Download Business Ethics: How to play by the rules of the Game

Business Ethics: How to play
by the rules of the Game
Business as a game?
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How business dealings resemble a game
 Competition fused with “fairness” and “good
sportsmanship”
 Competition as framing zero-sum games
 Knowledge of strategies/positions
 Non-zero sum games as “team sports”
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Shared visions and goals
Cooperation
Breakdown of competitive thinking
Business Ethics
How Business Dealings do not resemble
games
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Idea of game theory
Games limit, restrict, define, and isolate
Business is fused with everyday life
experiences, including values and morals
Must consider alternate solutions,
acknowledge risk and certainty
Business Ethics
Business Ethics & Personal Values
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Character
 Integrity as a necessity
 Social responsibility
 Trust as an essential element ~ established
through standards of morals and values
Business Ethics and Personal
Values
The American Work Ethic
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Drives our need for the “good life”
Constantly evolves
 Robert Solomon’s consideration of work ethic: only
recently has the term “work ethic” been associated with
a sense of dignity to work as an end in itself, rewarding,
and enjoyable.
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Clashes between personal values and business
values
 Pressure to conform to business norms of competition
 Need for guidelines
Business Ethics and
Discrimination
Affirmative Action
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Rae’s three positions
Stereotyping
Is there a middle ground?
Legal impacts
Business Ethics and
Discrimination
Women in the workforce
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Scott Rae’s idea of perceptual bias in the
workforce
Impact of “visibility”
Issues surrounding sexual harrassment
Business and Moral DecisionMaking
Scott Rae’s “Moral Model” for making
Decisions in the World of Business
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Gather the facts
Determine the Ethical Issues
Bearing Principles on the Case
List Alternatives
Compare Alternatives with Principles
Weigh Consequences
Make a decision
Business Ethics
Which moral philosophy best suits the
business world in making ethical decisions?
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Consideration of natural law theory and concept of
utility
 Acts have in them a moral goodness or moral baseness
 Known to us through right reason a priori
 Must also work to provide the “greatest happiness for
the greatest number of people involved” (principle of
utility)
 Acts have no inherent moral value – only results count
 Both moral philosophies are reflected in the moral model