
(T/F) According to Robert Nozick, the basic moral rights possessed by all human beings are both negative and natural.
True
(T/F) According to divine command theory, if something is wrong, then the only reason it is wrong is that God commands us not to do it.
True
(T/F) According to libertarianism, liberty is the prime value, and justice consists in permitting each to live as he or she pleases, free from the interference of others.
True
(T/F) According to the "maximin" rule, you should select the alternative under which the worst that could happen to you is better than the worst that could happen to you under any other alternative.
True
(T/F) Advocates of a naturalistic ethic contend that some natural objects are morally considerable in their own right, apart from human interests.
True
(T/F) An argument is a group of statements, one of which is claimed to follow from the others.
True
(T/F) Any equitable solution to the problem of who should pay the bill for environmental cleanup should take into account responsibility as well as benefit.
True
(T/F) Business ethics is the study of what constitutes right and wrong, or good and bad, human conduct in a business context.
True
(T/F) Bystander apathy appears to result in part from diffusion of responsibility
True
(T/F) Capital is that money that is invested for the purpose of making more money.
True
(T/F) Companies should look at a code of ethics as more than just window dressing with more than just a vagueness that is so general it lacks substance.
True
(T/F) Corporate internal decision (CID) structures amount to established procedures for accomplishing specific goals.
True
(T/F) Corporations should welcome the outside opinions of society as a whole, local communities, customers, suppliers, employees, managers, and stockholders.
True
(T/F) Cost benefit analysis is a device used to determine whether it's worthwhile to incur a particular cost.
True
(T/F) Distributive justice concerns the morally proper distribution of social benefits and burdens.
True
(T/F) Due process requires specific and systematic means for workers to appeal discharge or disciplinary decisions.
True
(T/F) From the beginning, unions have been driven by an attempt to protect workers from abuses of power at the hands of employers.
True
(T/F) Government programs often subsidize American businesses and protect them from competition.
True
(T/F) In business and elsewhere, your only moral obligation is to act within the law
True
(T/F) In ethics, normative theories propose some principle or principles for distinguishing right actions from wrong actions.
True
(T/F) Jeremy Bentham thought that a community is no more than the individuals who compose it and that the interests of the community are simply the sum of the interests of its members.
True
(T/F) John Rawls's second principle of justice states that insofar as inequalities are permitted—that is, insofar as it is compatible with justice for some jobs or positions to bring greater rewards than others—these positions must be open to all.
True
(T/F) Just cause requires that reasons for discipline or discharge related directly to job performance.
True
(T/F) Labor historians generally consider the Knights of Labor (K of L), established in 1869, as the first truly national trade union.
True
(T/F) Legally a corporation is a thing that can endure beyond the natural lives of its members and that has incorporators who may sue and be sued as a unit and who are able to consign part of their property to the corporation for ventures of limited liability.
True
(T/F) Libertarians would find it immoral and unjust to coerce people to give food or money to the starving.
True
(T/F) One of the chief concerns of nepotism is the disregard of managerial responsibilities to the organization and of fairness to other employees.
True
(T/F) Our conscience evolved as we internalized the moral instructions of the parents or other authority figures who raised us as children.
True
(T/F) Outsourcing is a practice where companies buy parts or whole products from other producers, both at home and abroad.
True
(T/F) Rule utilitarianism applies the utilitarian standard, not to individual actions, but to moral codes as a whole.
True
(T/F) Socialism is an economic system characterized by public ownership of property and a planned economy.
True
(T/F) The connection between rights and duties is that, generally speaking, if you have a right to do something, then someone else has a correlative duty to act in a certain way.
True
(T/F) The express purpose of a boycott is the same as a strike—to hurt the employer and strengthen the union.
True
(T/F) The idea that corporations will impose their values on us supports one of the arguments for the narrow view of corporate social responsibility.
True
Spillover
Unintended costs to third parties from transaction; also called "externalities"
Primary boycott
Union members and their supporters refuse to buy products from a company being struck.
The plight of unions today
Unions are responsible, directly or indirectly, for many of the benefits employees enjoy today. But, they have been weakened by: 1) changing economy 2) hostile political environment 3) aggressive anti-union policies
The American Federation of Labor (AFL)
United the great national craft unions in a closely knit organizational alliance, founded in 1886
Utilitarianism is appealing as a standard for moral decision making in business. Which of the following provides a reason for this?
Utilitarianism provides an objective way of resolving conflicts of self-interest.
Greater equality of income
Utilitarians are more likely to favor equal income distribution on the basis of the so-called declining marginal utility of money.
Tests must be valid
Validity refers to whether test scores correlate with performance in some other activity (i.e., whether the test measures the skill or ability it is intended to measure).
What do others argue we can do by putting ourselves in the "original position" ?
We can balance our interests against those of our descendants
Which of the following represents a utilitarian belief?
We should bring about the most happiness for everyone affected by our actions.
Some environmental regulations (like forbidding the burning of coal in cities) benefit each and every one of us because the air we all breathe is cleaner. If a company ignores the regulation and burns coal, while others obey the regulation, then the company
is being a free-rider.
The statement that best defines rights is
a right is an entitlement to act or to have others act in a certain way.
Of the four types of discharge, firing
is for-cause dismissal—the result of employee theft, gross insubordination, release of proprietary information, and so on. The rest: termination, lay-off, position elimination
Rawls rejects utilitarianism because
it might permit an unfair distribution of burdens and benefits.
Theoretical criticism to capitalism
challenge capitalism's fundamental values, basic assumptions, or inherent economic tendencies.
The biggest corporations are
colossi that dominate the earth
The key moral ideal in promotions is
fairness
Talk of justice and injustice typically focuses on:
fairness, equality, desert, and rights
Operational criticisms
focus more on capitalism's failure to live up to its own economic ideals.
Business has considered the environment to be
free and nearly limitless
Accepting a moral principle
generally involves a desire to follow that principle for its own sake
What is the new stage of capitalism that many believe we are entering
globalized capitalism
One reason for believing that in practice capitalism fails to live up to its own ideal of competition is
government subsidies and protective tariffs.
Capitalism operates on the debatable assumption that human beings find increased well-being through
greater material consumption.
The narrow view of corporate social responsibility argues companies must make money within the "rules of the game," which rules out all of the following except for:
harm (the rules are deception, force, and fraud)
What do the best-run systems employ?
highly structured and impersonal management systems
Some moral rights derive from special relationships, roles, or circumstances in which we happen to be, what are moral rights that are NOT a result of these called?
human rights
A tangible truth about having moral principles is
if you do the right thing only because you think it will pay off, you are not really motivated by moral concerns.
The veil of ignorance demands people in the original position to be
impartial
Many utilitarians would argue that
increased worker participation in industrial life is beneficial.
Business must be sensitive to its impacts on the physical environment primarily because of the
interdependence of an ecosystem's elements.
The term ecology refers to the science of the
interrelationships among organisms and their environments
The hiring process needs to include screening, testing, and
interviewing.
globalized capitalism
involves reliance upon foreign labor services, joint ventures in overseas companies, outsourcing, etc.
Cost benefit analysis
involves value judgments and factual uncertainties.
Nozick's libertarian theory proposes
libertarians generally agree that liberty allows only a "night-watchman" state.
Enron's Stock Price Collapse in late 2001
lost 60 billion in stocks because of bad books
Who do most business observers believe controls the corporation today?
management handpicks the board of directors, thus controlling the body that is supposed to police it
What do proponents of the broader view of corporate social responsibility argue concerning management?
management has responsibilities to other constituencies as well (to employees, bondholders, and consumers).
