Chapter 1
Ethics and the individual
(2) Ethics and business, chapter 1 - YouTube
Ethics is an academic discipline that structurally analyses and evaluates
morality. Morality is someone’s perception in what is right and is the
combination of norms and values someone seeks to realize.
- A value is the ultimate goals we seek to achieve by acting in compliance
with a norm
- A norm is a rule that contributes to the realization of a value
Norms can be divided into:
- Individual and collective norms (some are even considered to be
universal)
- Religious and cultural norms
- Written and unwritten norms
Values can be subdivided into:
- Terminal values, which are essential in life
- Instrumental values, that help us achieving the terminal values
In realizing norms and values, virtue and interest play an important role:
- A virtue is a certain characteristic that is required to successfully comply
with a norm
- Our interest is the combination of tangible and intangible things we use
to comply with a norm
We structurally analyse morality by using a comparative method:
Functionalism
- Functionalism is the comparison of different solutions to the same
problem on the basis of function equivalence
- A functional comparison consists of three steps
o Determine the moral question
o Map the various ethical viewpoints/answers to this question
(norms)
o Explain the selected norms by narrowing them down to values
We can structurally evaluate by carefully making a well-informed decision on
which ethical viewpoint is to be chosen above all others.
, Ethics is closely related to other academic disciplines. It can deepen a debate
when you explore different viewpoints within an academic discipline, while it
can broaden this debate when you consider things from various academic
disciplines. That is, as long as there is no confusion about which viewpoint
comes from which discipline.
- An academic perspective is an approach towards a certain situation
exclusively from the perspective of that discipline
- A viewpoint is a particular opinion within an academic discipline
In law we ask ourselves the question whether something is legal.
- Law should achieve justice, opportuness and legal certainty
In theology we critically analyse and evaluate the nature of the divine
In psychology we seek to understand and explain social relations
In the economic discipline we seek to explain – and sometimes even predict –
how our economy works. The economic discipline can be divided in:
- Macroeconomics, in which we study the economy on a national or
international level
- Microeconomics, in which we study economic behavior of individuals
and organizations
- Business administration, in which we study the functioning of companies
and contribute to making companies more efficient and profitable
The academic area where economics and ethics are linked is sometimes
referred to as business ethics.
- Where in ethics in business we ask the question, what is morally correct
in our economic behavior, in business ethics we ask the question how we
can make profit in doing the right thing.
Ethics and the individual
(2) Ethics and business, chapter 1 - YouTube
Ethics is an academic discipline that structurally analyses and evaluates
morality. Morality is someone’s perception in what is right and is the
combination of norms and values someone seeks to realize.
- A value is the ultimate goals we seek to achieve by acting in compliance
with a norm
- A norm is a rule that contributes to the realization of a value
Norms can be divided into:
- Individual and collective norms (some are even considered to be
universal)
- Religious and cultural norms
- Written and unwritten norms
Values can be subdivided into:
- Terminal values, which are essential in life
- Instrumental values, that help us achieving the terminal values
In realizing norms and values, virtue and interest play an important role:
- A virtue is a certain characteristic that is required to successfully comply
with a norm
- Our interest is the combination of tangible and intangible things we use
to comply with a norm
We structurally analyse morality by using a comparative method:
Functionalism
- Functionalism is the comparison of different solutions to the same
problem on the basis of function equivalence
- A functional comparison consists of three steps
o Determine the moral question
o Map the various ethical viewpoints/answers to this question
(norms)
o Explain the selected norms by narrowing them down to values
We can structurally evaluate by carefully making a well-informed decision on
which ethical viewpoint is to be chosen above all others.
, Ethics is closely related to other academic disciplines. It can deepen a debate
when you explore different viewpoints within an academic discipline, while it
can broaden this debate when you consider things from various academic
disciplines. That is, as long as there is no confusion about which viewpoint
comes from which discipline.
- An academic perspective is an approach towards a certain situation
exclusively from the perspective of that discipline
- A viewpoint is a particular opinion within an academic discipline
In law we ask ourselves the question whether something is legal.
- Law should achieve justice, opportuness and legal certainty
In theology we critically analyse and evaluate the nature of the divine
In psychology we seek to understand and explain social relations
In the economic discipline we seek to explain – and sometimes even predict –
how our economy works. The economic discipline can be divided in:
- Macroeconomics, in which we study the economy on a national or
international level
- Microeconomics, in which we study economic behavior of individuals
and organizations
- Business administration, in which we study the functioning of companies
and contribute to making companies more efficient and profitable
The academic area where economics and ethics are linked is sometimes
referred to as business ethics.
- Where in ethics in business we ask the question, what is morally correct
in our economic behavior, in business ethics we ask the question how we
can make profit in doing the right thing.
