Professional Documents
Culture Documents
EVM Module 2
Moral Standards
Moral Standards are
The norms about the kinds of actions believed to be
morally right and wrong
The values placed on the kinds of objects believed to be
morally good and morally bad
Non-moral standards
Apply to judging non moral things such as
etiquettes, grammar etc
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Moral Standards
Standards of non-moral vs moral standards
Moral standards are (p 9 of Manuel Velasquez)
Involved with serious injuries or benefits
Life of men as compared grammatical mistakes
Exception: Hang him not, leave him / Hang him, not leave him!
Moral evolution
Are moral standards acquired early on in life
and that can not be changed?
Most people believe that it is so!
Kohlbergs model
Level One: Pre-conventional stage
Stage One: A childs right & wrong governed
by physical consequences
If a ask a child as to why it is wrong to steal, it will
answer
Because mummy will punish me if I steal
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Kohlbergs model
Level Two: Conventional Stages
Stage Three: The interpersonal concordance
orientation
Right action is conformity with what is expected in
role as a friend, son, daughter
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Kohlbergs model
Level Three: Post Conventional, Autonomous and
Principled Stages
Stage Five: Recognizing that people hold variety of
views, and opinions and one arrives at reaching
consensus by agreement, contract
Stage Six: Universal Ethical Principles orientation:
Right actions are those that are chosen because of their
universality and consistency, Abstract principles (like
justice, love (agape love)) rather than concrete concepts
such as Ten Commandments govern the decisions
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Moral Standards
An understanding of what reasonable moral standards require, prohibit,
value or condemn
Reasonable:
Reasonable profit
Require: Board of Directors has a fiduciary responsibility and
therefore required to act in the interest of the investors
Held in Trust
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Moral Reasoning
A society that
does not treat its
minorities equal to
majority is unjust
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society is unjust
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Example of dilemma
Justice:
Rendering what is due or merited
Justice argues
Punish!
Mercy:
Compassionate treatment of an offender
Mercy argues
Let him go!
Both are right! This is the dilemma between Right and
Right!
See Joseph Badaraccos talk on You Tube at http:
//www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2SKTP43oRQ
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Ethical Dilemma
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Why models?
The resolution of ethical dilemmas in
business is difficult
Even in firms with a code of ethics and
culture committed to ethical compliance
Therefore, managers need guidelines in
making ethical decisions
So, we will see some models
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(See Business Ethics- Ethical Decision Making and Cases by Ferrell et al, Sixth edition)
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Is cigarette ad unethical?
But in 1964, US Surgeon General Luther Terry
declared cigarette to be a cause of cancer
Fairness Doctrine: Equal time for anti-smoking
ads (1967)
Cigarette ad was banned in 1971
But in 1980, tobacco industry discovered
endorsement by movie stars
Sylvester Stallone paid $500,000 to smoke Brown &
Williamson cigarette
This is unethical!
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Why is it unethical?
Advertising cigarettes is unethical because
Cigarette smoking while benefiting the company
places
Burden on state to treat tobacco related diseases
Benefit to company, burden to state!
Profits are private, losses are public!
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Warren Buffets
Front-Page-of-the-Newspaper Test
A sedate newspaper like the Hindu Business Line
had a headline news:
Former Satyam CEO Raju, his brother and
CFO arrested and detained in profit-fraud
scandal
Business Line, 12 January 2009
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Warren Buffets
Front-Page-of-the-Newspaper Test
The purpose of this test is to help you step
back from the business settings and view
from the perspective of a objective outsider
Their views are not the same as they are not
subject to the same pressures and biases
ABL: Write a headline news caption for a
potentially unethically task you are
contemplating
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End of module
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