What do proponents of the narrow view of corporate social responsibility argue concerning management?
management's fiduciary responsibility to maximize shareholder wealth outweighs any other obligations
The effects of environmental recklessness by what 3 things are now being seen?
manufacturing industry consumers
The National Labor Relations of (Wagner) Act (1935)
prohibited employers from: -Interfering with workers trying to start unions -Attempting to gain control over labor unions -Treating union workers differently from others -Refusing to bargain with union representatives
One of the four key features of capitalism is
private property The rest: companies, profit motive, competition
Today 22 states are right-to-work states with open-shop laws on their books, they...
prohibit union contracts requiring all employees to either join the union or pay the equivalent of union dues
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, creed, nationality, sex, or age.
The Wagner Act of 1935
prohibited firing workers because of union membership or union activities.
The "rules of the game" for corporate work are intended to
promote open and free competition.
Which of the following is a drawback to the regulatory approach?
regulation can take away an industry's incentive to do more than the minimum
According to Mill's utilitarianism
rights are certain moral rules, the observance of which is of the utmost importance for the long-run, overall maximization of happiness.
Though many jobs are outsourced, most economists believe
the economy will create new jobs.
Evidence for the idea that American manufacturing is declining is
the fact that government now employs more people than manufacturing.
Under the broader view of corporate social responsibility, what must corporations take responsibility for?
the unintended side effects of their business transactions (externalities) and weigh the full social costs of their activities
What idea do rule utilitarians maintain?
the utilitarian standard should be applied not to individual actions but to moral codes as a whole.
2 types of criticism to capitalism
theoretical and operational objections
What do critics of living-wage laws believe
they cost jobs
What do other critics doubt about the natural right to property in capitalism?
they doubt this right entitles one to have a system of property rules and regulations identical to the one we now have in the US
Corporations differ from partnerships and other forms of business association in two ways. One of these is that
they must be publicly registered or in some way officially acknowledged by the law. other way: unlike a partner, who is automatically entitled to his or her share of the profits of a partnership as soon as they are ascertained, the shareholder in a corporation is entitled to a dividend from the company's profits only when it has been "declared."
Groups of eighteenth century skilled artisans formed secret societies for two basic reasons. Which of the following is one of those reasons?
to equalize their relationship with their employers
Traditionally, what was a business's single obligation toward its employees
to pay them for their work
What does America do to satisfy its disproportionate consumption of nonrenewable resources?
turns to foreign lands
Union sympathizers response to critics of union ideals
union sympathizers stress fairness and the importance of solidarity
If you adopt egoism as your moral code, then
you believe that it is morally right to do whatever promotes your best interest.
Quote about libertarian theory of justice and the homeless
"According to the libertarian theory of justice, the people that own the house in the background have no obligation to assist the homeless. The wealth that they have acquired is theirs to dispose of entirely as they wish."
quote questioning Kant's ethics
"Is the categorical imperative an adequate test of right? A moral rule must function without exception, according to Kant. How applicable is that tenet to torture?"
What is an example of the categorical imperative?
-A building contractor promises to install a sprinkler system in a project -But he is willing to break that promise to suit his purposes -His maxim can be expressed as: "I'll make promises that I'll break whenever keeping them not longer suits my purposes" -By willing the maxim to become a universal law, the contractor undermines promises in general
Broader view - corporate social responsibility:
-Says that a corporation has obligations not only to its stockholders, but to all other constituencies that affect, or are affected by, its behavior -This includes all parties that have a stake in what the corporation does or doesn't do - employees, customers, and the public at large -It is sometimes called the social entity model or the stakeholder model
Example of prima facie obligation
-We are in conflict over the duty to keep our promise to a friend and the duty to help a person in need -We may have to override the promise and favor the more important duty to help the person -But in some other circumstances we ought to do the opposite
Case of the Alderson Federal Prison Camp in West Virginia
-housed domestic guru Martha Stewart -"country-club prison" How is this sort of description likely to affect some people's notion of just desert and equality of justice?
prima facie obligations: philosophies on assisting others
-nonconsequentialists believe that we have a much stronger obligation to refrain from violating people's rights than to promote their happiness or well-being -moral philosophers argue that utilitarianism fails to distinguish between morally required acts and supererogatory acts (those acts that exceed the call of duty)
What are the two differences between corporations and other business partnerships?
1) A corporation requires a public registration or acknowledgment by the law. 2) The shareholder is entitled to a dividend from the company's profits only when it has been "declared" by the corporation's directors.
3 Principles of Nozick's entitlement theory
1) A person who acquires a holding in accordance with the principle of justice in acquisition is entitled to that holding. 2) A person who acquires a holding in accordance with the principle of justice in transfer, from someone else entitled to the holding, is entitled to the holding. 3) No one is entitled to a holding except by (repeated) applications of statements 1 and 2.
How has outsourcing affected white-collar jobs?
1) About 54 percent of the 1,000 largest U.S. companies outsourcing or planning to outsource white-collar jobs. 2) At least 300,000 white-collar jobs may flow overseas every year through 2015. 3) This would mean a total loss of 3.4 million jobs
What 4 things should corporations do to make ethics a priority?
1) Acknowledge the importance, even necessity, of conducting business morally 2) Make a real effort to encourage their members to take moral responsibilities seriously 3) End their defensiveness in the face of criticism, and invite public discussion and review 4) Recognize the pluralistic nature of the social system of which they are a part
What 2 things does solving ethical dilemmas involve?
1) Appeal to theoretical constructs 2) Reevaluation of established moral standards and inherited intuitions
Corporate moral codes: What are 4 steps that companies should take to institutionalize ethics?
1) Articulate the firm's values and goals 2) Adopt a moral code applicable to all members of the company 3) Set up a high-ranking ethics committee to oversee, develop, and enforce the code 4) Incorporate ethics training into all employee-development programs
Criticisms of Rule Utilitarianism
1) By sacrificing the priority of the principle of utility, they tend to overestimate the value of rules. 2) They are still bound by the consequentialist approach to morality, which is to evaluate the worth of various acts in terms of their results. 3) Therefore they fail to acknowledge the independent value status of moral and human rights.
Criticisms: Competition isn't what it's cracked up to be
1) Capitalism breeds oligopolies - concentrations of property and resources (and thus economic power) in the hands of a few 2) Corporate welfare programs often shelter businesses from competition. 3) Critics contend that cooperation, rather than competition, leads to better individual and group performance.
Criticisms: Human nature and capitalism
1) Capitalism wrongly assumes that human beings are rational economic maximizers. 2) Capitalism offers us no higher sense of human purpose. 3)Capitalism operates on the assumption that human beings find increased well-being through ever greater material consumption.
Moral decision making: guidelines for handling cases involving conflicting obligations, ideals, and effects
1) Choose the stronger of two or more conflicting obligations. 2) Honor the more important of two or more conflicting ideals. 3) Of two or more rival actions, choose the one that produces the greater good or the lesser harm.
3 parts of evaluating moral arguments
1) Clarifying the terms of the premises 2) Examining the factual claims 3) Assessing the moral standard
Basic prima facie obligation 7 duties
1) Duties of fidelity 2) Duties of reparation 3) Duties of gratitude 4) Duties of justice 5) Duties of beneficence 6) Duties of self-improvement 7) Duties not to injure others
Rawls's: The two principles
1) Each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive total system of equal basic liberties, compatible with a similar system of liberty for all. 2) Social and economic inequalities are to satisfy two conditions: To be attached to positions open to all under conditions of fair equality of opportunity, and to give the greatest expected benefit to the least advantaged members of society.
