Business Ethics Fundamentals 1 1 Ethical Dilemma Ethics

Business Ethics Fundamentals 1 1

Ethical Dilemma Ethics grey area Law 2

Asking Key Questions 1. What are my core values and beliefs? 2. What are the core values and beliefs of my organization? 3. Whose values, beliefs and interests may be at risk in this decision, and Why? 4. Who will be harmed or helped by my decision or the decision of the organization? 5. How will I, and my organization be affected by the decision? 3

Why use Ethical reasoning in business? 1. Many times laws do not cover all aspects or “grey areas” of a problem – EXAMPLES 2. Free-market and regulated-market mechanisms do not inform owners/ managers how to respond to far reaching ethical consequences. – EXAMPLES 3. Many complex moral problems require an “intuitive/ learned understanding of fairness, justice to the community. – EXAMPLES 4

Inventory of Ethical Issues in Business • • Employer-Employee Relations Company-Customer Relations Company-Shareholder Relations Company-Community/Public Interest 5

Business Ethics: What Does It Really Mean? Business Ethics: Today vs. Earlier Period Expected and Actual Levels of Business Ethics Society’s Expectations of Business Ethical Problem Actual Business Ethical Problem 1950 s Time Early 2000 s 6

Business Ethics: What Does It Really Mean? Definitions • Ethics involves a discipline that examines good or bad practices within the context of a moral duty • Moral conduct is behavior that is right or wrong • Business ethics include practices and behaviors that are good or bad 7

Business Ethics: What Does It Really Mean? Two Key Branches of Ethics • Descriptive ethics – How people behave and what sort of moral standards they claim to follow. “What is” true and factual. • Normative ethics involves supplying and justifying moral systems – “What should be” 8

Conventional Approach to Business Ethics • Conventional approach to business ethics involves a comparison of a decision or practice to prevailing societal norms – Pitfall: ethical relativism Decision or Practice Prevailing Norms 9

Sources of Ethical Norms Fellow Workers Family Regions of Country Profession The Individual Friends The Law Conscience Employer Religious Beliefs Society at Large 10

Ethics, Economics, and Law 6 -14

Four Important Ethical Questions • What is? • What ought to be? • How do we get from what is to what ought to be? • What is our motivation for acting ethically? 12

3 Models of Management Ethics 1. Immoral Management—A style devoid of ethical principles and active opposition to what is ethical. 2. Moral Management—Conforms to high standards of ethical behavior. 3. Amoral Management – Intentional - does not consider ethical factors – Unintentional - casual or careless about ethical considerations in business 13

3 Models of Management Ethics Three Types Of Management Ethics 14

Three Approaches to Management Ethics 6 -18

Moral Management Models and Acceptable Stakeholder Thinking 6 -20

Developing Moral Judgment 6 -22

Developing Moral Judgment 6 -23

Developing Moral Judgment External Sources of a Manager’s Values • • • Religious values Philosophical values Cultural values Legal values Professional values 19

Developing Moral Judgment Internal Sources of a Manager’s Values • • • Respect for the authority structure Loyalty Conformity Performance Results 20

Elements of Moral Judgment Moral imagination Moral identification and ordering Moral evaluation Tolerance of moral disagreement and ambiguity • Integration of managerial and moral competence • A sense of moral obligation • • 21