Learning Objective
O U T L 19
I N E
Chapter
Values and Ethics
Objectives
Defining Business Ethics
Three Views of Decision Making
An Integrated Approach
Making Moral Judgements
Applying Ethical Standards
19
C H A P T E R
Appropriate Ethical Practices
Values and Ethics
Copyright © 2001 South-Western College Publishing Co.
Chapter 19
Learning Objective
Values and Ethics
Learning Objectives
1. Define the term “business ethics.”
2. Explain how ethical questions may produce different
answers when they’re asked by individuals, by companies
and organizations, and by entire societies.
3. Explain how an integrated approach to moral decision
making may help.
4. Tell the difference between normative and non-normative
judgements.
5. Explain how moral standards are different than other
approaches.
Chapter 19
Learning Objective
Values and Ethics
Learning Objectives
6. Explain the differences among the four basic resources
for making moral decisions.
7. List the four capacities needed to make moral
judgements.
8. Explain how business communication behaviors are
related to the study and practice of business ethics.
Learning Objective
Chapter 19
Values and Ethics
Defining
Business Ethics
Three Views of
Decision Making
An Integrated
Approach
Define the term “business ethics.”
DEFINING BUSINESS ETHICS
• Ethics: a field of inquiry, or discipline, in
which matters of right and wrong, good and
evil, virtue and vice, are systematically
examined.
Making Moral
Judgements
• Morality: not to a discipline but to patterns of
behavior that are actually common in
everyday life.
Applying
Ethical
Standards
Three Levels of Inquiry
Appropriate
Ethical
Practices
• The Individual: concerns by which selfinterest is balanced with concerns for fairness
and the common good.
Learning Objective
Chapter 19
Values and Ethics
Defining
Business Ethics
Three Views of
Decision Making
An Integrated
Approach
Making Moral
Judgements
Applying
Ethical
Standards
Appropriate
Ethical
Practices
Define the term “business ethics.”
• The Organization: concerns the group
conscience that every company has as it
pursues its economic objectives.
• The Economy: Concerns the pattern of
social, political, and economic forces that
drives individuals and businesses, the values
that define capitalism, for example.
Learning Objective
Chapter 19
Values and Ethics
Defining
Business Ethics
Three Views of
Decision Making
An Integrated
Approach
Making Moral
Judgements
Applying
Ethical
Standards
Appropriate
Ethical
Practices
Explain how ethical questions may
produce different answers.
THREE VIEWS OF DECISION MAKING
The Moral Point of View
• A willingness to seek out and act on reasons having good reasons for the decisions you
make.
• Requires the decision maker to be impartial.
Decision makers will demonstrate a
commitment to rationality.
The Economic Point of View
• Decisions made on a purely economics basis
can be unethical.
Learning Objective
Chapter 19
Values and Ethics
Explain how ethical questions may
produce different answers.
Defining
Business Ethics
The Legal Point of View
Three Views of
Decision Making
• Not everything that is immoral is, in fact,
illegal.
An Integrated
Approach
• The law is often slow to develop new areas of
concern.
Making Moral
Judgements
• The law often employs moral concepts which
are not precisely defined.
Applying
Ethical
Standards
• The law does not provide specific guidance
for behavior in all possible instances.
Appropriate
Ethical
Practices
• The law is generally seen as an inefficient
instrument, inviting expensive legislation and
litigation.
Learning Objective
Chapter 19
Values and Ethics
Defining
Business Ethics
Three Views of
Decision Making
An Integrated
Approach
Making Moral
Judgements
Applying
Ethical
Standards
Appropriate
Ethical
Practices
Explain how an integrated approach to
moral decision making may help.
AN INTEGRATED APPROACH
A process that integrates morality,
economics, and law.
The Nature of Moral Judgements
Normative judgements express our values
• good or bad
•
right or wrong
• better or worse
• ought to be or not to be
Moral judgements
• General concepts used to evaluate both group and
individual behavior
Learning Objective
Chapter 19
Values and Ethics
Explain how moral standards are
different than other approaches.
Defining
Business Ethics
Distinguishing Characteristics of Moral
Judgements
Three Views of
Decision Making
• They Have Serious Consequences to Human
Well-Being
An Integrated
Approach
Making Moral
Judgements
Applying
Ethical
Standards
Appropriate
Ethical
Practices
• Their Validity Rests on the Adequacy of the
Reasons Which Are Used to Support and
Justify Them
• They Override Self-Interest
• They Are Based on Impartial Considerations
Resources for Decision Making
• Proposals: suggested actions
Learning Objective
Chapter 19
Values and Ethics
Explain how moral standards are
different than other approaches.