4 Patterns of Defense and Challenge
1) Evaluating factual claims 2) Challenging the moral standard 3) Defending the moral standard 4) Revising and modifying the argument
Criticisms: Exploitation and alienation
1) Exploitation: Karl Marx argued that as the means of production become concentrated in the hands of the few, the balance of power between capitalists (bourgeoisie) and laborers (proletariat) tips further in favor of the bourgeoisie. -Because workers have nothing to sell but their labor, the bourgeoisie is able to exploit them by paying them less than the true value created by their labor. 2) Alienation: In his "Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts" (1944), Marx explains the notion of alienation as the separation of individuals from the objects of their creativity. -This separation in turn results in one's separation from other people, from oneself, and ultimately from one's human nature.
What are two questions about moral problems related to the free enterprise system and capitalism
1) How can capitalism increase wealth without creating moral issues? 2) Does capitalism enhance societies, or tarnish them?
What two moral questions are raised by America turning to foreign lands?
1) How is the continued availability of foreign resources to be secured? 2) Does any nation have a right to consume the world's irreplaceable resources at a rate so grossly out of proportion to the size of its population?
What are the 4 key features of human rights?
1) Human rights are universal 2) Human rights are applied equally to all 3) Human rights are inalienable and not transferable 4) Human rights are natural in that they do not depend on human institutions
V. R. Ruggiero's two-step approach to moral decision making
1) Identify the relevant considerations involved - obligations, ideas, and effects 2) Determine which of these considerations deserve emphasis in the situation at hand
Moral decision making: How do we reach an agreement on controversial ethical issues in business?
1) In any moral discussion, make sure participants agree about the relevant facts. 2) Once an agreement on factual matters is reached, try to spell out the moral principles endorsed by the participants. 3) Articulate the common grounds between the diverse ethical viewpoints of the participants.
What are the 6 points concerning utilitarianism
1) In choosing between alternative courses of action, we should consider the net worth of happiness vs unhappiness produced by each course of action 2) We should give equal consideration to all individual preferences, then calculate the net worth of the various kinds of pleasures and pains 3) Anything can be morally praiseworthy in some circumstances if it promotes the greatest balance of pleasure vs pain for the greatest number of people 4) We should seek to maximize happiness, not only immediately, but in the long run 5) We should do what is likely to cause happiness and likely to not cause suffering when we lack certainty 6) We must guard against bias in our utilitarian calculations when our own interests are at stake. So it is advisable to rely on rules of thumb.
Two basic principles in fair handling of disciplinary issues
1) Just cause: requires that reasons for discipline or discharge deal with job performance 2) Due process: refers to the fairness of procedures used to impose sanctions on employees
What are 3 criticisms of Kant's ethics?
1) Kant's ethics is too extreme insofar as it excludes emotion from moral decision making and makes duty paramount 2) Kant fails to distinguish between excepting oneself from a rule and qualifying a rule on the basis of exceptions 3) It is not always clear when people are treated as ends and merely as means
What are the beliefs concerning individuals regarding moral corporate decision making?
1) Many argue that only the individuals within the structure can act morally or immorally, and can be consequently held morally responsible for their actions. 2) Others disagree as to whether the structure as a whole can be liable for criminal offenses and punishable by the law. -Not every form of punishment can be applied to corporations
What are the limits in what the law can achieve?
1) Many laws are passed only after there is general awareness of the problem. 2) It is difficult to design effective regulations and appropriate laws. 3) Enforcing the law is often cumbersome.
Prima facie obligations: Nonconsequentialism in an organizational context
1) Moral decision making involves the weighing of different moral factors and considerations. 2) This theory acknowledges that the organization has its own legitimate goals to pursue. (3) It stresses the importance of moral rights and especially human rights.
Criticisms of libertarian property rights
1) Property includes more than material objects. It also has many abstract forms. 2) Property ownership is not a simple right but involves a bundle of different rights.
What 3 things does utilitarianism do in an organizational context?
1) Provides a clear and straightforward standard for formulating and testing policies 2) Offers an objective way for resolving conflicts of interest 3) Suggests a flexible, result-oriented approach to moral decision making
4 drawbacks to regulations
1) Requiring firms to use the strongest feasible means of pollution control is problematic. 2) Although regulations treat all parties equally, this often comes at the cost of ignoring the special circumstances of particular industries and individual firms. 3) Regulation can take away an industry's incentive to do more than the minimum required by law. (No polluter has an incentive to discharge less muck than regulations allow. No entrepreneur has an incentive to devise technology that will bring pollution levels below the registered maximum. 4) Regulation can also cause plants to shut down or relocate.
What are 2 important features of Rawls's Theory of Justice
1) hypothetical-contract approach 2) The principles of justice that Rawls derives through it
Criticisms of nonconsequentialism
1) Ross maintained that moral truths are known intuitively, i.e. they are self-evident. 2) Critics question whether intuition is always a reliable guide for establishing moral truths. 3) They say that appeals to intuition and should be critically assessed. 4) It is not always clear how issues with conflicting rights and principles ought to be resolved.
3 Criteria for moral judgments
1) Should be logical -Embedded in valid arguments -Compatible with moral and nonmoral beliefs 2) Should be based on facts 3) Should be based on acceptable moral principles
3 Requirements for Moral Judgments
1) Should be logical 2) Should be based on facts 3) Should be based on acceptable moral principles -ex: consistency with our considered moral beliefs
What are the 2 ideas that motivated the change behind the new system?
1) The belief that a corporation should not be directly tied to any public policy 2) The view that a corporation is a by-product of the people's right of association, not a gift from the state
What does Kant's ethics look like in an organizational context?
1) The categorical imperative provides a solid standard for the formulation of rules applicable to any business circumstances 2) Kant emphasizes the absolute value and dignity of individuals 3) Kant stresses the importance of acting on the basis of right intentions
Today's Economic Challenges:
1) The decline of American manufacturing 2) For the first time since the Industrial Revolution, manufacturing employees make up less than 10% of the US workforce 3) In 2007, the number of factory jobs hit a fifty-seven-year low 4) Critics worry whether the US can prosper without a strong manufacturing base 5) Outsourcing jobs 6) Economists disagree about whether outsourcing benefits America overall. 7) Some economists argue that the economy is hurt by the massive job losses that result. 8) Some economists argue that a country should produce for the world market those goods in which it has a competitive advantage. 9) The US trade deficit 10) Changing attitudes toward work
Two factors in determining the wage level
1) The employee's job performance 2) The fairness of the wage agreement terms
Rawls's: Explanation of the principles
1) The first principle takes priority over the second - it guarantees as much liberty to individuals as possible, compatible with others having the same amount of liberty. 2)The first part of the second principle articulates the familiar ideal of equality of opportunity. 3) The second part of the principle - called the difference principle - stipulates that inequalities are justifiable only if they benefit the least advantaged members of society
What are 3 criticisms of Utilitarianism?
1) The practical application of the principle of utility involves considerable difficulties 2) Some actions seem to be intrinsically immoral, though performing them can maximize happiness 3) Utilitarianism is concerned with the amount of happiness produced, not how the amount is distributed, so the theory can run counter to principles of justice
Historically, what 2 things does this authoritarianism stem from?
1) The rise of professional management and personnel engineering 2) The common-law doctrine that employees can be discharged without cause ("employment at will")
What are the 3 objections to Egoism?
