Chapter 4 - Ethics and Business Decision Making
Practical Internet Exercise 4-1:
Legal Perspective—Ethics in Business
Instructions: Go to the URL below, and you will find an article posted on the
Web site for the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University in
Santa Clara, California. The article, entitled “Thinking Ethically,” appeared in
Volume 1, Number 2, of the Issues in Ethics journal. Read the article and
answer Questions 1–5.
Visit URL:
Thinking Ethically Article
http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/iie/v1n2/thinking.html
Questions and Answers
Answer the following questions in the fields below.
Question 1: What do the authors describe as the first step in analyzing moral
issues? Why is this important?
Question 2: Describe the “utilitarian” approach to ethical reasoning. How should
one analyze an ethical issue using the utilitarian approach?
Question 3: Describe the approach to ethical reasoning that is rooted in the
philosophy of Immanuel Kant and other philosophers with similar views. What
are some of the basic rights of human beings according to this approach?
Question 4: Describe the “fairness” or “justice” approach that has its roots in
Aristotelian thought. What is the basic moral question in this approach?
Question 5: The article summarizes these three approaches to ethical decision
making and lists three questions that should be asked when trying to resolve a
moral issue. What are these questions?
Practical Internet Exercise 4-2:
Management Perspective—Environmental Self-Audits
Instructions: A priority for business owners and managers today is to make
sure that their businesses are in compliance with the requirements of the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as well as relevant state environmental
laws.
One way to do this is to establish a compliance system and routinely
conduct environmental self-audits. Businesses who do so and take steps to
remedy activities that qualify as violations of environmental laws or regulations
will be rewarded by reduced penalties or the waiver of penalties entirely.
To learn more about the benefits of compliance, go to the URL below,
which will take you to a page on the EPA’s Web site that describes its Auditing
Policy. Read through the page and then answer Questions 1–4.
Visit URL:
EPA's Auditing Policy
http://www.epa.gov/compliance/incentives/auditing/auditpolicy.html
Questions and Answers
Answer the following questions in the fields below.
Question 1: What is the title of the EPA’s Audit Policy?
Question 2: What incentives does the EPA provide to encourage self-policing by
firms?
Question 3: Civil penalties that the EPA assesses are comprised of two
elements, or components: the “economic benefit component” and the “gravitybased component.” What is the difference between the two?
Question 4: What conditions must be met for a business to have its penalties for
environmental violations eliminated or mitigated? In order to qualify for
eliminated or reduced penalties, within how many days after discovering an
environmental violation must a business disclose that violation to the EPA?
Within how many days after the violation is discovered must the business correct
or remedy the problem?