Chapter 3

Industry-specific code of ethics.

ABA - the American Bar Association and the ANA - American Nurses Association are two organizations which give guidance to decision makers facing ethical questions.

Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act

Financial regulatory changes in the name of promoting financial stability and to protect consumers from abusive financial service practices.

Outcome-based ethics

Focuses on the impacts of a decision on society or key stakeholders Consequences of action, not the nature of the action itself or any set of reestablished moral or religious values. Outcome-based ethics looks at the impacts of a decision in an attempt to maximize benefits and minimize harm.

Sarbanes-Oxley

After Enron, SOX was designed to help reduce corporate fraud and unethical management by setting up accountability measures for publicly traded companies. Company heads must verify that they have read quarterly and annual reports and vouch for their accuracy. SOX also requires companies to set up confidential systems so that employees and others can raise red flags about suspected illegal or unethical auditing and accounting practices.

Categorical Imperative

An ethical guideline developed by Immanuel Kant under which an action is evaluated in terms of what would happen if everybody else in the same situation, or category, acted the same way. / When a business makes unethical decisions, it often rationalizes its action by saying that the company is "just one small part" of the problem or that its decision would have "only a small impact." A central theme in Kantian ethics is that individuals should evaluate their actions in light of the consequences that would follow if everyone in society acted in the same way. This categorical imperative can be applied to any action.

Moral Minimum

Compliance with the law. The lowest ethical level society can tolerate.

Outcome-based ethics (2)

Cost-benefit analysis, utilitarianism

Corporates Social Responsibility (CSR)

See: Patagonia, Ben & Jerry's. CSR is most successful when a company undertakes activities that are significant and related to its business operations. Some types of activities that businesses are practicing include the following: Environmental efforts, such as using efficient building materials and reducing the size of the firm's carbon footprint. Ethical labor practices, including treating all employees fairly and ethically in international as well as domestic operations. Charitable donations to local and national causes. Volunteering for specific issues and organizations. As an incentive, many companies now pay employees to perform volunteer work

Common reasons for ethical problems, such as; lawsuits, large settlements, and bad publicity?

Short term profit maximizing

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

U.S. law regulating behavior regarding the conduct of international business in the taking of bribes and other unethical actions. If the payments are lawful in the foreign country, then they are permitted. Payments to private foreign companies is permissible.

Triple Bottom Line

people, planet, profit A measure that focuses on the corporations profits, its impact on people, and its impact on the planet.

IDDR

Inquiry Discussion Decision REview

Ethical Reasoning

applying morals and ethics to a situation

Categorical Imperative (2)

CHS Fertilizer is deciding whether to invest in expensive equipment that will decrease profits but will also reduce pollution from its factories. If CHS has adopted Kant's categorical imperative, the decision makers will consider the consequences if every company invested in the equipment (or if no company did so). If purchasing the equipment would make the world a better place (less polluted), CHS's decision would be clear.

Duty-based ethics

Rooted in the idea that everyone has certain duies to others, including both human and planet.

Duty-based ethics (2)

focuses on the obligations of the corporation. It deals with standards for behavior that traditionally were derived from revealed truths, religious authorities, or philosophical reasoning. These standards involve concepts of right and wrong, duties owed, and rights to be protected. Principle of rights, religious principal, Kantian principles

Fraud Reduction and Data Analytics Act

to identify and assess fraud risks in federal government agencies. The purpose of the law is to prevent, detect, and respond to fraud (including improper payments) in federal programs.