Lecture 2 Flashcards
(17 cards)
What is the normative statement?
It’s a statement about what should be done or what is right or wrong.
What are business ethics?
A sub-discipline of philosophy that carefully, systematically, and critically reflects on the moral issues that arise in business—both within companies and in markets.
What are some reasons why companies should care about ethics, moral values, ethical principles, and doing the right thing?
It’s good for business (enhances reputation, attracts clients and consumers, avoids scandals).
It’s good for recruitment, corporate culture, and employee satisfaction.
Businesses pursue aims beyond profit maximization, and ethics matter regardless of corporate goals.
What are the three objections against business ethics?
“What difference do I make?” – ethics is too small.
“Why should I care about others?” – ethics is too sweet.
“Who am I to judge?” – ethics is too subjective.
What is the response to the objection that ethics is too small?
Individual moral actions do matter because they have real consequences—big or small—and add up. Even if one person’s power seems limited, collective and corporate actions can shape society.
What are the two versions of the idea that egoism is the right attitude in business?
Egoism is good for me, and that’s all that matters.
Egoism is good for everyone (“greed is good”).
What is the response to the objection that business ethics is too sweet?
Successful businesspeople behaving badly doesn’t make wrongdoing right.
Profitable actions like lying or exploiting are still wrong.
Ethics is about how business should be done, not just how it is done.
People have rights and dignity that must be respected.
Caring about others often benefits you too (ethical business can create win-win outcomes).
When does business often thrive?
When people act virtuously (collegially, generously, collaboratively) rather than egoistically, and when corporate cultures reward those virtues over antagonism or cut-throat competition.
What is one argument supporting that egoism and greed can be good for everyone?
Self-interest and greed can drive companies and markets to perform well, yielding positive consequences for society as a whole.
What is Bernard de Mandeville’s argument that supports egoism as good for everyone?
He argued that vices like greed—while bad in personal contexts—can produce public benefits when channeled through markets and economic activity.
Who else defended the claim “Why should I care about others?” and what did they say?
Adam Smith: Individuals pursuing their own gain are led by an “invisible hand” to promote social benefits they did not intend.
Why is egoism not always good for others?
Because it can lead to market failures and negative externalities that harm third parties.
When can egoism work for everyone?
Only when it respects everyone’s civic, political, and economic rights—i.e., when self-interest operates within a framework of rights and legal protections.
When do companies and markets work well?
When actors follow moral norms—trusting each other, keeping promises, telling the truth, avoiding violence—showing that markets are moral spheres constrained by ethics.
What is objection 3 against business ethics about?
“Who are we to determine right and wrong?” This holds that ethics is too subjective—mere opinion or cultural norm—and that only law can dictate moral rules.
What are the responses to the objection that ethics are too subjective?
Morality isn’t mere opinion—many norms and principles are widely shared and some are universal (e.g., child labor is wrong everywhere).
Laws can be immoral; in exceptional cases, breaking them may be the right action.
How can companies incorporate ethics?
Through mission statements, ethical guidelines and codes of conduct, staff training, internal policies and procedures, and cultivating a culture of transparency, accountability, and fairness.