Defining
Business Ethics
• Observations: descriptive statements
Three Views of
Decision Making
• Value Judgements: normative statements,
guiding the actions of others
An Integrated
Approach
Making Moral
Judgements
Applying
Ethical
Standards
Appropriate
Ethical
Practices
• Assumptions: reflecting statements
Learning Objective
Chapter 19
Values and Ethics
Defining
Business Ethics
Three Views of
Decision Making
An Integrated
Approach
Making Moral
Judgements
Applying
Ethical
Standards
Appropriate
Ethical
Practices
Explain the differences among
the four basic resources for
making moral decisions.
MAKING MORAL JUDGEMENTS
Ethical Sensibility
• Your capacity to impose ethical order on a
situation
• To become aware of an ethical conflict
Ethical Reasoning
• To reason carefully about the situation to
determine the ethical problem
• Offers opportunities for a solution
Learning Objective
Chapter 19
Values and Ethics
Defining
Business Ethics
Three Views of
Decision Making
An Integrated
Approach
Explain the differences among
the four basic resources for
making moral decisions.
Ethical Conduct
• What to do?
• Moral courage - standing up for what is right
Ethical Leadership
Making Moral
Judgements
• Ethical examples provided by an
organization’s top officials
Applying
Ethical
Standards
• Integrity
Appropriate
Ethical
Practices
Learning Objective
Chapter 19
Values and Ethics
Defining
Business Ethics
Explain how business communication
behaviors are related to the study and
practice of business ethics.
APPLYING ETHICAL STANDARDS TO
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
Three Views of
Decision Making
Disclosure
An Integrated
Approach
• To reveal personal or privileged information
could be both unethical and illegal.
Making Moral
Judgements
• Judgement, common sense, and discretion
often form the basis for disclosing information.
Applying
Ethical
Standards
Appropriate
Ethical
Practices
Oral Communication
• Oral communication must follow be the same
rules that apply to written communication.
Learning Objective
Chapter 19
Values and Ethics
Defining
Business Ethics
Three Views of
Decision Making
An Integrated
Approach
Making Moral
Judgements
Define the term “business ethics.”
Correspondence
• To what extent does your correspondence
reflect your ethical beliefs?
Slogans, Symbols, and Corporate Credos
• Does the things a company says about it’s
products and about itself really mean
anything?
Applying
Ethical
Standards
Evaluation, Promotions, and Rewards
Appropriate
Ethical
Practices
• How are promotions determined?
• Are employees treated fairly, without bias?
• How are rewards dispensed?
Learning Objective
Chapter 19
Values and Ethics
Explain how business communication
behaviors are related to the study and
practice of business ethics.
Defining
Business Ethics
Policies
• In writing? Disseminated? Made clear?
Three Views of
Decision Making
• Consistent with ethical practices of the
industry or business?
An Integrated
Approach
Making Moral
Judgements
Applying
Ethical
Standards
Appropriate
Ethical
Practices
Interaction with Other Organizations
• Ethical firms often have specific, wellestablished policies regarding proprietary
information.
Interaction with the Government, the Press,
and the Public
• Ethical firms: accountable for government
reports and to the media
Learning Objective
Chapter 19
Values and Ethics
Defining
Business Ethics
Explain how business communication
behaviors are related to the study and
practice of business ethics.
APPROPRIATE ETHICAL PRACTICES FOR
BUSINESS
Three Views of
Decision Making
What is an ethical company?
An Integrated
Approach
• corporate credos that define and give
direction to corporate values
Making Moral
Judgements
• ethics programs where company-wide efforts
focus on ethical issues
Applying
Ethical
Standards
• ethical codes that provide specific guidance to
employees in functional business areas29
Appropriate
Ethical
Practices
Learning Objective
Chapter 19
Values and Ethics
Explain how business communication
behaviors are related to the study and
practice of business ethics.
Defining
Business Ethics
Obligations Beyond the Minimum
Three Views of
Decision Making
• Individuals and organizations must recognize
that positive obligations exist beyond the
minimum standards of basic human behavior.
An Integrated
Approach
• Ethical ideals go beyond positive obligations.
Making Moral
Judgements
• Ethical ideals inform and inspire the goals that
people and organizations of integrity aspire to.
Applying
Ethical
Standards
• Corporate ethical codes are useful in
distinguishing between what a company holds
itself to as an obligation, and what the
company holds for itself as ideals.
Appropriate
Ethical
Practices
Learning Objective
Chapter 19
Values and Ethics
The End
Copyright © 2000 South-Western College Publishing Co.