LECTURE OUTLINE
LECTURE NOTES
IV. ETHICS AND SOCIAL
RESPONSIBILITY
► LEARNING OBJECTIVE 4
Discuss social responsibility and
organization’s code of ethics. (Text page 411414)
A. ETHICS is a set of moral principles or
values that govern behavior.
1. Individuals develop their own set of
ethical rules, which help them decide
how to behave in difference
circumstance.
2. Businesses also develop ethics that
reflect the company’s beliefs about
what actions are appropriate and fair.
B. Managers face difficult ethical dilemmas.
POWERPOINT 14-6
Ethics and Social
Responsibility (Refers to
text pages 411-412)
BONUS CASE 14-1
Gap’s Evolving View of
Ethics
Faced with its damaged
public image, Gap took steps
to publicize its “social
responsibility” report. See
complete case, discussion
questions, and suggested
answers on page 14.Error!
Bookmark not defined. of
this manual.
V. CODES OF ETHICS
A. A CODE OF ETHICS is a document that
outlines the principles of conduct to be
used in making decisions within an
organization.
B. Content of Ethical Codes
1. Codes of ethics are formal documents
that are shared with all employees
covering:
a. honesty
b. conflicts of interest
c. employment practices
d. protection of the environment
e. other ethical areas
2. A code of ethics does not prevent
unethical behavior.
3. To be effective, codes of ethics must
POWERPOINT 14-7
Code of Ethics
(Refers to text pages 412414)
BONUS INTERNET
EXERCISE 14-2
Researching Codes of
Ethics
Most companies publish
codes of ethics to provide
ethical guidelines for
employees. This Internet
exercise directs students to
research these codes of ethics
on the Internet. See complete
exercise on page 14.Error!
Bookmark not defined. of
this manual.
LECTURE OUTLINE
be enforced.
C. Behaving Ethically
1. Ethical decisions have important
consequences.
2. Behaving unethically can hurt or end
one’s career.
3. Behaving ethically helps establish trust
in the business world.
D. Behaving Honestly
1. The ethical action in some situations is
clear.
2. Employee theft
a. This can occur when employees
embezzle money, steal supplies,
or accept bribes.
b. The ethical decision is not to steal.
3. Lying about hours worked
a. Inaccurately reporting hours
worked is unethical.
b. Ethical employees show up at
work when expected.
4. Falsifying records can cause damage
to a company’s reputation.
E. Dealing with Ethical Dilemmas
1. Ethical dilemmas are situations in
which the ethical course of action is
not clear.
2. Determining the right course of action
involves asking oneself difficult
questions.
LECTURE NOTES
TEXT FIGURE 14.3
Solving Ethical Dilemma
(Text page 414)
CRITICAL THINKING
EXERCISE 14-1
Ethical Dilemmas
This exercise presents ten
examples of ethical
dilemmas for students to
evaluate. See complete
exercise on page 14.Error!
Bookmark not defined. of
this manual.
TEXT FIGURE 14.4
Ethical Problems in the
Business World (Text page
415)