Chapter 3: Understanding Business Ethics Flashcards
(20 cards)
What are the core aspects of existential philosophy
- Existentialism
- Freedom
- Authenticity
- Bad faith
- Facticity
- Responsibility
What existentialism
Maintains that an individual is free to decide what is important in life, the goals and aims to be reached, and so forth.
Existential crisis takes place when ‘meaning creation’ becomes difficult
Explain freedom
- The freedom to pursue any career or ambition, freedom of choice, great range of products etc.
- Adam Smith (self-interest, competition, invisible hand, free market economy etc.)
- We develop morality through our engagement with other people
- Laws, regulations, codes (or compliance) to ensure justice
Explain authenticity
- This simply means being true to yourself. It means that an individual cannot simply roleplay or act when it comes to living a meaningful life.
- This happens through the awareness of the emptiness of life and the unavoidableness of death.
- Heideggers: Being-onto-death
Explain bad faith
When a person starts to believe that his or her behavior is determined by external factors such as social pressure. The person impacted by the external factors then becomes a victim of the situation.
(for example, an employee may start inflating bills for audits not done and accept that he or she is powerless to do anything about it. the employee then becomes a victim of the situation which destroys his or her authenticity and freedom)
Explain facticity
Basically, there are certain factors, facts, and circumstances that are out of your control however this does not mean that we (or our fate) are determined by our circumstances.
Explain responsibility
We have personal (to live authentically) and social responsibilities (towards family, business, society etc). Our individual freedom may not impede the freedom of others
What are the responsibilities of a company, according to Carroll
Legal - compliance with laws and regulations
Economic - responsible management and governance of finances of an organization
Social - following values beyond what is required by law or regulations
Philanthropic - involvement in society and the environment
Explain accountability (to whom am I accountable)
- No event/action can take place without recognising the impact it may have on others, we should be able explain and be held accountable for our actions
- Roberts bases his theory of accountability off Merleau-Ponty’s concept of embodiment; workplace is an embodied collective of interconnected people and activities
- No event/action can be viewed in isolation or as disconnected from others, holistic ontology: (interconnected nature of reality) & connected cosmology: implicit accountability towards others beyond complainace (laws and regulations)
For example, a business consists of a workforce as collective or interconnected individuals where each person is accountable to co-workers, management and society
What are the different types of accountability
Mandatory compliance - this is when accountability is not a choice they are laws and codes that have put measures in place to enforce accountability
Voluntary accountability - in this case accountability is voluntary, and it is not enforced through formal means such as laws or regulations. accountability then becomes an extension of listening, acknowledgement and action.
Accountability without action is meaningless
What is meant by understanding, the other and recognition
Our experiences are formed by our engagement with the world around us (Heidegger, hermeneutical circle). Our reputations and identities are shaped by our interactions with others around us
Explain recognition (pg 82)
- It is a creative activity that requires imagination, we have to be actively aware of our surroundings.
- We need our senses, but our senses are limited (or can become hyper-focused on one aspect) (this is known as empiricism, experiencing the world through our senses)
Explain the other
Sometimes we can become blind to the presence of certain people or groups, these are the other that we fail to recognize
(an example of this is, transkei miners who left their home to go work at the mines, leaving their families to be single parent households. these families can be viewed as the other not recognized by mining companies who are negatively impacted by the business activities)
Why is dialogue important
- More than just talking, it is collective decision-making
- All participants (stakeholders) are equal participants in meaning-creation activities
- It is person-orientated and assumes mutual respect
- We have to be active listeners to truly observe and engage the world around us (being-in-the-world)
Explain listening & empathy
> Listening is a form of recognition of one another & our only way of understanding one another, we listen to react instead of to gain understanding
> Listening builds trust, creativity and innovation
Explain humility
> Humility means lowness and is viewed as a contrast to narcissism and pride - Aristotle and Nicomachean Ethics
> For Aristotle, humility must be embedded in a healthy measure of love. Humility is not about submitting to the opinions of others, or forcing your own perspective on others, but instead, it is about openness and welcoming the opinions of others
Explain fairness
Fairness is the principle that advances free and equal meaning creation by all members of society without coercion and/or harm
Name and explain the dimensions of fairness (pg 86)
- Plato: Utopian understanding (abide by principles of equal treatment)
- Aristotle: Legal approach (citizens should adhere to laws)
- Mill & Bentham: happiness principle and radical individual freedom
- Marx: revolution and destruction of capitalism (equal distribution of resources)
- Rawls: Justice as fairness 1) distributive justice (equal liberty, opportunities) 2) difference principle (tolerance of inequality)
Explain justice and transformation
> Adam Smith believes that justice maintains social harmony views dialogue as constructive and justice leading to transformation.
Two kinds of justice -:
- Redistributive justice: relate to fair punishment (Smith: this type of justice avoids harmful behaviour)
- Distributive justice: it refers to the fair share of goods and services, that way no one is disadvantaged (Rawls)
Explain business and fairness
Administration rights: assists citizens to secure their rights, which include, securing social, civil and political rights
Social rights/positive rights: freedom to participate in society and benefit from education, health services and so forth (provider)
Civil rights/negative rights: protection of freedom of the individual, such as, ownership of property and freedom of speech (enabler)
Political rights: participate in society and contribute to the political landscape, such as, the right to vote and hold public office (channel)
