BIS S2 Ethics

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Ethics is rarely black and white. Immoral management - irrespective of morals in order to seek profit Amoral management - business is outside the realm of morals. Comply with the law. Moral management Seeks to conform to the highest standards Transferring to the business some of the characteristics that we consider to be human. Business has to construct a moral framework. They have to construct a value system in practice. In a way that is the real rethical challenge. Why is this a business concern? We are asking Q's at 3 levels. Systemic, Organizational (respond, expectations) and an individual level(how do we negotiate the value environment?). Group situation (apartment) Dishwasher is full do you empty the dishwasher or do you take a cup? Is someone watching? Why do managers behave ethically - to avoid punishment or for an award. (in itself not ethical) Kohlbergs 3 level moral judgment. Pre-conventional Conventional Post-conventional Business as a moral agent. The autonomy is about the practice of ethics in this world and through this practice we generate a moral framework. We get an ongoing development which can change our understanding of what can constitute ethically appropriate conduct. Magdalin orders nuns high walls and a side door. You could collect laundry. This would be in the middle of the city. Now we all agree this is wrong. What has changed and why?

The norms and framing and expectations of the time has changed. It has changed by people. Some of the key institutions that supported these structures have become de-legitimized. There is probably stuff going on today that future generations will shun. Sources of exteranally held values religious views philosophical Internal authority loyalty performance results

elements of moral judgment in management moral imagination moral identification and ordering evaluation tolerance of moral disagreement and ambiguity integration of moral and managerial competence moral obligation You can look at this as a principals and policies. What are the principals and pol. that guide out actions. Doing right v doing good. individual process v institutional process The responsabilities you have to different people (Child v man on the street) What is appropriate for one is not for another. Ethics of care dis-interested orientation towards other humans. UP perspective.

anglo/american perspective - there is differant orientation allong a number of points - in the US the expectation is that morality is individually grounded. They bring their consciousness to the situation. In Europe the government sets the standard. Conduct in US v Duty in EU is the framing of capitalism appropriate. What is the willingness to question the status quo and what is the effect of that? In the US/UK framing morality is a given. In the EU it is open to critique and reanapsis. Egoism as action is morally right if they see it as perusing their own long term interest. What if it doesnt work what problems can arise? Utilitarianism based on the outcomes cost benefit analysis. Humans are happiness seeking beings. what constitutes happiness and how is there a comparative measure between different types? Individuals are likely to be overridden for a public benefit could lead to communism (my thoughts) This could conflict with our sense of justice. Deontological Dignity and the dignity of others. Our capacity for reason. Doesnt sacrifice the individual for the group. focuses on the individual focuses on human rights some of the overarching rules are difficult to apply in particular contexts. 3 Maxims Consistency: Act only according to that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law

Human dignity: Act so that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or that of another, always as an end and never as a means only Universality: Act only so that the will through it maxims could regard itself as the same time as universally lawgiving Ethic of Universal Principles gives rise to equality problems Undervaluing outcomes: little consideration of the outcomes of ones action except by reference to consistency Complexity: may be difficult to apply in concrete situations as based on universal principles which principle and how does it apply Misplaced optimism: view of man as rational being who acts on the basis of self-imposed duties seems more of an ideal than a reality in business as in much of social life ethics of rights enunciation of key rights as being universal. this is a huge step in development. Applied to all humans. we see all humans getting all these rights. With these comes a duty to aknowledge and protect those rights the notion of rights tends to be culturally influenced by western thought. we get a friction when these are applied to different cultures with different ways. Hajib banned - why is this? Antisocial, anti-women. Separation between church and state. We can talk about universal principals and when they meet multi-cultural societies they become difficult. what is a burka? how do you judge between conflicting rights? individuals do not have equal access to resources or to skills of knowledge that produces wealth. unequal distrabution of business wealth due unequal dist of power.

The summary slide most interesting Is the second last row the individual human. What is it to be human? somewhere around that we want the relationship bus and soc to serve what it is to be human. Limatations of the trad approaches in a business context too abstract too reductionist each theory focuses on one aspect and excludes others too objective + elietist impersonal rational and codified - reduce the ability of a human to act as his own moral agent Virtue ethics gain values through life. Wisdom certain orientations are regarded as being vertuist. ethical answers always tremain open open to indiv opinion and open to circumstances Aristotle / recent Macintyre after virtue What is a good life / what is a human life? moral / universal rational. Personal orientation ensures the moral act people should make the right choice what would a virtuous person do? Virtue ethics in business - is this business venture virtuous. Is the profit made in the right way. Who's subjective measurement of the appropriateness of that balance is to be taken Community values to decide the appropriateness in the context. Ethics is a problem that is solved in practice rather than in univ. laws. Feminist ethics emphasis on relationships / care / avoidance of harm contrast w/ rights. One claim v another

if it is socially constructed why not solve it in discourse? Why not work together to construct a solution. Can consensus be reached? You need to negate power differences in order for this to work. How do we generate a discourse that allows this census to be arrived at? Power differences are used to generate profits. Negating power differences is contrary to the underlying business paradigm. Post-mod ethics individual moral agent/ imagination this is a more intuitive response to a situation person should follow their own gut feeling of right and wrong. highly subjective and grounded in their own social foundation. humans free moral thinkers may be problematic in this context. This does emphasize a holistic approach examples rather than principals. people should act locally. Ethical decisions arent final but preliminary in nature. Think of a situation ethic each situation analyzed on its own right. moral duty on each of us is to live life that is true to our potentiality, but what is that potentiality? the central orientation is our relationship to the other we are only human as far as we are social animals and this is reflected on how we make decisions in relation to others and human meaning is found in that context. Some Qs Is business an amoral, immoral or moral space? Can moral imagination be institutional? Is there a separation between individual and organizational responsibility / imagination? What is the role of business education in this field? Is there an underlying dilemma in the discussion that isn't being answered - business is about the production of private goods - the essence of a private good is that it is rivalrous. In ethics the attention is on a collective good works for all in a way that promotes what it is to be human.

Where does Corp Res sit between production of private ben and collective benefit.

25/03/2013 12:57

25/03/2013 12:57