Business Ethics - Week one
What is Ethics?
• The study of morality
• The code of conduct of a group, (eg. accounting ethics, research ethics)
Morality:
- To be an ethical person = to be a morally good person
- To act ethically = to do the morally right thing
- Greek “ethikos” = Latin “moralis”
The Centrality of Ethics in Life
“Morality isn’t just any old topic in psychology, but close to our conception of the meaning
of life. Moral goodness is what gives each of us the sense that we are worthy human beings.
We seek it in our friends and mates, nurture it with our children, advance it in our politics,
and justify it with our religions”
Some Important Questions
• What should I do?
• What sort of person do I want to be?
• What do I value in others?
• How do I want others to see me?
• How can I be happy?
The answer to all of these questions are ( at least partly ) determined by the moral choices a
person makes.
Why is Ethics important in business?
“In looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence and energy.
And if they don’t have the first, the other two will kill you.”
Moral Standards
• Moral norms or right action derived from moral principles regarding harm, freedom,
equality, justice
eg. moral principle: anti-harm. It is wrong to harm another person without a very good
reason
• From the anti-harm principle we can derive a moral standard
eg. punching someone for no good reason is wrong.
, Immoral or Unethical
• An act which is morally wrong.
• An act which falls short of a moral standard.
• These acts are ethically impermissible,
ie. we are not obliged to perform these acts.
E.g: Killing an innocent person for no good reason is immoral
Amoral
• Not morally wrong/immoral
• An act to which no moral standard applies
• These acts are morally permissible – you are allowed to perform them (ie. not obliged to
do or not to do these acts)
Eg: many aspects of etiquette : setting a dinner table correctly, saying ‘excuse me’ when you
cough
• Many actions that are primarily self-regarding : choice of clothing
• Prescriptive language can be amoral or moral
• Sometimes amoral issues may appear to be moral issues because they cause strong
emotions, such as offence.
Sometimes moral issues appear to be amoral issues because we are not sensitised to its
moral dimension.
Moral or Ethical (1)
• Morally right or acceptable
• An act which meets a moral standard
• These acts are morally permissible and required
E.g. Not doing them is impermissible
Moral or Ethical (2) : Supererogatory
• An act which exceeds a moral standard
• These acts are morally permissible but not morally required
• Not morally obliged to perform them or not perform them
• Acts which are often described for example as : heroic, beyond the call of duty.
Descriptive VS normative ethics
Descriptive: Describes a persons or groups moral judgements (believe its wrong to eat
meat)
E.g “many people believe that murder is wrong”
- About the standards people do have
- Sociology, anthropology, history, laws
What is Ethics?
• The study of morality
• The code of conduct of a group, (eg. accounting ethics, research ethics)
Morality:
- To be an ethical person = to be a morally good person
- To act ethically = to do the morally right thing
- Greek “ethikos” = Latin “moralis”
The Centrality of Ethics in Life
“Morality isn’t just any old topic in psychology, but close to our conception of the meaning
of life. Moral goodness is what gives each of us the sense that we are worthy human beings.
We seek it in our friends and mates, nurture it with our children, advance it in our politics,
and justify it with our religions”
Some Important Questions
• What should I do?
• What sort of person do I want to be?
• What do I value in others?
• How do I want others to see me?
• How can I be happy?
The answer to all of these questions are ( at least partly ) determined by the moral choices a
person makes.
Why is Ethics important in business?
“In looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence and energy.
And if they don’t have the first, the other two will kill you.”
Moral Standards
• Moral norms or right action derived from moral principles regarding harm, freedom,
equality, justice
eg. moral principle: anti-harm. It is wrong to harm another person without a very good
reason
• From the anti-harm principle we can derive a moral standard
eg. punching someone for no good reason is wrong.
, Immoral or Unethical
• An act which is morally wrong.
• An act which falls short of a moral standard.
• These acts are ethically impermissible,
ie. we are not obliged to perform these acts.
E.g: Killing an innocent person for no good reason is immoral
Amoral
• Not morally wrong/immoral
• An act to which no moral standard applies
• These acts are morally permissible – you are allowed to perform them (ie. not obliged to
do or not to do these acts)
Eg: many aspects of etiquette : setting a dinner table correctly, saying ‘excuse me’ when you
cough
• Many actions that are primarily self-regarding : choice of clothing
• Prescriptive language can be amoral or moral
• Sometimes amoral issues may appear to be moral issues because they cause strong
emotions, such as offence.
Sometimes moral issues appear to be amoral issues because we are not sensitised to its
moral dimension.
Moral or Ethical (1)
• Morally right or acceptable
• An act which meets a moral standard
• These acts are morally permissible and required
E.g. Not doing them is impermissible
Moral or Ethical (2) : Supererogatory
• An act which exceeds a moral standard
• These acts are morally permissible but not morally required
• Not morally obliged to perform them or not perform them
• Acts which are often described for example as : heroic, beyond the call of duty.
Descriptive VS normative ethics
Descriptive: Describes a persons or groups moral judgements (believe its wrong to eat
meat)
E.g “many people believe that murder is wrong”
- About the standards people do have
- Sociology, anthropology, history, laws
