Chapter 1: Ethics and Business

law of agency

-a law that specifies the duties of persons who agree to act on behalf of another party and who are authorized by an agreement so to act. -states that when determining whether a client's or an employer's orders are "reasonable" and should be followed, the agent must take "business or professional ethics" into account. -specifically indicates that an agent never has a duty to do what a client, employer, or other principle asks the agent to do if it would require performing an act that is "illegal or unethical."

Six characteristics of moral standards

1. Moral Standards deal with serious matters 2. Moral Standards are preferred to other values 3. Moral Standards are Independent of authority 4. Moral standards are universal 5. Moral standards are determined impartially 6. Moral standards are associated with special emotions and vocabulary

business ethics

a specialized study of moral right and wrong that concentrates on moral standards as they apply to business institutions, organizations, and behavior

cyberspace

a term used to denote the existence of information on an electronic network of linked computer systems.

descriptive study

an investigation that attempts to describe or explain the world without reaching any conclusions about whether the world is as it should be

normative study

an investigation that attempts to reach conclusions about what things are good or bad or about what actions are right or wrong

ethics

is the discipline that examines your moral standards or the moral standards of a society

moral standards

the norms about the kinds of actions believed to be morally right and wrong as well as the values placed on what we believe to be morally good and morally bad

nonmoral standards

the standards by which we judge what is good or bad and right or wrong in a nonmoral way

morality

the standards that an individual or a group has about what is right and wrong or good and evil

ethical relativism

the theory that there are no ethical standards that are absolutely true and that apply or should be applied to the companies and people of all societies