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Chapter 9 Personal ethics
Ethics and ethical theories
Ethics is concerned with right and wrong and
how conduct should be judged to be good or
bad.
Ethical theories underpin all business activity
as well as guiding behavior.
Questions to ethics
Question NO. 1: Do ethics change overtime
and place?
Question NO. 2: Should the consequences of
the actions be considered when you make
ethical decisions?
Question NO. 3: What thought process do
people use when making ethical decisions?
Do ethics change?
Yes!
Ethical relativism /non-cognitivism: there is a
wide variety of acceptable ethical beliefs
and practices exist. All moral statements are
subjective and arise from the culture, belief
or emotion from the speaker.
Influencing factors on ethics
Do ethics change?
No!
Ethical absolutism/cognitivism : there is an
unchanging set of ethical principles that will
apply in all situations, at all times and in all
societies. Moral truths are objective and
universally applicable.
The norms, principles and values
Dec. 2010. 1
(b) Distinguish between absolutist and
relativist approaches to ethics.
Dec. 2010. 1
(b) Absolutism and relativism
An absolutist ethical stance is when it is assumed that
there is an unchanging set of ethical principles which
should always be obeyed regardless of the situation or
any other pressures or factors that may be present.
Typically described in universalist ways, absolutist
ethics tends to be expressed in terms such as ‘it is
always right to’, ‘it is never right to’ or ‘it is always
wrong to’.
Dec. 2010. 1
(b) Absolutism and relativism
Relativist ethical assumptions are those that assume that
real ethical situations are more complicated than
absolutists allow for. It is the view that there are a
variety of acceptable ethical beliefs and practices and
that the right and most appropriate belief depends on
the situation. The best outcome is arrived at by
examining the situation and making ethical assessments
based on the best outcomes in that situation.
The consequences be considered?
No!
Deontological ethics: concerned with the
application of absolute, universal ethical
principles to arrive at rules of conduct, and
the outcomes of the actions are not
relevant.
Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)
德国古典哲学的开创者和奠基人
1770年之前，主要研究自然科学
1770年之后，主要研究哲学
三大批判：《纯粹理性批判》（1781），《实践理性批
判》（1788），《判断力批判》（1790）
伦理学贡献：意志为自己立法，人类辨别是非的能力是
与生俱来的，而不是从后天获得的。
Kant’s ethical theory
Imperatives
Hypothetical imperative(假言命令)
Categorical imperative(定言命令)
Kant’s ethical theory
Principle of consistency(一致)
‘So act that the maxim of your will could hold as a
principle establishing universal law’
Principle of human dignity（人的尊严）
‘Do not treat people simply as means to an end but
as an end in themselves’
Principle of autonomy（自律）
‘So act as though you were through you maxims a
law-making member of the kingdom of ends’
The consequences be considered?
Yes!
Teleological ethics: to make moral judgments
about courses of action by reference to
their outcomes or consequences, benefit or
harm becomes a question.
Utilitarianism
Egoism
Teleological ethics
Utilitarianism: there is a “greatest good”
principle – greatest happiness of the
greatest number. (Pareto optimality and
Pareto improvement in microeconomics)
Egoism: an act is ethically justified if
decision-makers freely decide to pursue
their own short-term desires or their longterm interests. (Adam Smith, the author of
<An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of
the Wealth of Nations>)
Dec, 2008, 4
(c) Assess Mr. Hogg’s belief that employing child
labor is ‘always ethically wrong’ from the
deontological and teleological ethical perspectives.
Dec, 2008, 4
(c) Deontological perspective
In the case, Mr. Hogg is demonstrating a deontological position
on child labor by saying that it is ‘always’ wrong. He is
adopting an absolutist stance in arguing that there are no
situations in which child labor might be ethically acceptable.
The deontological view is that an act is right or wrong in
itself and does not depend upon any other considerations. If
child labor is wrong in one situation, it follows that it is
wrong in all situations because of the Kantian principle of
generalisability. Because child labor is wrong and potentially
exploitative in some situations, the deontological position
says that it must be assumed to be wrong in all situations.
