This document discusses several topics related to business ethics, including:
- Thomas Hobbes' moral positivism views laws as the basis for morality.
- Immanuel Kant's moral rationalism emphasized treating people as ends rather than means and acting based on principles rather than outcomes alone.
- Utilitarianism defines good acts as those that maximize happiness and minimize harm.
- Quid pro quo sexual harassment, which conditions employment benefits on sexual acts, is illegal and immoral. Subliminal advertising may be deceptive and manipulative depending on its message. Money laundering disguises illegally obtained funds and is therefore illegal and immoral.
This document discusses several topics related to business ethics, including:
- Thomas Hobbes' moral positivism views laws as the basis for morality.
- Immanuel Kant's moral rationalism emphasized treating people as ends rather than means and acting based on principles rather than outcomes alone.
- Utilitarianism defines good acts as those that maximize happiness and minimize harm.
- Quid pro quo sexual harassment, which conditions employment benefits on sexual acts, is illegal and immoral. Subliminal advertising may be deceptive and manipulative depending on its message. Money laundering disguises illegally obtained funds and is therefore illegal and immoral.
This document discusses several topics related to business ethics, including:
- Thomas Hobbes' moral positivism views laws as the basis for morality.
- Immanuel Kant's moral rationalism emphasized treating people as ends rather than means and acting based on principles rather than outcomes alone.
- Utilitarianism defines good acts as those that maximize happiness and minimize harm.
- Quid pro quo sexual harassment, which conditions employment benefits on sexual acts, is illegal and immoral. Subliminal advertising may be deceptive and manipulative depending on its message. Money laundering disguises illegally obtained funds and is therefore illegal and immoral.
1. Do you agree with Machiavelli that the end justifies
the means? Yes as long as they are intended for the greater good. They will neither be immoral or unethical. If the same principles are used by people for personal gain - they become immoral and unethical. 2. Discuss briefly the Moral Positivism of Thomas Hobbes. Make positive laws as norms of morality. Moral Positivism sets aside the natural order of things. Hobbes moral positivism anticipates the chaotic outcome if laws are not abided. We all believe that the purpose of the government is to protect the rights of its people, presence, justice, and laws. 3. Differentiate an egotist from an egoist. Point out their similarities and striking differences. Both egotist and moist think about themselves first. They are self-centered, arrogant, always praising and talking about himself. Egotist - considers himself as superior when compared to others; self-centred; person who is interested in I and only talks about himself Egoist - puts his needs and himself before others; selfish; believes that he is better and more important than anyone else 4. Discuss briefly Kants Moral Rationalism. Cite three possible contributions of Kants ethical philosophy in the management of organizations. Kant believed that the reason is autonomous. For him, reason is the be all and end all pf everything. All truths and all knowledge are derived from human reason, therefore, all laws and all moral principles also came from human reason. Kant introduced the importance of humanistic dimensions into business decisions, e.g. treat human beings not as means to an end, because human beings have ends in themselves Kant stressed the importance of motives and of acting on principles e.g. business decisions are based sometimes on personal convictions and principles regardless of the outcomes or results. Kants Categorical Imperatives gives us firm rules to follow in moral decision making, rules that do not depend on circumstances or results and that do not permit individual exceptions e.g. no matter what the consequences may be or who does it, some actions are always wrong; lying, breaking promises 5. Discuss briefly the concept of a good act in Utilitarianism Utilitarianism is a theory very much similar to Hedonism. It makes utility or usefulness a norm of morality. If an act administers to the temporal welfare and happiness of a man, then it is good. But if an act obstructs, or hinders happiness, then it is bad. An act is considered moral if it results in good consequences, otherwise, it is immoral. Chapter 6 1. Explain why quid pro quo sexual harassment is illegal and immoral. Quid pro quo means this for that and is defined as requiring a sexual favour or interaction as a condition of employment or in exchange for an employment benefit (promotion, transfer, pay raise, etc.)
2.
Is subliminal advertisement moral or immoral?
Explain your answer. Subliminal advertising conveys hidden messages of which viewers are not consciously aware. This ad strategy poses serious ethical issues, particularly because subliminal ads can manipulate consumer behavior even when consumers arent making a conscious choice and arent aware of what theyve seen. Advertising becomes immoral when the advertisement persuades consumers becomes deceptive, misleading and manipulative. It depends on the message they convey.
