concept of ethic in business 303 1b

Business EthicsSeventh Edition Richard T. DeGeorge Chapter 1 Ethics and Business © 2011 Pearson Education. All Rights Reserved. 1 F. C. B. G. D. E.Chapter Topics A. Chapter Overview What is Business Ethics? Horatio Alger and Stock Options The Myth of Amoral Business The Relation of Business and Morality Business Ethics and Ethics The Case of the Collapsed Mine 2 . CHAPTER OVERVIEW • Business is an important part of contemporary society & it involves all of us. one way or another. just as any other human activity can be so evaluated.A. 3 . • Since business activity is human activity. it’s an integral part of society. • Business is not something separate from society or imposed on it. • Morality consists of rules of human behavior & specifies that certain actions are wrong or immoral & that others are right or moral. it can be evaluated from a moral point of view. 4 .B. WHAT IS BUSINESS ETHICS? • The term business ethics is used in several different senses – (1) ethics in business – (2) business ethics as a movement – (3) business ethics as part of the general field of ethics. 5 . • Rather. it should serve to remedy those aspects or structures that need to change. and it should protect those that are moral.What’s the Aim of Business Ethics? • It is neither defense of the status quo nor its radical change. C. – Hard work and a little luck were all that needed.” • “Luck and Pluck” – The belief that those who worked hard could make it. • The belief received a new impetus in the high-tech industry. – As the industry matured. later employees unfairly did not do as well. – Pay was noncompetitive & long hours were expected but stock options made early employees millionaires. 6 . HORATIO ALGER • Horatio Alger (1832-1899) wrote a series of “rags to riches” stories. involving success through the “energetic and dedicated work of the hero. Microsoft is the best-known example. • Ethical language is simply not the language of business.D. • But simply because they want to make a profit & • Therefore disregard some of the consequences of their actions. The myth has several variations: – Business is amoral insofar as ethical considerations are inappropriate to business • Because business is business. MYTH OF AMORAL BUSINESS • Expresses the ambivalence of many toward business and a popular. widespread view of Business. – Many businesses act unethically not because of a desire to do evil. 7 . By the concern of business in ethics.The Breakdown of the Myth of Amoral Business 1. 8 as expressed in conferences. codes of conduct & of ethics programs. It’s better than admitting you’re stupid. ethical . & the burgeoning of corp. magazine and newspaper articles. By the reporting of scandals and the concomitant public reaction to these reports. 2. By the formation of popular groups such as the environmentalists and the consumerists. 3. E. THE RELATION OF BUSINESS TO MORALITY • The business of business • The moral background of business • The changing mandate for business 9 . 10 .The Business of Business • What is considered to be business & its business varies from society to society. • Defining business per se & its proper concern is a social question that must be answered in a social context. • The limits & demands imposed on business by society are frequently moral ones. we don’t really live in a “dog-eat-dog” business world. – Because the ordinary person does not need to be told that lying & stealing are wrong that they form part of the background of business. • Since most businesses value their reputations. • The limits set by society on business are often moral. • The retreat to law as the norm to guide business is reflects that most managers do not know how to handle many moral issues in business. but they’re also often written into law. 11 .The Moral Background of Business • Morality consists of rules of human behavior & specifies that certain actions are wrong or immoral and that others are right or moral. • Business must consider what structures promote moral responsibility and facilitate the weighing of moral and other values.The Changing Mandate for Business • The social mandate to business is not only given in law. the public. • Today the mandate to business is more complex. 12 12 . and the common good. • Corporations are asked to consider the impact of their decisions and actions on the environment. 13 .F. BUSINESS ETHICS & ETHICS • The term business ethics is used in three different senses: – ethics in business – business ethics as a movement – business ethics as part of the general field of ethics. in such a way as to determine the rules that ought to: – govern human conduct. or pursued by those activities & practices. – the rules that govern those activities. – the values worth pursuing. and – the values that are embedded. 14 . • Ethics is a systematic attempt to make sense of our individual and social moral experience. fostered. and – the character traits deserving development in life.Ethics Studies Morality • Morality is a term to cover practices & activities: – that are considered importantly right & wrong. and. to some extent. sociology. both normative and descriptive ethics involve some metaethical activity 15 .General Ethics • Descriptive ethics is closely related to anthropology. and psychology • Normative ethics builds on the whole that descriptive ethics provides and attempts to supply and justify a coherent moral system based on it • Metaethics is the study of normative ethics. engineering ethics.Special Ethics • Causitry is the art of solving difficult moral problems. or dilemmas through careful application of moral principles. cases. etc. medical ethics. professional ethics. 16 . • Applying general ethics to specialized fields yields business ethics. – between individuals & profit-making organizations. – between profit-making organizations and other such organizations.Business & Business Ethics Defined • “Business” includes any and all economic transactions – between individuals. • Business ethics as a field is defined by the interaction of ethics & business 17 . . Study of embedded problems that go beyond the field of ethics & into other areas of philosophy & into other knowledge domains. The application of general ethics principles to particular cases or practices in business. businesses & collective entities. 3. & org. 5. Describing morally praiseworthy & exemplary acts of either individuals in business or particular firms. like econ. Analysis of business presuppositions . theory. Metaethics: whether moral terms generally used to describe individuals & actions can also be applied to organizations. 4.Business Ethics Involves 5 Activities 1.both moral presuppositions & those from a moral point of view. 2. G. or the faster. – The problem facing the manager was whether the expenditure of such a large sum was worth it. more dangerous. the reality of collapsed mines in the coal industry is a real dilemma. – Miners were digging coal 1000s of metres below ground. cheaper way of reaching them & save money. after all. – The cost of reaching the men in time to save their lives would amount to several million dollars. was a human life worth? • Who should make the decision. & maybe save lives? End . • What. more expensive way. CASE OF THE COLLAPSED MINE • Though this case is fictitious. and how should it be made? • Did the manager owe more to the stockholders of the corporation or to the trapped workers? – Should he use the slower. – An explosion traps 8 miners in a pocket. safer.