Business Ethics Fundamentals

Introduction
Business Ethics Publics interest in business ethics increased during the last four decades Publics interest in business ethics spurred by the media
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Introduction
Inventory of Ethical Issues in Business Employee-Employer Relations Employer-Employee Relations Company-Customer Relations Company-Shareholder Relations Company-Community/Public Interest
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Publics Opinion of Business Ethics

To understand public sentiment towards business ethics, ask three questions
Has business ethics really deteriorated? Are the media reporting ethical problems more frequently and vigorously? Are practices that once were socially acceptable no longer socially acceptable?
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Business Ethics: What Does It Really Mean?

Business Ethics:Today vs. Earlier Period

Societys Expectations of Business Ethics Ethical Problem
Ethical Problem

Actual Business Ethics

Early 2000s
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1950s

Time

Business Ethics: What Does It Really Mean?

Definitions
Ethics involves a discipline that examines good or bad practices within the context of a moral duty Moral conduct is behavior that is right or wrong Business ethics include practices and behaviors that are good or bad
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Business Ethics: What Does It Really Mean?

Two Key Branches of Ethics

Descriptive ethics involves describing, characterizing and studying morality
What is

Normative ethics involves supplying and justifying moral systems

What should be
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Conventional Approach to Business Ethics

Conventional approach to business ethics involves a comparison of a decision or practice to prevailing societal norms
Pitfall: ethical relativism

Decision or Practice

Prevailing Norms
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Sources of Ethical Norms

Fellow Workers
Family

Fellow Workers

Regions of Country
Profession

The Individual Friends

Conscience Religious Beliefs Employer

The Law

Society at Large
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Ethics and the Law

Law often represents an ethical minimum Ethics often represents a standard that exceeds the legal minimum
Frequent Overlap

Ethics

Law
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Making Ethical Judgments

Behavior or act that has been committed
compared with Prevailing norms of acceptability

Value judgments and perceptions of the observer

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Ethics, Economics, and Law

Four Important Ethical Questions

What is? What ought to be? How to we get from what is to what ought to be? What is our motivation for acting ethically?
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3 Models of Management Ethics

1. Immoral ManagementA style devoid of ethical principles and active opposition to what is ethical.

2. Moral ManagementConforms to high standards of ethical behavior. 3. Amoral Management

Intentional - does not consider ethical factors Unintentional - casual or careless about ethical considerations in business
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3 Models of Management Ethics

Three Types Of Management Ethics

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Three Approaches to Management Ethics

Three Models of Management Morality and Emphasis on CSR

Moral Management Models and Acceptable Stakeholder Thinking

Making Moral Management Actionable

Important Factors
Senior management Ethics training Self-analysis

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Developing Moral Judgment

Developing Moral Judgment

Developing Moral Judgment

External Sources of a Managers Values
Religious values Philosophical values Cultural values Legal values Professional values
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Developing Moral Judgment

Internal Sources of a Managers Values
Respect for the authority structure Loyalty Conformity Performance Results
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Elements of Moral Judgment

Moral imagination Moral identification and ordering Moral evaluation Tolerance of moral disagreement and ambiguity Integration of managerial and moral competence A sense of moral obligation

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Elements of Moral Judgment

Amoral Managers Moral Managers

Moral Imagination Moral Identification Moral Evaluation Tolerance of Moral Disagreement and Ambiguity Integration of Managerial and Moral Competence A Senses of Moral Obligation
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Selected Key Terms

Amoral management Business ethics Compliance strategy Conventional approach to business ethics Descriptive ethics Ethical relativism Ethics Feminist Ethics Immoral management

Integrity strategy Intentional amoral management Kohlbergs levels of moral development Moral development Moral management Normative ethics Unintentional amoral management
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THANK YOU
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