3. Cite and enumerate other forms of sexual harassment
that are common in the workplace. Unwanted touching, patting, pinching or brushing up against a person Comments about your body, leering, wolfwhistling, catcalls, insults of a sexual nature, persistently pestering for a date Displaying or circulation of pornographic pictures with the intention of harassing someone/posting of explicitly sexual materials Workplace blackmails (suggestions that sexual favours may further your career or refusal may hinder it) Green jokes Obscene letters Sexual propositions Suggestive looks 4. Differentiate lying from making a false statement. Lying is immoral while false statements is not necessarily immoral. Lying is when someone makes sales claims, which the advertiser know it to be false, for the purpose of misleading, misinforming, or deceiving potential customers. False statements is the act of making a statement from which false conclusions may be drawn. 5. Why is caveat emptor considered unethical? Caveat emptor means let the buyers beware. Sometimes a seller will know of defects in the goods but will deliberately mask these defects. Deliberately withholding information in any business transaction is also an unethical practice 6. Cite some ethical issues related to workplace romance. Interventions Legal/Ethical Considerations Sexual Harassment 7. Enumerate the conditions for a labor strike to be considered moral. There is a sufficient and just reason for it. The intended good results must be proportionate to the evil effects. The means employed are lawful. 8. Differentiate bribery from giving? Gift-giving is an act of extending good will to an individual in an effort to share something with them. Bribery is defined as a practice of giving renumeration for performance of an act that is inconsistent with the work contract or the nature of the work one has been hired to perform
9. What is your definition of fair wage?
Fair wage is simply a term to describe a policy that would ensure that unionised and non unionised works get paid for wages for the same work done. Renumeration which is enough to support the wage-earner in reasonable and frugal comfort. 10. Discuss why money laundering is illegal and immoral. Money laundering is the process of disguising illegally obtained money so that the funds may appear to come from legitimate sources or activities. Money laundering occurs in connection with a wide variety of crimes, including illegal arm sales, drug trafficking, robbery, fraud, racketeering and terrorism 11. What are the conditions for a whistleblowing to be considered moral? Company must be engaged in illegal or immoral practice or about to release a product which will do serious harm to individuals or to society in general Employee should report his concern or complain to his immediate superior If no appropriate action is taken, the employee should take the matter up the managerial line before he or she is obliged to go public The employee must have a good reason to believe that by going public, he will be able to bring about the necessary changes It is done from the appropriate moral motive -as provided in the definition of whistleblowing The whistleblower, except in special circumstances, has exhausted all internal channels for dissent before going public The whistleblower has compelling evidence that the inappropriate actions have been ordered or have occurred The whistleblower has acted after careful analysis of the danger. How serious is the moral violation? How immediate is the problem? Can the whistleblower point to a specific misconduct? The whistleblower has some chances of success. 12. Which type of selling will you recommend - pyramid or MLM? Why? I would recommend the MLM type of selling because it is legal, income generated only on product sales, and provides a training program. 13. Cite some negative effects of the Multilevel Marketing. The negative effect is that there are many multilevel distributorship schemes that often call themselves a network but are nothing more than sophisticated chain letters. They are thinly disguised pyramids which operate like a real pyramid claiming participants can earn a lot of money by concentrating on their efforts on recruiting distributors rather than on selling a product. 14. Differentiate between a monopoly and an oligopoly Monopoly is defined as a market situation where there is only one provider of a kind of product or service while an oligopoly denotes a situation where there are few sellers for a product or service.
15. What is a subliminal advertisement? Give some
examples of this type of advertisement. Do you think this type of advertisement is immoral? Explain your answer. A subliminal advertisement includes elements in a visual or aural presentation that are not consciously perceived but influence behavior. Advertisers often try to create an association between a product and happiness, better health or more financial stability. However, true subliminal advertising attempts to create an association that the consumer doesn't notice. For example, an advertiser might insert a single frame into a cartoon that contains a message or could use an image that triggers sexual thoughts without the consumer being consciously aware of such thoughts. It is extremely difficult to prove that an advertiser has used subliminal ads, because consumers aren't consciously aware that the ad is affecting their behavior.