1) The theory is not sound: The doctrine of psychological egoism is false - not all human acts are selfish by nature, and some are truly altruistic. 2) Egoism is not a moral theory at all: Egoism missed the whole point of morality, which is to restrain our selfish desires for the sake of peaceful coexistence with others 3) Egoism ignores blatant wrongs: All patently wrong actions are morally neutral unless they conflict with one's advantage
Utilitarian view: What does deciding which system will promote the most happiness depend on knowing?
1) The type of economic ownership 2) The form of production and distribution 3) The type of authority arrangements 4) The range and character of material incentives 5) The nature and extent of social security and welfare provision
The implications of relativism
1) There is no independent standard by which to judge the rightness or wrongness of other societies 2) The idea of ethical progress loses its significance 3) It wouldn't make sense to criticize the moral code of one's own society or culture
3 ways that an argument can be challenged
1) Uncovering ambiguity in the terms 2) Questioning the factual claims 3) Challenging the moral standards
What are the 2 formulations of the categorical imperative?
1) Universal acceptability: To determine whether a principle is a moral law, we need to ask whether the command expressed through it is acceptable to all rational agents 2) Humanity as an end, never only as a means: All human beings have inherent worth because they possess rationality and they should be treated with respect
A living wage is supported by what moral grounds?
1) Utilitarian element promoting human welfare 2) Kantian principle of respect for human dignity 3) Commonsense view that some wages are so low to be inherently exploitative
Prima Facie Obligations: What were W.D. Ross' beliefs?
1) We have various duties that oftentimes come into conflict with each other 2) There are no universal rules for the resolution of conflicts of duties 3) Different situations generate different priority orders of duties
What are the 2 questions about the costs of pollution control?
1) What kind of environment do we want? 2) What is required to bring about the kind of environment we want?
Ethical codes and economic efficiency: Exclusive concern with profit maximization is socially inefficient in what 2 situations?
1) When costs are not paid for 2) When the buyer lacks the expertise and knowledge of the seller -efficient economic life requires public trust with confidence -the adoption of realistic and workable codes of ethics in the business world can contribute immensely to business efficiency
What are the 2 aspects of the distinctive utilitarian application
1) Worker participation 2) Greater equality of income
The business-can't-handle-it argument
2) Corporations lack the expertise: Corporate executives lack the moral and social expertise to make other-than-economic decisions. 1) Corporations will impose their values on us: Broadening corporate responsibility will "materialize'' society rather than "moralize'' corporate activity.
How much of the American economy do the 500 largest US corporations make up?
3/4
The US represents 4.6 percent of the world's population and consumes what percent of the world's refined oil?
30% Is the US obligated to reduce its oil consumption?
The top one million households take home more than what amount of households at the bottom?
56 million households
Who was Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)?
A German philosopher with a nonconsequentialist approach to ethics
Obligations to future generations
A broader view of environmental ethics considers our duties to other societies and upcoming generations -Some say we must respect the right of future generations to inherit an environment that is not seriously damaged
Which of the following is an accurate statement?
A common defense of capitalism is the argument that people have a fundamental moral right to property and that our capitalist system is simply the outcome of this natural right.
Corporation
A corporation is a three-part organization made up of: 1) Stockholders, who provide the capital, own the corporation, and enjoy liability limited to the amount of their investments 2) Managers, who run the business operations 3) Employees, who produce the goods and services
What kind of person is a corporation?
A corporation is an artificial person -Its existence within the legal system raises the question of its statutes as a moral agent
Argument
A group of statements in which one statement (conclusion) follows from others (premises) Ex: 1) If Norman is bald, then Norman does not need a haircut. 2) It is the case that Norman is bald. 3) Therefore, Norman does not need a haircut.
What happened at Kingston Fossil Plant in Tennessee?
A home was flooded with toxic sludge following the coal-ash spill
Worker control socialism
A hybrid market-oriented socialism
What do some philosophers maintain that every human being has a right to?
A livable environment
Capitalism
An economic system in which the major portion of production and distribution is in private hands, operating under what is termed a "profit" or "market" system
Wrongful discrimination
A moral concern in which candidates are judged on physical or ethnic traits rather than qualifications. -Sex, age, race, national origin, and religion are generally not job-related and generally should not affect hiring decisions -Discrimination against the disabled is illegal -Considering language, lifestyle, appearance, ill-considered educational requirements, or gaps in work history may also be unfair
What does economic justice concern?
A network of moral issues in our society
Ecological economies
A new discipline, which attempts to expand the boundaries of environmental cost-benefit analysis. It calculates the value of an ecosystem in terms of what it would cost to provide the benefits and services it now furnishes us. -For example, the worth of a wetland in terms of the cost of constructing structures that provide the same flood control and storm protection that natural wetlands do.
The value of nature
A radical approach to environmental ethics challenges the human-centered assumption that preserving the environment is good only because it is good for us.
prima facie obligations: moral rights
A right is an entitlement to act of have others act in a certain way
Which of the following is a correct statement about union activities?
A sympathetic strike occurs when workers who have no particular grievance of their own and who may or may not have the same employer decide to strike in support of others.
Corporate campaign
A tactic that enlists the cooperation of a company's creditors to pressure the company to unionize or comply with union demands.
Ecosystems
A total ecological community, both living and nonliving, webs of interdependency structure ecosystems - a change in one element can have ripple effects through the system.
Incentives
A widely supported approach to the problem of cost allocation for environmental improvement through government investment, subsidy, and general economic incentive (e.g. by means of tax cuts, grants or awards).
What does it mean to have moral principles?
Accepting moral principles is not just a matter of intellectual recognition, but of profound individual commitment to a set of values
Rawls's: Benefits and burdens
According to Rawls, justice requires that the social and economic consequences of arbitrarily distributed assets (natural characteristics and talents) be minimized.
Which statement is true about the hiring and employment process?
According to common law, unless there is an explicit contractual provision to the contrary, every employment is employment "at will."
Vanishing individual responsibility
Acting within the confines of a given CID framework makes it difficult to assign individual responsibility for corporate outcomes
What is the principle of utility?
Actions are right if they promote the greatest human welfare, and wrong if they do not
Who believes that business is a game?
Albert Carr
Pollution permits
Allow companies to discharge a limited amount of pollution or trade pollution "rights" with other companies.
The US trade defecit
America today imports twice as much merchandise as it exports -Our relentlessly growing trade deficit is now over $700 billion annually, equivalent to almost 6 percent of GDP. -With this deficit the country's reliance on foreign borrowing has increased, and foreign creditors now provide two-thirds of America's net domestic investment. -Today we owe the rest of the world about $3 trillion—twice what we owed in 2000.
Changing attitudes toward work
Americans now work 20% more than in 1970, but the American work ethic is disappearing 1) Only one in three persons believes that hard work pays off in the end. 2) People are less interested in work than in looking out for themselves. 3) With increased education, we are rearranging our ideas about what we want from life. 4) People want meaningful and challenging work that offers us autonomy and self-development.
What is the distinction between morality and legality?
An action can be illegal but morally right An action can be legal but morally wrong
Strike
An organized body of workers withholds its labor to force its employer to meet its demands.
What must be done in situations of conflict between moral principles and self-interest?
