Morality, Ethics, Business Ethics: Basic Definitions and Aspects презентация

Levels
Responsibility
Moral Development
Global Standards
Technology and Business Ethics

the ‘river blindness’ medicine?
What would you have done as Merck’s CEO? Discuss Pro’s and Con’s for the development of the drug and make a final proposal.
Should corporations be required to act as Merck did?

Profitability
For-profit organization
Shareholders
Long-term strategy
Marketing and Economic infrastructure (Africa, Latin America)
Technology risk/ Legal infrastructure/ Property rights

expensive and unprofitable for a company in the short-term….but it can be very profitable and beneficial for a company in the long-term…and it takes sometimes a lot of guts to behave ethically

is ‘good or evil’
Standards are set by
Individuals (take care of family)
Social Groups (Neighborhood, Sports clubs)
Professional Groups (Hippocratic Oath)
Religions (making money out of interest)
Societies

other values including self-interest

Based on impartial considerations

of describing, analyzing moral standards and moral dilemmas
Ethics can be a descriptive and/ or normative discipline

Business policies: Corporate
Top Managers, Employees, Owners, Shareholders: Individuals

Compensation, Bribery)
Human Resource Management (Discrimination)
Ethics of Sales and Marketing (Children, Immoral)
Production (Addictive: Drugs, Glue; Pollution)
Intellectual Property (ownership, industrial espionage)

by the use of their products? Why or why not?

beings?
Can corporations be said to be ‘responsible’ and what does it mean in a practical sense?
Yes: to the extent that corps. have objectives, they are morally responsible and have moral duties
No: Corps. have no ‘moral duties’, therefore may not be said to be “morally responsible”
Compromise: Corps. are not human beings but individuals are the primary ‘carriers’ of moral responsibility so they ‘partially’ have moral duties

Depends upon:
Whether the person freely and knowingly committed the act although it was morally wrong
Whether the person freely and knowingly failed to prevent the act although it was morally wrong to fail to do so
Ignorance and inability are excusing conditions
Except when ignorance is willful
Minimal involvement (a softening factor)
Subordinate carrying out unethical order ( ‘loyal agent’)

and/or immoral at his/her place of employment expose it to the government or media?
Are whistleblowers courageous? What might happen to their careers?
Are they disloyal?
Ex: Iraq War, Mattel, Ford

Meeting Social Expectations

Post-Conventional Stages: Autonomous Development of Principles

/ Obedience Orientation
Physical consequences (for ex. stealing)

Stage 2: Instrument / Relativity Orientation
Instruments for satisfaction/ rewards (sweets)

Orientation
Living to the expectations of those to whom one is closely attached, loyal (affection, good performer)

Stage 4: Law and Order Orientation
Loyalty social systems (groups, societies, country); sometimes in contrast to own motives

to be impartial, critical, rational, fair approach toward consensus (everything is relative, everything to be tolerated)

Stage 6: Universal Ethical Principles Orientation
Right action is now defined in terms of logical comprehensiveness, consistency, universality, and reason

approach impersonal, impartial, abstract
Female approach caring, being responsible, sustaining relationships
Females follow different stages of moral development: caring for oneself only, caring for others, achieving a balance

everywhere the same

Legal infrastructure (business laws: corruption, collusion etc.)

Economic infrastructure (labor laws: hiring-firing; labor costs: minimum wage/ health insurance)

Political infrastructure (regulation, de-regulation)

codes

No absolute standards about ‘right or wrong’

Accept all rules from different societies (‘Do as the Romans do’)

standards have to be applied everywhere the same….but

…specific standards to be decided and applied locally

(hip operation)
Social costs (basic jobs done by computers)
Privacy (consumer data)
Property (computer software and codes)
Genetic Engineering (animal testing/ testing with human beings, new plants/ animals)