Shaw, Business Ethics
TRACK 1: CHAPTER REVIEW
Part 1: Moral Philosophy and Business
CHAPTER 1: The Nature of Morality
Introduction
The wrongdoing that led to the collapse of Enron—which was the largest Chapter 11
filing in US history at the time—is simple to see, including deception, dishonesty, and
fraud. But many moral issues that arise in business are complex. For example, we might
ask if passing a personality test is a justifiable condition for employment, or whether
manufacturers should reveal all of the defects of their products. We also might also about
the extent to which businesses have environmental responsibilities, or how they should
respond to sexual harassment. The answers that we give to these questions will be
determined by the moral standards that we have.
Ethics
Ethics is a field of inquiry that addresses the question: How should I lead my life? This
leads to auxiliary questions such as “What values are important?” and “What principles
should I live by?” Ethics deals with individual character and with the moral rules that
govern our conduct; here, “ethics” and “morals” are used interchangeably.
Business and Organizational Ethics
,Business ethics is the study of what is right or wrong in a business context. “Business”
will be used here to mean nay organization whose objective is to provide gods or services
for profit; businesspeople are those who participate in planning, organizing, or directing
the work of business. This book also addresses organizational ethics, where an
organization is a group of people working together for some common purpose.
Moral Versus Nonmoral Standards
When we answer a moral question we appeal to moral standards,; these concern behavior
that is of serious consequence to human welfare and take priority over other standards.
Their legitimacy depends on the quality of the arguments that are offered in support of
them.
Morality and Etiquette
Etiquette refers to any special code of social behavior or courtesy. Standards of etiquette
can change over time, and following that of one’s age does not make a person moral.
Morality and Law
There are four kinds of law: statute law, common law, constitutional law, and
administrative regulations.
,An action can be illegal but morally right such as helping a Jewish person to hide from
the Nazis. And an action that is legal can be morally wrong, such as a manager laying off
many workers are using the money saved to boost his own pay.
Professional Codes
Professional codes of ethics lie between etiquette and law. These are the rules that are
supposed to govern the actions of the members of a given profession, and can be backed
up by professional sanctions. They are not a reliable guide to one’s moral obligations, as
they are not all purely moral in character, and even when they are they are not necessarily
sound moral practice.
Where Do Moral Standards Come From?
The main philosophical question is whether our moral standards can be justified. Some
people have argued that morality just reduces to religion; others, that right and wrong are
just a function of what a society takes them to be—a version of ethical relativism.
Religion and Morality
Any religion provides its believers with a worldview, part of which involves morality.
One example of this is the mandate “Do unto others as you would have them do unto
, you”; the Golden Rule. But this is very general, and is hard to translate into precise policy
injunctions.
Morality Needn’t Rest on Religion
Many people believe that morality must be based on religion, either because they think
that without religion people would have no incentive to be moral, or because they think
that only religion can provide moral guidance. Others think that morality is based on the
commands of God. Neither of these claims is convincing. There are many reasons why
people act morally; habit, for example, or because that’s the kind of person one is. We
also might be motivated to act morally to please our peers. Furthermore, the moral
instructions of the world’s religions are general and imprecise. Also, although some
theologians have advocated divine command theory—the idea that if something is wrong
then the only reason that it is wrong is if God commands us not to do it—many would
reject this view. For example, many people hold that (e.g.) rape is wrong independent of
God’s decrees.
Ethical Relativism
This is the view that what is right is determined by what a culture or society deems is
right, and so there is no absolute moral standard. Those who endorse this view point to
the apparent diversity of human values to support their case. However, some people think
that these differences are less significant than they appear. But even if this is not the case
TRACK 1: CHAPTER REVIEW
Part 1: Moral Philosophy and Business
CHAPTER 1: The Nature of Morality
Introduction
The wrongdoing that led to the collapse of Enron—which was the largest Chapter 11
filing in US history at the time—is simple to see, including deception, dishonesty, and
fraud. But many moral issues that arise in business are complex. For example, we might
ask if passing a personality test is a justifiable condition for employment, or whether
manufacturers should reveal all of the defects of their products. We also might also about
the extent to which businesses have environmental responsibilities, or how they should
respond to sexual harassment. The answers that we give to these questions will be
determined by the moral standards that we have.
Ethics
Ethics is a field of inquiry that addresses the question: How should I lead my life? This
leads to auxiliary questions such as “What values are important?” and “What principles
should I live by?” Ethics deals with individual character and with the moral rules that
govern our conduct; here, “ethics” and “morals” are used interchangeably.
Business and Organizational Ethics
,Business ethics is the study of what is right or wrong in a business context. “Business”
will be used here to mean nay organization whose objective is to provide gods or services
for profit; businesspeople are those who participate in planning, organizing, or directing
the work of business. This book also addresses organizational ethics, where an
organization is a group of people working together for some common purpose.
Moral Versus Nonmoral Standards
When we answer a moral question we appeal to moral standards,; these concern behavior
that is of serious consequence to human welfare and take priority over other standards.
Their legitimacy depends on the quality of the arguments that are offered in support of
them.
Morality and Etiquette
Etiquette refers to any special code of social behavior or courtesy. Standards of etiquette
can change over time, and following that of one’s age does not make a person moral.
Morality and Law
There are four kinds of law: statute law, common law, constitutional law, and
administrative regulations.
,An action can be illegal but morally right such as helping a Jewish person to hide from
the Nazis. And an action that is legal can be morally wrong, such as a manager laying off
many workers are using the money saved to boost his own pay.
Professional Codes
Professional codes of ethics lie between etiquette and law. These are the rules that are
supposed to govern the actions of the members of a given profession, and can be backed
up by professional sanctions. They are not a reliable guide to one’s moral obligations, as
they are not all purely moral in character, and even when they are they are not necessarily
sound moral practice.
Where Do Moral Standards Come From?
The main philosophical question is whether our moral standards can be justified. Some
people have argued that morality just reduces to religion; others, that right and wrong are
just a function of what a society takes them to be—a version of ethical relativism.
Religion and Morality
Any religion provides its believers with a worldview, part of which involves morality.
One example of this is the mandate “Do unto others as you would have them do unto
, you”; the Golden Rule. But this is very general, and is hard to translate into precise policy
injunctions.
Morality Needn’t Rest on Religion
Many people believe that morality must be based on religion, either because they think
that without religion people would have no incentive to be moral, or because they think
that only religion can provide moral guidance. Others think that morality is based on the
commands of God. Neither of these claims is convincing. There are many reasons why
people act morally; habit, for example, or because that’s the kind of person one is. We
also might be motivated to act morally to please our peers. Furthermore, the moral
instructions of the world’s religions are general and imprecise. Also, although some
theologians have advocated divine command theory—the idea that if something is wrong
then the only reason that it is wrong is if God commands us not to do it—many would
reject this view. For example, many people hold that (e.g.) rape is wrong independent of
God’s decrees.
Ethical Relativism
This is the view that what is right is determined by what a culture or society deems is
right, and so there is no absolute moral standard. Those who endorse this view point to
the apparent diversity of human values to support their case. However, some people think
that these differences are less significant than they appear. But even if this is not the case
