GSBGEN 208 Final Questions
and answers (verified for
accuracy)
Corporate social responsibility: what is Milton Friedman's concept of a
corporation? - answer Friedman's conclusion: Managers as agents of
shareholders are to maximize profits subject to laws and "ethical custom"
The market for control flows from shareholders to the corporation
The markets for labor and resources are between suppliers, employers and
corporations
The markets for products are between corporations and customers
Corporate social responsibility: what is the legal counterpoint to Friedman's
concept of a corporation? - answer modern corporate law does not require
for‐profit corporations to pursue profit at the expense of everything else, and
many do not do so
Corporate social responsibility: what are limitations of Friedman's concept of
a corporation? - answer limitations and the assumptions on which Friedman's
concept of corporation is based:
- Market structure
- Handling of negative externalities - Functioning of governments
Why is self‐interest insufficient in guiding ethical behavior?
OR: Can market incentives promote ethical business practices? - answer +
Markets may be insufficient. Consumers need to:
,= Value ethics
= Have coherent ethical principles
= Make the right tradeoffs
+ Institutions may be insufficient
= Government may be inattentive
= Government may be influenced
= Voters need to value ethics, have coherent ethical principles
What are four key ways in which people make ethical judgements? - answer
1. Instinctive emotional reactions
2. Calculating consequences of actions = Effect on overall well‐being?
3. Determining who benefits
= Is the distribution fair?
4. Respecting individual rights & autonomy
= Is the process fair?
What do you think is the main motivation for corporate social responsibility? -
answer Liabilities? Discuss.
Descriptive ethics: broadly, how would you describe them and their
application? - answer + Understand psychological reality
+ Useful when there is no ethical consensus
= Disagreements may be due to moral intuitions
+ Also useful when there is a consensus
= Explaining why people go against the ethical consensus, and their own
values
Normative ethics: broadly, how would you describe them and their
application? - answer + Value conflicts: tradeoffs, rights, and justice
, + Useful when there is no ethical consensus
= Disagreements may be due to well thought-out convictions
Moral Intuition - answer An immediate reaction that something is morally
right or morally wrong, often accompanied by emotion
Or, a first safeguard against self-interest in that we seem to have strong
notions of right and wrong.
Moral intuitions are in fact both a foundation of and a boundary for ethical
reasoning.
More often than we like to think, moral judgment is based on immediate
affective reactions rather than on thoughtful deliberation. In turn, these
strong intuitions can bias what seem to be rational accounts.
Moral agents - answer Have the capacity to do right or wrong
e.g., When there is a conflict between a corporation and a person, people
intuitively assign the role of agent to the corporation and patient to the
person
Moral patients - answer Have the capacity to be a target of right or wrong
e.g., When there is a conflict between a corporation and a person, people
intuitively assign the role of agent to the corporation and patient to the
person
What are the Five Moral Senses (Pinker/Haidt)? - answer 1. Harm
2. Fairness
3. Community/Ingroup
and answers (verified for
accuracy)
Corporate social responsibility: what is Milton Friedman's concept of a
corporation? - answer Friedman's conclusion: Managers as agents of
shareholders are to maximize profits subject to laws and "ethical custom"
The market for control flows from shareholders to the corporation
The markets for labor and resources are between suppliers, employers and
corporations
The markets for products are between corporations and customers
Corporate social responsibility: what is the legal counterpoint to Friedman's
concept of a corporation? - answer modern corporate law does not require
for‐profit corporations to pursue profit at the expense of everything else, and
many do not do so
Corporate social responsibility: what are limitations of Friedman's concept of
a corporation? - answer limitations and the assumptions on which Friedman's
concept of corporation is based:
- Market structure
- Handling of negative externalities - Functioning of governments
Why is self‐interest insufficient in guiding ethical behavior?
OR: Can market incentives promote ethical business practices? - answer +
Markets may be insufficient. Consumers need to:
,= Value ethics
= Have coherent ethical principles
= Make the right tradeoffs
+ Institutions may be insufficient
= Government may be inattentive
= Government may be influenced
= Voters need to value ethics, have coherent ethical principles
What are four key ways in which people make ethical judgements? - answer
1. Instinctive emotional reactions
2. Calculating consequences of actions = Effect on overall well‐being?
3. Determining who benefits
= Is the distribution fair?
4. Respecting individual rights & autonomy
= Is the process fair?
What do you think is the main motivation for corporate social responsibility? -
answer Liabilities? Discuss.
Descriptive ethics: broadly, how would you describe them and their
application? - answer + Understand psychological reality
+ Useful when there is no ethical consensus
= Disagreements may be due to moral intuitions
+ Also useful when there is a consensus
= Explaining why people go against the ethical consensus, and their own
values
Normative ethics: broadly, how would you describe them and their
application? - answer + Value conflicts: tradeoffs, rights, and justice
, + Useful when there is no ethical consensus
= Disagreements may be due to well thought-out convictions
Moral Intuition - answer An immediate reaction that something is morally
right or morally wrong, often accompanied by emotion
Or, a first safeguard against self-interest in that we seem to have strong
notions of right and wrong.
Moral intuitions are in fact both a foundation of and a boundary for ethical
reasoning.
More often than we like to think, moral judgment is based on immediate
affective reactions rather than on thoughtful deliberation. In turn, these
strong intuitions can bias what seem to be rational accounts.
Moral agents - answer Have the capacity to do right or wrong
e.g., When there is a conflict between a corporation and a person, people
intuitively assign the role of agent to the corporation and patient to the
person
Moral patients - answer Have the capacity to be a target of right or wrong
e.g., When there is a conflict between a corporation and a person, people
intuitively assign the role of agent to the corporation and patient to the
person
What are the Five Moral Senses (Pinker/Haidt)? - answer 1. Harm
2. Fairness
3. Community/Ingroup
