Business Ethics

1
Business Ethics

• Unit Two

2
Theologian Michael Novak lauds capitalism, but
says business must meet high standards

• Q What is your big-umbrella message about
  business or capitalism and its relation to morals
  or morality?
• A Helping those in poverty.

3
Q What made you change from being an enemy of
capitalism to its defender?

• A The failures of the left.
• i.e. The War on Poverty

4
Q And the answer you found was?

• A The Economic System.

5
The title of one of your books was "Business as a
Calling." What is the calling of business?

• Enterprise of creativity
• Form a small community
• Realism

6
Q What's your definition of a "moral
businessman." A lot of people would say it's an
oxymoron.

• A At the very least, three moral minima are
• a certain creativity
• a certain sense for people and for building
  community and for building trust
• and third, a certain realism, a certain prudence
  about things.

7
Q What's the worst thing businessmen do today in
a moral or ethical sense that they ought to be
scolded for?

• A Well, businessmen commit every sin that
  everybody else commits, and they all need to be
  called attention to, and corrected.

8
Q Are businessmen today more or less honest or
good in a moral sense than the Captains of
Industry, or the Robber Barons if you want to
call them that, of 100 years ago?

• A I think much more so, because there's much
  more watchfulness. It's hard to generalize,
  because you've got to deal with small businessmen
  and there are bad apples in every league. But on
  the whole, people expect more of business than
  they used to.

9
Q Is Bill Gates too rich to get to heaven?

• A It depends on what he does with it. He's not
  going to take it with him, and he's not going to
  eat it. So he'd better start giving it away
  intelligently.
• Andrew Carnegie found out that even though he
  dedicated the last 20 years of his life to giving
  away his money, he couldn't give it away fast
  enough to give it all away. So it takes a lot of
  thought to give it away well, so start thinking.

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What is Business Ethics

• Application of Moral Standards to Business
  Dilemmas
• Moral Standards are cannons of behavior
• Some try use the Law as a standard
• Ethics requires us to go beyond the law
• Enron
• Their 881 Corporations in the Cayman Islands were
  in compliance with the Law however, the ethical
  issues of deception failure to disclose debt
  level was unethical.

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Personal Moral Philosophies
PSYCHOLOGICAL EGOISM
The only motive from which people act
is, self-interest.
ETHICAL EGOISM
The only obligation an individual has to pursue
his or her own interests. We should always act
selfishly.
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Personal Moral Philosophies
CONSEQUENTIALISM
Taking into account all the potential
consequences.
UTILITARIANISM
Considers the greatest good for the greatest
number by assessing the costs and benefits of
the consequences.
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Areas of Ethical Challenges

• Credit Card Company selling customer info to
  marketing firms.
• Former employee taking proprietary customer lists
  to new employer.
• Company offering employment to government
  official who is in a position to award contracts
  to that company.
• Bribing a foreign government official.
• Employee purchasing her retail employers gift
  cards w/ her discount and selling them.
• Stock Options of Executions as a method of giving
  bonuses.

14
Is Business Bluffing Ethical?

• Business People playing the game.
• Strategy game.
• Playing to win.
• Does everyone operate at the same level of
  bluffing? Does everyone bluff??

15
Boeing

• Conflict of Interest
• Mike Sears Ethical Egoism

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Michael Novak Business Responsibilities

• 7 Internal
• Satisfy Customers
• Reasonable Return
• Create New Wealth
• Create New Jobs
• Defeat Envy
• Promote invention, ingenuity progress
• Diversity Interests

• 7 External
• Establish sense of community
• Protect Political Soil
• Exemplify Respect for the Law
• Social Justice
• Communicate
• Contribute to Society
• Protect Moral Ecology of Freedom