Download Business Ethics:Today vs. Earlier Period

Moral Analysis
and Ethical
Duties
Business Ethics: What Does It Really
Mean?
Business Ethics:Today vs. Earlier Period
Society’s
Expectations
of Business
Ethics
Ethical
Problem
Actual
Business
Ethics
Ethical Problem
1950s
Time
Early 2000s
Philosophy: The study of thought and
conduct
Moral philosophy: The study of proper
thought and conduct
“How we should think and ought to
behave”
Subjective (emotion) vs. Objective
(reason)
Subjective norms (personal/emotional) vs.
objective (universal/reasoning)
Objective/Universal Norms
1-External law
2-Personal virtue
3-Utilitarian benefit
4-Universal duties
5-Distributive justice
6-Contributive justice
Ethics, Economics, and Law
Three Models of Management
Morality
• Moral standards of behavior are
said to be subjective and personal.
Ethical principles of analysis are
said to be objective and universal.
What makes them objective and
universal, and why is that
important?
• Why does the Golden Rule appear
in almost all of the world's
religions? Is it because this concept
has been verbally transmitted from
one religion to the next, or does it
represent some basic feature in the
human character?
• The ancient Greek philosophers
believed that the goal of human
existence was the "active, rational
pursuit of excellence". Do you
accept that as the goal of human
existence? If not, what in your
view should be the goal of human
existence?
• The Utilitarian principle claims that
we should always select the
alternative with the greatest net
social benefit (excess of good over
harm). That seems simple, but in
reality it is complex. What makes it
complex?
• If you were asked to defend the
ethical principle that we should
never harm the least amongst us,
those with least income, education
and power to influence events,
how would you do so. Why should
people accept that as an objective
and universal rule of conduct?