Ethical Theory

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Ethical Theory Business

• Fundamental Ethical Theory

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Definitions

• Prudence _______________
• Veracity - _______________
• Descriptive Theory ____________
• _______________________________
• Prescriptive Theory ___________
• _______________________________

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• How do you know if something is right or wrong?

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What are
Morality
Ethics
Ethical Theory
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Approaches to the Study of Morality

• Descriptive Approaches
• __________________ The description and
  explanation of moral behavior (tells what people
  are doing).
• __________________ Studying and defining the
  concepts concerned with ethics and morality.

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Approaches to the Study of Morality

• Prescriptive Approaches -

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Approaches to the Study of Morality

• _________________ Ways of making ethical
  choices based on a philosophical system
• _____________ Greater good for the
  whole
• _____________ - Duty
• __________________ Using the general normative
  theories for a specific field (i.e., business
  ethics).

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Relativism

• _______________ Claims that good and bad are
  relative to culture. What is good is socially
  accepted and what is bad is socially
  unacceptable in a given culture.
• No such thing as ________________

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Relativism

• Moral philosophers tend to _________________
• Often ______________ at a deeper level on more
  _____________
• Actually, _________ of judgments
• Moral problems would be __________
• Basic set of __________ that must be adopted for
  a culture to ______

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Why is it important to make ethical decisions?

• Society
• Business
• Individual

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Why do you need a class in ethics, why not simply
rely on your conscience?

• -Conscience is ________________________
• -Conscience is more subject to ________ and
  following ______________ than is intellect.
• -People ___________ their behavior (i.e., they
  deserved it).

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How will this class help me as a manager?

• _________
• _________
• _________
• _________

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Is there corruption (and unethical behavior) in
businesses?

• The ex governor of Colorado, Dick Lamm, says that
  corruption is the exception, not the rule in the
  U.S.,
• Versus
• Dr. Hanson (professor) who says that corruption
  has always existed, were just hearing about it
  more.

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Why are people behaving unethically?

• _________
• _________ is doing it
• People __________________ that their behavior is
  unethical
• Feel that they have a _______ to behave
  unethically

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Business Ethics A Managers Primer

• Proposition 1 Ethical conflicts and choices are
  inherent in business decision-making.
• Proposition 2 Proper ethical behavior exists on
  a plane above the law. The law merely specifies
  the lowest common denominator of acceptable
  behavior.

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Two Types of Laws

• ______________ Universal laws (laws that are
  based on what is morally right and wrong).
• ______________ A law that is enacted by the
  government.

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Is the law a good model for what is ethical?

• -Standard ___________ purpose of law
• -Speed, law is _________
• -Guilty __________ mean they are unethical
• -Case law is ________________, and juries and
  judges make __________

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Business Ethics A Managers Primer

• Proposition 3 There is no single satisfactory
  standard of ethical action agreeable to everyone
  that a manager can use to make specific
  operational decisions.
• Proposition 4 Managers should be familiar with
  a wide variety of ethical standards.

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Business Ethics A Managers Primer

• Proposition 6 There are diverse and sometimes
  conflicting determinants of ethical action.
• Proposition 7 Individual values are the final
  standard although not necessarily the determining
  reason for ethical behavior.

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Business Ethics A Managers Primer

• Proposition 10 The lower the organizational
  level of a manager, the greater the perceived
  pressure to act unethically.
• Proposition 11 Individual managers perceive
  themselves as more ethical
• than their colleagues.