The fact that it may cause favorable outcomes in some
situations does not make it ethically right, because the
deontological position is not situational and the quality of the
outcome is not taken into account.
Dec, 2008, 4
Teleological perspective
According to the teleological perspective, an act is right or
wrong depending on the favorableness of the outcome. It is
sometimes called the consequentialist perspective because
the consequences of the action are considered more
important than the act itself.
In the teleological perspective, ethics is situational and not
absolute. Therefore child labor is morally justified if the
outcome is favorable. The economic support of a child’s
family by provision of wages for family support might be
considered to be a favorable outcome that justifies child
labor. There is a ethical trade-off between the importance
of the family income from child labor and the need to avoid
exploitation and interfere with the child’s education. (then
discuss utilitarianism and egoism)
The thought process
Kohlberg’s cognitive moral development
theories: the thought processes people go
through when making ethical decisions.
How the decision is reached?
Three levels of moral development.
Individuals at different levels of moral
development may make the same moral
decisions, but they will do so as a result of
different reasoning processes.
Lawrence Kohlberg (1927-1987)
美国儿童发展心理学家，“道德发展阶段”理论
的提出者。
认知结构主义学派代表人物，认为“学校道德教
育的目的是促进学生道德判断能力的发展”。
经典道德两难故事：汉斯偷药。
Levels of CMD
Pre-conventional level
Punishment-obedience
Instrumental relativist
Conventional level
Good boy-nice girl
Law and order
Post conventional level
Social contract
Universal ethical principle
June, 2011, 1
(b) Explain Kohlberg’s three level or moral
development.
June, 2011, 1
(b) Explain Kohlberg’s levels
Kohlberg’s theory of moral development is a framework of
classifying a range of responses to ethical situations.
Kohlberg argued that these were indicative of the moral
development of the moral development of the individual.
Kohlberg identified three levels that people can operate
at.
At the preconventional level of moral reasoning, morality is
conceived of in terms of rewards, punishments and
instrumental motivation. Those demonstrating
intolerance of norms and regulations in preference for
self-serving motives are typically preconventional.
June, 2011, 1
At the conventional level, morality is understood in terms
of compliance with either or both of peer pressure/social
expectations or regulations, laws and guidelines. A high
degree of compliance is assumed to be a highly moral
position.
At the postconventional level, morality is understood in
terms of conformance with perceived ‘higher’ or
‘universal’ ethical principles. Postconventional assumptions
often chanllege existing regulatory regimes and social
norms and so postconventional behavior can often be
costly in personal terms.
Influences on ethics
Ethics are not absolute, and they can be
influenced by many factors.
Individual factors: the characters of the person
who make the ethical decision.(USA)
Situational factors: the features of the context
which determine whether the individual will make an
ethical decision.(The Europe)
Individual factors
Age and gender
National and cultural beliefs
Individualism/ collectivism, power distance,
uncertainty avoidance, masculinity/ femininity
Education and employment
Psychological factors
Locus of control
Personal integrity
Moral imagination
Situational factors
Issue – related factors: the nature of the
issue and how it is viewed in the organization
Moral intensity: the ethically significance of the
issue
Moral framing: setting the context for how issues
are perceived in the organization.
Situational factors
Context – related factors: the expectations
and demands that will be placed on the people
Systems of reward
Authority
Bureaucracy
Work roles
Organizational field
Organizational culture
National and culture context
AAA model
What are the facts of the case?
What are the ethical issues in the case?
What are the norms, principles and values
related to the case?
What are the alternative courses of action?
What is the best course of action?
What are the consequences of each possible
causes of action?
What is the decision?
(Dec, 2009, 1, (a))
Tucker’s 5 question model
Profitable?
Legal?
Fair?
Right?
Sustainable?
(Dec, 2008, 1, (a) Assess the secrecy option
using Tucker’s model for decision making.)