Module 9 Flashcards
What are ethics?
Ethics is doing the right things for the right reasons. Take actions for which you have good moral arguments
Ethics are intrinsic, normative.
What are the four phases and layers of business ethics?
- Ethics of people (started before first company)
- Ethical code (ethics of companies, started in 1980s)
- Ethics program (implementation of ethics code, started early 2000)
- Ethical culture (ethics of informal organization, started in 2008)
What are scandals?
Scandals are ommoral action causing shock or anger. They show the ethics of the people that are angry and the lack of ethics of the people they are angry at.
To eliminate the gap between their current and desired ethics the company needs to know the causes of unethical behaviour.
What rank order of ethical thinking applies to phase 1: Ethical people?
- Thinking in societal norms generates more ethical behaviour than thinking in sanctions
- Thinking in general principles leads to higher ethical behavior than thinking in social norms
- Thining in terms of idealism generates more ethical behaviour than relativism
- Non-machiavellian thinking leads to more ethical behaviour than machiavellianism.
What are the three basic ethical theories?
- Virtue ethics: what desirable qualities are needed?
- Deontology: what principles are needed?
- Consequentialism: Which moral goals should be achieved?
What are the criteria for determining someone’s ethics?
- Empathy
- Balanced: can way different interests against each other
- Morally authentic: takes own standpoints
- Morally courageous: power to adopt and implement chosen position
- Accountable: takes responsibility for their standards
What scandals started phase two in the development of business ethics?
- Nestle infant formula
- Lockheed bribery
What is the bad appel and bad barrel theory?
Causes of unethical behaviour are not the sum of the rotten apples in the corporate barrel.
What scandals started phase 3 of the development of business ethics?
- Shell’s Brent spar
- Enron
Why do companies need an ethical program?
An ethical code is great, but it is only productive if it is properly implemented. An ethical program is the formal control system designed to encourage ethical behaviour in the organization in the form of trainings, communication, helplines etc.
What scandal started phase 4 of the development of business ethics?
bankruptcy of Lehmann brothers
Why do companies need an ethical culture?
An ethical culture is an informal control system designed to encourage ethical behaviour. An ethical culture is needed because the influence of an ethical program is less influential than a good ethical culture
What is the content of a good ethical culture?
- Clarity
- Role modeling
- Supportability
- Feasibility
- Transparency
- Discussability
- Enforcement
Name four different branches of ethics
- Transcendental/absolutist ethics: there are absolute rights and wrongs, applicable to every situation
- Utilitarianism: provide greates benefit to greatest number of people
- Ethical relativism/social ethics: ethical standard differs per country/ culture
- Tactical ethics: behaving ethically suits the situation.
What is corporate social responsibility?
this is the firm engaging in actions to improve the social good outside the firm’s interests and beyond legal requirements. The firm manages the external impact of the business and meets values of all stakeholders.
