AN OVERVIEW

the nature, scope and purpose of business

ethics
the distinguishing features of morality and
how it differs from etiquette, law and
professional codes of conduct
the doctrine of ethical relativism and its
difficulties
what it means to have moral principles, the
nature of conscience and the relationship
between morality and self-interest.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Students should be able to
elaborate on morality, ethics and business

ethics
discuss the difference between morality and
etiquette, law and professional codes of
conduct
identify the importance of having moral
principles

ETHICS
Comes from the Greek word ethos, meaning character or custom

Basic concerns of ETHICS, according to R.C. Solomon:

(1) individual character what it means to be good person

(2) the social rules that govern and limit our conduct the

ultimate rules concerning right and wrong which call morality

Moral values guide how we ought to behave, such as

respect, honesty, fairness, responsibilities

* Learning what are right or wrong and then doing the right thing

Business Ethics
Business any organization whose objective

is to provide goods or services for profit

Business Ethics what is right or wrong in

the workplace and doing what is right this is

in regard to effects of products/ services and
in relationships with stakeholders (which
include employees, customers, suppliers and
the community)

Personal and Business

Ethics

Ones personal ethics cannot be neatly

divorced from ones organizational ethics.

Ethics in the workplace helps ensure that

when leaders and managers are struggling in

times of crises and confusion, they retain a
strong moral compass.

MORAL VERSUS NONMORAL

STANDARDS
MORAL STANDARDS

Moral Standards are different because they:

(1) concern behaviour that is of serious consequences to human

welfare
(2) are more important than other considerations, including selfinterest

(3) their soundness depends on the adequacy of the reasons that

support or
justify them
Moral standards do not have bodies to govern them unlike:
fashion standards set by fashion designers
technical standards set out by experts
laws and legislation by Parliaments

Non Moral Standards

What falls outside the scope of moral concern
Any violations that does not pose a serious

threat to human well-being

Example: wearing shorts to a formal party
* Morality is different from etiquette, law
and professional codes of ethics

Etiquette
Rules for well-mannered behaviour

Example: Bad etiquette chew with ones mouth

open
Good etiquette to say please when requesting
and thank you when receiving

However, violations of etiquette can have moral

implications
Example:The male boss calls his female
subordinates as honey shows bad manners
verbal sex abuse raise moral issues concerning
equal treatment.

Morality and Law

(1)
An action can be illegal but morally right
Example: helping a Jewish family to hide from the
Nazis was against German law in 1939.
(2)
An action that is legal can be morally wrong
Example: A profitable company lay off workers.
Professional Codes of Ethics

Rules that are supposed to govern the conduct of

members of a given profession.
Example: Client confidentiality

Not a completely reliable guide to ones moral

obligations.

Where Do Moral
Standards Come From?
Law, Etiquette, Religion?
Sources of Influence on Moral Standards:
Early upbringing
Behaviour of those around us
Explicit and implicit standards of our culture
formal education and informal exposure
Past experiences - Personal critical reflections
on those experiences

ETHICAL RELATIVISM
The theory that what is right in one place may be

wrong in another, because the only criterion for

distinguishing right from wrong is the moral
system of the society in which the act occurs.

Example:Abortion is condemned as immoral in

Catholic Ireland but is practiced as morally
neutral form of birth control in Japan

Wrong in Ireland BUT morally permissible in Japan

ETHICAL RELATIVISM
Unpleasant Implications:

1)
Undermines any moral criticism of the practices of
other societies as long as their actions conform to their
own standards.
2)
There is no such thing as ethical progress.

3)
The moral code itself cannot be criticized because
whatever a society takes to be right really is right for it.
The minority can never be right in moral matters;
to be right it must become the majority.

HAVING MORAL
PRINCIPLES

When a person accepts a moral principle, that person is

strongly motivated toward the conduct required by the

principle, and against behaviour that conflicts with that
principle.

Conscience sense of right and wrong

Moral Principles and Self-Interest

Morality serves to restrain our purely self-interested desires

so we can all live together.
The moral standards of a society provide the basic guidelines

for cooperative social existence and allow conflicts to be

resolved by appeal to shared principles of justification.

MORALITY AND PERSONAL

VALUES

Morality

In narrow sense is the principles that do or

should guide peoples conduct and relations
with others.
In broader sense encompasses values,

principles and aspirations (goals) that shape a

persons life.

INDIVIDUAL INTEGRITY AND

RESPONSIBILITY
The Individual Inside the Corporation

The structure and function of organizations

require their members adhere to

organizational norms and force commitment
and conformity to them.

INDIVIDUAL INTEGRITY AND

RESPONSIBILITY
Organizational Norms

One of the major characteristics of an organization is the

shared acceptance of organizational rules by its members

can be conscious or unconscious because an organization
can survive only if it holds its members together.

Ones degree of commitment the extent to which one

accepts group norms and subordinates self to organizational

goals is a measure of ones loyalty to the team.

Role conflict between what is expected of them as efficient,

profit-minded members of an organization and what is

expected of them as ethical persons.

Discussion Questions

(1) Why ethical reasoning is used in business?

Discuss.
(2) It is imperative to use ethical reasoning in
business. Discuss.