Week 2 Flashcards
(15 cards)
What are the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?
A set of 17 global goals created by the UN to promote sustainability, reduce poverty, and improve global well-being by 2030.
What are two main criticisms of the SDGs?
(1) They are not legally binding. (Country or company doesn’t have to follow them by law)
(2) Companies may pretend to follow them (“SDG-washing”).
What is Shareholder Theory?
The view that a company’s main responsibility is to maximize profit for its shareholders (Milton Friedman).
What is Stakeholder Theory?
The idea that businesses must consider all affected parties—not just shareholders—including employees, customers, and the environment.
What is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)?
The concept that companies have ethical duties to society beyond just making a profit.
What is the Triple Bottom Line?
A framework that measures a company’s success using 3 P’s: Profit, People, Planet.
What are the three types of ethics?
Applied Ethics (practical cases like business or medical ethics)
Normative Ethics (what’s the right thing to do?)
Metaethics (what is morality itself?)
What is Moral Relativism?
The belief that morality is not universal but depends on cultural or individual perspectives.
What is the main argument for moral relativism?
People and cultures have deep moral disagreements that cannot be rationally resolved.
What is one objection to moral relativism?
Some actions (e.g. genocide, slavery) seem self-evidently wrong, even if some societies once accepted them.
What are Human Rights?
Legal and moral rights that protect key human interests, like life, freedom, education, and equality.
What was the Asian Values Debate?
Some leaders (e.g., Lee Kuan Yew) argued that human rights reflect Western values and don’t always apply to Asian cultures.
What is the response to the Asian Values argument?
Human rights protect universal values (like dignity and safety), even if expressed differently in each culture.
What is the moral of the Nestlé Baby Milk case?
Businesses can cause harm when they prioritise profit over ethics, especially in vulnerable communities.
Is there such a thing as Business Ethics?
Yes. Unethical behaviour doesn’t prove ethics don’t exist—it proves we need stronger awareness, standards, and enforcement.
