ANSWERS (GRADED A+)
Ethics - ANSWER-The study and practice of decisions about what is good, or right
Business Ethics - ANSWER-The application of ethics to the special problems and
opportunities experienced by businesspeople
Ethical Dilemma - ANSWER-A problem about what a firm should do for which no clear,
right decision is available
Social Responsibility of Business - ANSWER-The expectations that the community
imposes on firms doing business inside its borders
Business Law and Business Ethics - ANSWER-In December 2008, multinational giant
Siemens AG was ordered to pay the larges Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) fin in
history after admitting to acts of bribery worldwide.
The company had been using off-the-book slush funds, middlemen posing as agents or
company consultants, and even money-filled briefcases to bribe government officials
and secure contracts overseas.
As a result, $1.6 billion later, Siemens AG is now forced to restructure itself to do
business ethically and legally.
Business Ethics (other) - ANSWER-Refers to standards of business conduct.
It does not result in a set of correct decisions.
Business ethics can improve business decisions by serving as a reminder not to choose
the first business option that comes to mind or the one that enriches us in the short run.
can never produce a list of correct business decisions that all ethical businesses will
make.
Ethical Guidelines - ANSWER-Practical steps that provide a dependable stimulus to
ethical reasoning in a business context.
WPH Process - ANSWER-A set of ethical guidelines that urges us to consider whom an
action affects, the purpose of the action, and how we view its morality.
Practical approach to business ethics that they can use to avoid costs, the three-step
approach: The WPH Process of Ethical Decision Making.
, The WPH Framework for Business Ethics - ANSWER-Ethical guidelines requires
recognition that managerial decisions must meet the following primary criteria:
The decisions affect particular groups of stakeholders in the operation of the firm.
Whom would this decision affect?
The decisions are made in pursuit of a particular purpose. Business decisions are
instruments toward an ethical end.
The decisions must meet the standards of action-oriented business behaviors.
Managers need a doable set of guidelines for how to make ethical decisions.
Values - ANSWER-Positive abstractions that capture our sense of what is good or
desirable.
They are ideas that underlie conversations about business ethics.
Values represent our understanding of the purposes we will fulfill by making particular
decisions.
How Do We Make Ethical Decisions?
Ethical Guideline - ANSWER-Provides on path to ethical conduct.
The "WPH" Process of Ethical Decision Making:
(1) W—WHO (Stakeholders) - ANSWER-Consumers
Owners or Investors
Management
Employees
Community
Future Generations
The "WPH" Process of Ethical Decision Making:
(2) P—PURPOSE (Values) - ANSWER-Freedom
Security
Justice
Efficiency
The "WPH" Process of Ethical Decision Making:
(3) H—HOW (Guidelines) - ANSWER-Public Disclosure
Universalization
Golden Rule
Stakeholders - ANSWER-The stakeholders of a firm are the many groups of people
affected by the firm's decisions.