Appeal to shared principles of justification
W.D. Ross (1877-1971)
British scholar who held that our moral experiences are too complex to be reduced to the principle of utility or the categorical imperative. -prima facie obligations
Our treatment of animals
Business affects the welfare of animals very substantially. -one way is through experimentation and the testing of products on animals
1) Those responsible for causing the pollution ought to pay
Business has profited greatly from treating the environment as a free good, but consumers have paid lower costs for products. Some would blame consumers, not businesses, for pollution because they create demand for products whose production impairs the environment. -But, this argument fails to recognize the deep-rooted causes of pollution - population growth, increasing urbanization, and rising affluence.
What does Albert Carr argue with the game of business?
Business professionals are expected to follow a code that has little or nothing to do with ethics in other contexts
Factory farming
Business's largest and most devastating impact on animals is the production of animal-related products—in particular, meat -The economizing of the meat and animal-products industries leads to their treating animals in ways that many reject as cruel and immoral
Utility and self-interest
Businesses are concerned with increasing profit and can be viewed as egoistic, but pursuing one's own economic advantage can increase the well-being of society as a whole.
Which of the following do proponents of the broader view of corporate social responsibility believe?
Businesses have other obligations besides making a profit.
Prima facie obligation
Can be overridden by a more important duty in specific circumstances
Which statement best describes capitalism?
Capitalism is an economic system that operates under the profit motive.
Companies
Capitalism permits the creation of companies or business organizations that exist separately from the people associated with them.
Private Property
Capitalism requires private ownership of the major means of production (factories, warehouses, offices, machines, trucking fleets, land, etc.)
Conscience and its limits
Conscience is not always a reliable guide because it can be: 1) conflicted 2) erroneous
What does Peter Singer believe about the treatment of animals?
Contents that most experiments and tests are unjustified on moral grounds because animals have moral rights
The debate over corporate moral agency hinges on which question?
Corporate punishment
Chapter 5:
Corporations
The business-can't-handle-it-argument: objection to "Corporations will impose their values on us"
Corporations already promote consumerism and materialism - but from a broader view of responsibility, are they likely to have a more materialistic effect on society?
The invisible-hand argument
Corporations should not be held accountable for non-economic matters - this distorts business's mission and undermine the free-enterprise system
Constitutional law
Court rulings on the requirements of the US Constitution and on the constitutionality of legislation
Criticisms of Capitalism: Inequality
Critics argue that poverty and inequality challenge the fairness of capitalism and its claim to advance the interests of all.
Critics of union ideals
Critics charge that forcing workers to join unions infringes on autonomy and the right of association - and that union workers receive discriminatory and unlawful favoritism.
2) Those who stand to benefit from protection and restoration should pick up the tab
Critics of this argument point out that every individual, rich or poor, and every institution, large or small, stands to benefit from environmental protection and restoration, albeit not necessarily to the same degree. The problem: If pollution concerns all of us to a different degree, how would we determine the amount individuals and companies should pay, based on the degree to which they benefit?
The "tragedy of the commons"
Damage to the environment can also be explained as the result of a situation in which each person's or business's pursuit of self-interest can make everyone worse off - the reverse of Adam Smith's invisible hand.
Authoritarianism at the workplace
David Ewing, formerly of Harvard Business Review, believes that too many corporations routinely violate the civil liberties of their employees.
The costs of pollution control
Determining the cost of pollution control requires cost-benefit analysis - which is difficult because it involves controversial factual assessments and value judgments.
Objection to the invisible-hand argument
Does not apply to modern conditions in the free market - corporations are extremely powerful but are pressured by public opinion to present themselves as responsible citizens
Rawls's: The nature of the choice
Each individual will choose the set of principles that will be best for him/herself (and loved ones).
What does business inevitably intrude into as it produces the things we want?
Ecosystems -not all or all kinds of intrusions are justifiable
Do egoists have bad intentions?
Egoists do not necessarily care only about pursuing pleasure (hedonism) or behave dishonestly and maliciously toward others -Egoists can assist other if doing so promotes their own well-being okay so Krei from Big Hero 6
Organizational norms
Employees of business organizations (especially corporations) are: 1) Expected to further profit goals 2) Often pressured to compromise moral values and ignore or violate rules of ethical conduct 3) Subject to conformity
History of the union movement
Employers have opposed unions at almost every step. But, unions have increased the security and standard of living of workers and contributed to social stability and economic growth.
Dismissing employees
Employers have the right to fire employees who perform inadequately - but should provide sufficient warning, severance pay, and sometimes displacement counseling.
Property rights
For libertarians, property rights exist prior to any social systems and legislative acts, reflecting one's initial appropriation of a product or exchange between consenting adults.
Kinds of corporations
For-profit, nonprofit; privately owned or owned wholly or in part by the government; privately or publicly held.
Objection to the let-government-do-it argument
Government can't anticipate all moral corporate moral challenges but manifests many of the same structural characteristics that test moral behavior inside the corporation.
Unsound Argument
Have a least one false premise, as in Argument 3, or invalid reasoning as in Argument 2, or both
Sound Argument
Have true premises and valid reasoning
What has scarred the globe, polluted the air, contaminated the soil, and used up the resources?
Humankind
Valid and unsound argument 3 example
If a person is a female, she must be a mother. Fran is a female. Therefore, Fran must be a mother.
Invalid Argument 2 Example
If a person is a mother, the person is a female. Fran is a female. Therefore, Fran is a mother. (adding that Fran is a two-year-old is consistent with premises but inconsistent with conclusion since a two-year-old cannot be a mother
Valid and Sound Argument 1 Example
If a person is a mother, the person is a female. Fran is a mother. Therefore, Fran is a female.
Example of moral reasoning
If an action violates the law, it is morally wrong. Affirmative action on behalf of women and minorities in personnel matters violates the law. Therefore, affirmative action on behalf of women and minorities in personnel matters is morally wrong
Invalid arguments
If the assumption that an argument's premises are true do not guarantee that the conclusion is true, then it's invalid
Validity
If the assumption that an argument's premises are true guarantee that the conclusion is true, then it's valid
What are the requirements for a sound argument?
If the statements (premises and conclusions) are true and its form (or structure) is valid
Worker participation
In his Principles of Political Economy (1848), Mill argued for the formation of labor and capital partnerships promoting equality between workers and industrialists.
Moral justifications of capitalism: Adam Smith's concept of the invisible hand
In his Wealth of Nations, Smith argues that when people are free to pursue their own economic interests, they will, without intending it, produce the greatest good for all.
The narrow view: profit maximization
In his book Capitalism and Freedom, economist Milton Friedman (1912-2006) argues that diverting corporations from the pursuit of profit makes our economic system less efficient. -Business's only social responsibility is to make money within the rules of the game. -Private enterprise should not be forced to undertake public responsibilities that properly belong to government.
Competition
In his famous treatise on political economy, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776), Adam Smith explained how free competition makes individual pursuit of self-interest socially beneficial.
If you see a car flipped over on the side of the road, what do you have to do?
In most states you are NOT legally obligated to stop and offer help to the victims.
Which statement creates the best picture of capitalism?
In state welfare capitalism the government plays an active role in regulating economic activities in an effort to smooth out the boom-and-bust pattern of the business cycle.
What was this method of the final stage of corporate evolution replaced by?
In the 19th century, this was replaced by a system in which corporate status was granted essentially to any organization that filled out the forms and paid the fees
Corporations as legal persons
In the eyes of the law, corporations are legal persons. -This means they enjoy rights and protections that any ordinary individuals do. -These include the right to free speech, due process, against unreasonable searches and seizures, jury trial, and freedom from double jeopardy.
What does the veil of ignorance do?
