An Overview of Business
Ethics
Chapter 1
The Importance of Business
Ethics
© 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
1
Business
Ethics
Ethics is a part of decision making at all levels of work and management As important as functional areas of
business
Questions whether practices are acceptable There are no universally accepted approaches for resolving issues
© 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
2
Business Ethics
Defined
Comprises organizational principles, values, and norms that may originate from individuals, organizational statements, or from the legal system that primarily guide individual and group behavior in business
Ethical decisions occur when accepted
rules no longer serve and decision makers must weigh values and reach a judgment
Values and judgments play a critical role
when we make ethical decisions
© 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
3
Business Ethics
Defined
Morals: Refer to a person’s personal
philosophies about what is right or wrong
Morals are personal and singular
Principles: Specific and pervasive
boundaries for behavior that should not be violated Human rights, freedom of speech and justice
Values: Enduring beliefs and ideals that
are socially enforced
Teamwork, trust and integrity
© 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
4
A Crisis in
Business Ethics
Nearly half of employees observe at least one form of misconduct in the workplace After the financial crisis, business
decisions and activities have come under scrutiny
The financial sector has not fully regained stakeholder trust
© 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
5
Global Trust in
Industry Sectors
Source: Edelman Global Deck: 2013 Trust Barometer, http://www.edelman.com/trustdownloads/global-results-2/ (accessed January 30, 2013).
© 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
6
Observed Misconduct
In The Workplace
Misuse of company resources
Abusive behavior
Harassment
Accounting fraud
Conflicts of interest
Defective products
Bribery
Employee theft
© 2015 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
7
Reasons for Studying
Business Ethics
Having good individual morals is not
enough to stop ethical misconduct
Ethics training helps provide collective agreement in diverse organizations
Business ethics decisions can be complicated Helps to identify ethical issues when they arise and recognize the approaches available to resolve them
© 2015 Cengage Learning. All