Ethics and Social Responsibility. Ethics and Law. Religious Ethical Standards

Transcription

1 Ethics and Social Responsibility Ethics and Law The law reflects society s convictions on what constitutes right or wrong behavior. The law has its limits, though, and some actions may be legal yet not be ethical. Lawfulness of actions does not automatically make such actions morally or ethically right. Jim Crow laws - Were legal, but not morally correct. Good Samaritan laws - Legal, but raise questions of moral correctness. Religious Ethical Standards The rightness or wrongness of an action is usually judged according to its conformity to an absolute rule that commands a particular form of behavior. The motive of the actor is irrelevant in judging the rightness or the wrongness of the action. 1

2 Kantian Ethics Premised on the belief that general guiding principles for moral behavior can be derived from human nature. The categorical imperative is a central postulate of Kantian ethics. The rightness or wrongness of an action is judged by estimating the consequences that would follow if everyone in a society performed the act under consideration. The Principle of Rights This principle derives from the belief that every duty gives rise to a corresponding right. The belief in fundamental rights is a deeply embedded feature of Western culture. The ethicality of an action is judged by how the consequences of the action will affect the rights of others. Utilitarianism Outcome-Based Ethics The ethicality of an action is judged by whether it produces the greatest good for the greatest number of people upon which it has an effect. The class of affected persons must be determined. The best alternative is the one that produces the greatest good for the greatest number. 2

3 Ethical Issues in Business Internal issues are those that arise in the context of the employment relationship. External issues relate to products, services, marketing and consumers. OBSTACLES TO ETHICAL BUSINESS BEHAVIOR The Corporate Structure: Collective decision making tends to deter individual ethical assertiveness. The corporate structure tends to shield corporate actors from personal responsibility and accountability. Management: Uncertainty on the part of employees as to what kind of behavior is expected of them makes it difficult for them to behave ethically. CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY Corporate social responsibility rests on the assumption that corporations should conduct their affairs in a socially responsible manner, but there is disagreement as to what constitutes socially responsible behavior. 3

4 Duty to Shareholders Because the shareholders are the owners of the corporation, directors and officers have a duty to act in the shareholders interest. Duty to Employees Employers have numerous legal duties to employees, including providing employees with a safe workplace and refraining from discriminating against employees on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, or disability. These duties often come into conflict. Duty to Consumers Corporate directors and officers have a legal duty to the users of their products. Most feel that corporations also have an ethical duty that goes beyond what the law requires. Controversy exists over the point at which corporate responsibility for consumer safety ends and consumer responsibility begins. 4

5 Duty to the Community Most people hold that a corporation has a duty to the community in which it operates. The corporation should consider the needs of the community when making decisions that substantially affect the welfare of the community. Duty to Society Most people hold that a corporation has a duty to society in general, but they differ in their ideas on how corporations can best fulfill this duty. One view is that corporations serve society s needs most effectively by maximizing profits because profits generally increase national wealth and social welfare. Another view holds that corporations, because they control so much of the country s wealth and power, should use their own wealth and power in socially beneficial ways and not engage in actions that society deems unethical. ETHICS IN THE GLOBAL CONTEXT Two notable differences relate to: the role of women in society the practice of giving side payments to foreign officials to secure favorable contracts. questions of human rights. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (FCPA), which prohibits the bribery of foreign officials through such side payments, put U.S. business persons at a relative disadvantage to businesspersons from other countries who are not subject to such laws. 5