It eliminates the basis for bias, and the groundwork for a choice of fair principles of justice is established
The collapse of the US subprime mortgage market
It followed the bursting of the real estate bubble and had been causing financial jitters since early 2008
What makes a moral judgement defensible?
It is supported by a defensible moral standard and relevant facts
what makes a moral judgment or conclusion defensible?
It must be supportable by a defensible moral standard, together with relevant facts.
Which of the following is true of a regulatory approach to environmental problems?
It requires the EPA or other body to determine the most effective, feasible pollution-control technology for each different industry.
Rawls's Theory of Justice
John Rawls (1921-2002), one of the most influential contemporary social and political philosophers, suggests a social concept of justice in his ground-breaking work A Theory of Justice.
Mill on justice as a moral right
Justice implies something that is not only right to do, and wrong not to do, but something that an individual can claim from us as a moral right
Definition of justice
Justice is related to morality as part to a whole, and is often specified in connection with concepts such as fairness, equality, desert or rights. -one important aspect of morality
Which of the following accurately reflects the concept of Marxism?
Labor is alienated in a capitalist economic system (in part) because the labor of a worker stands opposed to the worker as an autonomous power.
Statutes
Laws enacted by legislative bodies such as the US Congress and state legislatures
Regulations
Laws enacted by special boards or agencies for various kinds of conduct -SEC or EPA
In Anarchy, State, and Utopia, Robert Nozick advocates
Libertarianism
Free markets
Libertarians don't contend that people morally deserve what they get in a free market, but only that they are entitled to it. Moreover, justice does not necessarily help those in need.
The Libertarian view: the principle of liberty
Libertarians refuse to restrict individual liberty even if doing so would increase overall happiness
Liberty
Libertarians support economic laissez-faire and oppose any governmental economic activity that interferes with the marketplace, even if the point is to enhance the performance of the economy.
Distinctive libertarian ideals
Liberty Free markets Property rights
Direct Strike
May be justified when there is just cause and proper authorization, and when it is called as a last resort.
The concept of limited liability
Members of a corporation are financially responsible for the debts of the organization only up to the extent of their investments.
The pooling of capital
Members of the earliest corporations financed voyages and absorbed the losses individually if vessels sank - since ships became larger and more expensive, buyers had to pool capital and share the losses.
What are the stages that capitalism has historically evolved from since the Renaissance?
Mercantile: which is capitalism that is based on mutual dependence between state and commercial interests. (need to keep up nations bullion reserves Industrial: A period in the history of capitalism (the Industrial Revolution) when industrialists replaced merchants as the dominant power in the capital economy. This period of capitalism is associated with large scale industry. Financial: A response to the need for large sums of capital for continued business growth, which could no longer be financed by individuals. This was characterized by financial pools, trusts, holding companies, and, the interpenetration of banking, insurance and industrial interests. State welfare: government plays an active role in the economy, attempting to smooth out the boom-and-bust pattern of the business cycle through its fiscal and monetary policies.
Mill's approach to reconciling rival principles of justice
Mill argued that rival principles of justice can be reconciled only on the basis of the principle of utility, such as through considerations of general well-being.
What do organizational theorists stress doing to prevent dysfunctional behavior and processes?
Monitoring and managing corporate culture and understanding each corporation's distinctive culture
Interviewing
Moral issues in interviews usually relate to the manner in which they are conducted.
What is the process of Moral Reasoning?
Moral reasoning/moral argument, typically moves from a moral standard, through one of more factual judgments about some person, action, or policy related to that standard, to a moral judgement about that person, action, or policy Moral standard -> factual judgements -> moral judgment
Which type of standards take priority over the other?
Moral standards take priority over nonmoral standards
Which of the following characteristics distinguishes moral standards from other sorts of standards?
Moral standards take priority over other standards, including self-interest.
The "free rider" problem
Protecting the environment is in everyone's self-interest, but a company may rationalize (unfairly) that the little bit it adds to the total pollution problem doesn't make any difference. -So, it benefits from the efforts of others to prevent pollution but "rides for free" by not making the same effort itself
Rawls' s Theory of Justice: The original position
Rawls proposes a thought experiment - individuals are allowed to choose the principles of justice that should govern them prior to any existing political or social arrangement.
Rawls's: Fairness and the basic structure
Rawls rejects utilitarianism because it could permit an unfair distribution of benefits and burdens. Contrary to Nozick, Rawls believes that social justice concerns the basic structure of society, not transactions between individuals.
Rawls's: Choosing the principles
Regardless of their particular interests, people in the original position will want more, rather than less, of the so-called primary social goods (income and wealth, rights, liberties, opportunities, status, and self-respect).
Tests must be reliable
Reliability refers to whether test results are replicable (i.e., whether a subject's scores will remain relatively consistent from test to test).
What happened between the Republic Windows and Doors and Bank of America that outraged many?
Republic of Windows and Doors suddenly announced their bankruptcy and the Bank of America closed the company's line of credit after receiving a federal government bailout. Also the company owners planned to strip the factory and move its machinery to another plant.
What should an optimal moral code should look like?
Rule utilitarians argue for a pluralistic moral code on three grounds: 1) People will make mistakes if they try to calculate the results of every given action in advance. 2) Important rules will be undermined if all individuals were act utilitarians. 3) It is too demanding for individuals to ask them to promote total well-being
The hiring process may be fairly approached based on its 3 principal steps:
Screening Testing Interviewing
Outsourcing jobs
Since the 1980s, many U.S. manufacturers have closed or curtailed their operations and becoming marketing organizations for other producers, usually foreign. -The result is the evolution into a new kind of company, one that does little or no manufacturing. -The firm may perform a host of profit-making functions, but lacks its own production base. -Instead, it outsources, buying parts or whole products from other producers, both at home and abroad.
Adam Smith's concept of the invisible hand: the law of supply and demand
Smith argued that a market left to itself is regulated by the mechanism of supply and demand -The high demand for certain types of goods in one area of the market will eventually by offset by supply in another area. -The law of supply and demand is equally applicable to the standard of wages
What are the moral issues in society raised by?
Society's norms about distribution of wealth, income, status, and power -ex: Should CEOs give themselves enormous salaries at the expense of stockholder profits and employee salaries? Should expensive medical procedures be available only to those who can afford them?
Reconciling rival principles of distribution
Some philosophers argue that principles are applicable in some circumstances and not in others - but it is not always clear how to reconcile two or more rival principles in the same circumstances.
Nonmoral standards
Standards about behavior or practices with no serious effects upon human well-being
Moral standards
Standards about behavior or practices with serious effects upon human well-being
Conformity
Studies show that individuals are more prone to act unethically when they are part of an organization or group
Asch Conformity Experiment
Subjects shown a "standard line" and asked to pick the matching line from A, B, and C; other people in room purposely pick wrong line those who were not in on it would choose the wrong line too
Testing
Tests are an integral part of the hiring process, especially in large firms - often designed to measure the applicant's verbal, quantitative, and logical skills.
Who are the main representatives of Utilitarianism?
The British philosophers Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) and John Stuart Mill (1806-1873)
Chapter 1
The Nature of Morality
Modifications to "employment at will" doctrine
The Wagner Act of 1935 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 Public sector employees
The advantage and disadvantage of incentives
The advantage is that it minimizes regulatory interference and coercion. The disadvantage is that it moves slowly, pays polluters not to pollute, and is not always cost-effective.
Is it wrong to eat meat?
The answer depends on whether animals have moral rights, and whether and to what extent these rights are on a par with human rights.
Common law
The body of judge-made laws developed in English-speaking countries over the course of many centuries ex: Roe v Wade Texas law made abortion illegal except to save mother's life
Good will
The capacity to act from rational moral principles. A person who acts from good will acts "out of duty"
What happened to American International Group (AIG) who was led by Maurice Hank Greenberg as CEO
The company was long-prosperous and fostered a corporate culture that accepted excessive risk and it suddenly collapsed
What can the strict observance of rules of etiquette lead to?
The concealing of serious moral issues
The let-government-do-it argument
The corporation has a natural and insatiable appetite for profit and should be controlled through a government imposed system of laws and incentives.
Rival views of corporate responsibility:
The debate over corporate responsibility involves several elements: -Whether it should be construed narrowly to cover only profit maximization -Whether it should be considered more broadly to include acting morally, refraining from socially undesirable behavior, and contributing actively and directly to the public good
What does the structure of modern corporations contribute a great to deal?
The diffusion of responsibility, which means that no particular person(s) can be held morally responsible
What do dilemmas have a deep impact on?
The evolution of ethical reflection
Screening
The first step of the hiring process, the pooling and ranking candidates with qualifications - when done improperly, it undermines effective recruitment and invites injustices into the process
The Knights of Labor
The first truly national trade union, established in 1869
Libertarian View: The idea of Lockean negative and natural rights
The idea amounts to (1) non-interference with the way others choose to live or act, and (2) the ownership of those rights prior to any social and political institution.
Michael Walzer's approach to reconciling rival principles of justice
The idea that different distribution principles depend on implicit social norms
Which of the following contributed to the more relaxed incorporation procedures of modern times?
The idea that incorporation is a by-product of the people's right to associate, not a gift from the state.
Conscience
The internalized set of moral principles taught to us by various authority figures - parents and social institutions
Current trends of civil liberties in the workplace
The law seems to be moving away from the doctrine of "employment at will." But, some businesspeople support it as a desirable legal policy and embrace it as a moral doctrine. -They deny that employers have any obligations to their employees beyond those specified by law or by explicit legal contract. -They view employees as lacking any meaningful moral rights, seeing them as expendable assets, as means to an end.
Personal egoists
Those who adopt an egoist ethic for themselves but do not make the universal claim that all individuals should do the same
Nozick's Wilt Chamberlain example:
The player of a team is guaranteed $5 from the price of each ticket. He is a favorite player and eventually ends up with far more than the average income. Nozick argues that Chamberlain is entitled to his new wealth, and that any other theory of economic justice would inevitably fail to defend his entitlement.
Socialism
The polar opposite of capitalism, an economic system characterized by public ownership of property and a planned economy
Inbreeding
The practice of promoting exclusively from within the firm - it presents similar moral challenges as in the case of seniority.
Nepotism
The practice of showing favoritism to relatives and close friends - it is not always objectionable (especially in family-owned businesses) but may affect managerial responsibilities, hurt morale, create resentment, or result in unfair treatment of other employees.
Groupthink
The pressure on group members to conform to morally questionable policies or strategies, often resulting in unethical conduct
What framework is the process of moral corporate decision making filtered through?
The process of moral corporate decision making is filtered through the framework of the corporate internal decision (CID) structures. -This framework consists of individuals although it ultimately operates like a machine.
Profit motive
The profit motive implies a critical assumption about human nature - that human beings are economic creatures who recognize and are motivated by their own monetary interests.
Union ideals
The protection of workers from abuse gives unions a voice in important matters. -They redefine power relationships, making employers more dependent on their workers -A rough equality or mutual dependence results
What does the soundness or validity of moral standards depend on?
The quality of the arguments or the reasoning that supports them
What is the relationship between business and society in the broader view of social corporate responsiblity?
The relationship between business and society is seen as an implicit social contract that requires business to operate in socially beneficial ways.
Professional codes
The rules that govern the conduct of the members of a given profession -individuals have the responsibility to critically assess the rules of their professions -These rules are not always complete and reliable guides to adequate moral conduct
Definition of ecology
The science of the interrelationships among organisms (especially humans) and their environments.
Corporate culture
The set of explicit and implicit values, beliefs, and behaviors that shape the experiences of the members of a corporation. -management must pay attention to the values and behavior reinforced by its corporate culture
The business-can't-handle-it-argument: objection to "corporations lack the expertise"
The social role of corporations does not confine its or its employees' responsibilities to profit making - often only business has the know-how, talent, experience, and organizational resources to tackle problems.
Ethics
The study of right and wrong, duty and obligation, moral norms, individual character, and responsibility
Business ethics
The study of right and wrong, duty and obligation, moral norms, individual character, and responsibility - in the context of business
Psychological egoism
The theory of ethical egoism is often justified by the psychological egoism - the belief that human beings are only motivated by self-interest
Egoists
Those who determine the moral value of an action based on the principle of self-interest -an action is morally right if it promotes one's long-term self-interest -an action is morally wrong if it undermines the agent's self-interest
The final stage of corporate evolution
The traditional system of incorporation involved petitioning the Crown (in England) or the state government (in the U.S.) for charter
Regulations
The use of direct public (state and federal) regulation and control in determining how the pollution bill is paid
Morality in a broad sense
The values, ideals, and aspirations that influence the decisions and lifestyles of individuals and entire societies
Ethical relativism
The view according to which moral norms derive their ultimate justification from the customs of the society in which they occur -moral norms are not universal but depend on particular culture or social context
Egoism
The view that morality coincides with the self-interest (well-being) of oneself or an organization one is part of
What does organizational conduct affect?
The welfare and rights of employees via personnel policies and procedures (hiring, firing, paying, and promoting)
What appropriate principles do we rely on when making moral judgments?
There is no consensus among those who study. A variety of moral principles and ethical considerations intertwine and sometimes compete
The birth of the corporation
These enterprises began in 1600, when Queen Elizabeth I granted to a group of merchants the right to be "one body corporate" and bestowed a trading monopoly to the East Indies.
What are acts of self-sacrifice according to egoism?
They are inherently self-regarding insofar as they are motivated by a conscious or unconscious concern with one's own advantage
What do defenders of the broader view of corporate responsibility argue concerning limits to what the law can do?
They argue that the law is a fully adequate vehicle for the control of business practices
utilitarian view on the natural right to propery
They deny the existence of such rights
Pricing mechanisms (effluent charges)
They spell out the cost for a specific kind of pollution in a specific area at a specific time. Prices are tied to the amount of damage caused so may vary from place to place and time to time.
Who should pay the cost?
This is a question of social justice. Two popular answers are currently in circulation: 1) Those responsible for causing the pollution ought to pay 2) Those who stand to benefit from protection and restoration should pick up the tab
Rule Utilitarianism
This modified version of utilitarianism aims to avoid the criticisms directed at the classical account of utilitarianism known as act utilitarianism.
Relativism and the "game" of business
This view entails -incorrectly- that the practices of business professionals cannot (or should not) be evaluated from an ordinary moral standpoint
Moral arguments
Those conflicting theories and beliefs whose conclusions are moral judgements, based on the premise of moral standards and statements of fact Ex: 1) If an action violates the law, it is morally wrong 2) Affirmative action on behalf of women and minorities in personnel matters violates the law 3) Therefore, affirmative action on behalf of women and minorities in personal matters is morally wrong.
Situational interviews
Those interviews in which job candidates must role play in a mock work scenario - some believe this makes it harder for a candidate to put on a false front.
Consequentialist theories
Those that determine the moral rightness or wrongness of an action based on the action's consequences or results
Nonconsequentialist (or deontological) theories
Those that do not only determine the moral rightness or wrongness of an action based on the action's consequences
negative rights
Those that reflect the vital interests that humans have in being free from outside interference (such as freedom of speech, assembly, religion, etc)
positive rights
Those that reflect the vital interests that humans have in receiving certain benefits (such as the right to education, medical care, equal job opportunity, etc.)
Companies that look beyond the bottom line
Those that respect employee rights and ensure a fair workplace tend to outperform others. Some successful companies have led the way in respecting employees' rights and human dignity. Ex: Polaroid, IBM, Donnelly Mirrors, Delta Air Lines, and others
(T/F) The new discipline of "ecological economics" calculates the value of an ecosystem, not in terms of what people are willing to pay for it, but in terms of what it would cost to provide the benefits and services that the ecosystem now furnishes us.
True
(T/F) The phrase "the declining marginal utility of money" means that successive additions to one's income produce, on average, less happiness or welfare than did earlier additions.
True
(T/F) The sense of private property that is central to capitalism is the ownership of the means of production and distribution.
True
(T/F) The word ecosystem refers to a total ecological community, both living and nonliving.
True
(T/F) Three approaches have gained the most attention when it comes to achieving our environmental goals: the use of regulations, incentives, and pricing mechanisms.
True
(T/F) Traditionally, the obligations between a business organization and its employees could be boiled down to "A fair wage for an honest day's work."
True
(T/F) Utilitarians are likely to be sympathetic to the argument that steps should be taken to reduce the great disparities of income that characterize our society.
True
(T/F) Utilitarians reject the very idea of a natural right to property.
True
(T/F) What we call capitalism did not fully emerge until the Renaissance in Europe during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
True
(T/F) When weighing the decisions to terminate employees, companies need to remember that employment affects families and communities, not just individuals.
True
What causes businesses to overlook spillovers?
When they view things strictly in terms of private industrial costs
According to the categorical imperative, when are perfect duties violated?
When universalizing our maxim leads to a contradiction -imperfect duties are not violated in this way
The decline of American manufacturing
Whereas manufacturing accounted for 27 percent of GDP in the mid-1960s, it has fallen to about half that.
Sympathetic strike
Workers who have no particular grievance of their own, and may or may not have the same employer, decide to strike in support of others.
Can violations of etiquette have moral implications?
Yes
Milton Friedman argues that
a business has no social responsibilities other than to maximize profits
What does screening include?
a complete and accurate description listing the details of the job and specification describing the required professional qualifications
Choose the factual precept concerning wages:
a fair wage presupposes a fair work contract
Madoff's hedge fund
a fraud, a gigantic Ponzi scheme -generated return for earlier investors using money from later investors
naturalistic, non-anthropocentric ethic
adopting it would change our way of looking at nature, but many philosophers are skeptical of the idea that nature has any intrinsic value
Utilitarians believe that
an action that leads to unhappiness is morally right if any other action that you could have performed instead would have brought about even more unhappiness.
What is business's traditional attitude toward the environment?
business has regarded the natural world as a free and unlimited good - pollution and the depletion of natural resources is the result.
Salaries should reflect...
an employees value to the business based on clear, publicly available criteria that are applied objectively ex: (1) What is the law? (2) What is the prevailing wage in the industry? (3) What is the community wage level? (4) What is the nature of the job itself? (5) Is the job secure? (6) What are the employer's financial capabilities? (7) What are other inside employees earning for comparable work?
What must moral discriminations be based upon in rule utilitarianism?
an optimal moral code
moral argument
arguments whose conclusions are moral judgments
Rule utilitarians
believe that the optimal moral code normally will not produce 100 percent compliance.
According to common law, to legally terminate an employee, an employer
can have any reason or no reason.
A basic tenet of capitalism is that
capitalism requires private ownership of the major means of production.
The best statement to describe corporations is
corporate culture can be both explicit and implicit.
Corporations are limited-liability companies which means that
corporate shareholders are liable for corporate debts only up to the extent of their investments.
What do fair policies and decision evolve from
criteria that are clear, job-related, and applied equally -determining what is fair is not always easy
Corporations yield awesome...
economic clout
A practical basis for discussing moral issues involves taking account of
effects, ideals, and obligations
Public sector employees
enjoy some constitutional protections on the job and can be fired only "for cause."
Why do critics of pollution permits call this approach immoral?
entails an implicit right to pollute
Fair personnel policies and decisions must be based on criteria that are clear, job related, and
equally applied.
The famous experiments by social psychologist Solomon Asch shows
even temporary groups can pressure people to conform
How much has manufacturing in the US declined as a percent of gross domestic product since the 1960s?
more than 50%
What are the categories of human rights
negative rights and positive rights
According to Kant, how is the moral worth of an action determined?
on the basis of good will
Humankind is even making a mess of...
outer space
According to libertarianism,
people should not attempt to coerce others.
A common point of contention about corporations is
philosophers and business theorists disagree whether corporations are moral agents
According to John Rawls, people in "the original position" choose the principles of justice solely on the basis of
self-interest
The Taft-Hartley Act (1947)
set several regulations: -Outlawed the closed shop (the requirement that a person must be a union member before being hired) -Permitted individual states to outlaw the union shop (the requirement that a person must join the union within a specified time after being hired)
Aristotle's formal principle of justice states,
similar cases must be treated alike except where there is some relevant difference.
Ethical dilemmas
situations involving conflict between ethical principles or normative priorities
Today's workplace philosophy is much more complex as it involves
social, political, and moral issues -What are the obligations of an employer toward its employees? -How does American emphasis on civil liberties affect the workplace?
Consequentialism
states that the moral rightness of an action is determined solely by its results.
Who do few economists and stockholders believe controls the corporation?
stockholders are really in charge of the companies whose shares they hold or that they select the managers who run them
Utilitarians and our treatment of animals
stress the moral necessity of taking into account animal pain and suffering
The "tragedy of the commons" is
that individual pursuit of self-interest can sometimes make everyone worse off.
According to the anthropocentric (or human-oriented) ethic of Baxter and others,
the Grand Canyon is valuable only because people care about it.
Interviewers should focus on
the humanity of the candidate and not allow biases, stereotypes, and preconceptions to color the evaluation.
When religion and morality are considered:
the moral instructions of the world's great religions are often general and imprecise.
What do businesses not consider when they derive a profit from a product?
the overall social cost- the damage the product or the production process has caused to the environment and human populations
What premise do Adam Smith's arguments about the concept of the invisible hand rest on?
the premise that human beings are acquisitive and have a natural propensity for trading
Philosophical discussion of moral issues typically involves
the revision and modification of arguments
According to the philosopher Joel Feinberg,
the rights of future generations are contingent upon those people coming into existence.
According to David Ewing, two factors explain the absence of civil liberties and the prevalence of authoritarianism in the workplace. Which of the following is one of them?
the rise of personnel engineering and professional management
According to W. D. Ross's theory
we have various moral duties that cannot be reduced to a single, overarching obligation.
A key idea of Immanuel Kant's ethical theory is that:
we should treat people as ends in themselves, never merely as means.
Ethical relativism supports the theory that:
what is right is determined by what a culture or society says is right.
According to the categorical imperative, what does the morality of an action depend on?
whether the maxim (or subjective principle) behind it can be willed as a universal law of nature without committing a logical contradiction
For philosophers, the most important issue is not where our moral principles came from, but:
whether those moral principles can be justified.
