CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Overview of Course
1. Fundamentals of Values, Ethics, and Morality
2. Business Ethics In Global Economy
3. Ethics, Values and the Manager
4. Evolution of Moral and Ethical Thoughts
5. Normative Ethics
6. Ethics of Virtue and Character
7. Evolution of Business and Economy in the Market Society
8. Foundation of Business
9. Environment of Business
10. Corporate Power and its Impact on Society and Stakeholders
11. Corporate Social Responsibility
12. Corporate Governance

Introduction

ethics came from the Greek word ethos, which means

customs or the fabric of values that makes a society what
it is
distinguishing disposition, character or attitude of a
specific people, culture or group - Solomon (1984)
a systematic attempt to make sense of our individual and
social moral experience in such a way as to determine
the rules that ought to govern human conduct, the values
worth pursuing and the character traits deserving
development in life - De George (1999)
in short, ethics is actually the study of the moral content
of people's behavior against moral principles

Ethics and Etiquette

Etiquette refers to behavior that is considered

socially acceptable, as opposed to morally
right or wrong.
For example, etiquette might require one to
use a handkerchief upon sneezing or to
shake the hand of a person one is meeting
for the first time.

Ethics and the Law

Ethics and the law often overlap but this may

not always be the case.
Some laws could be considered amoral
(have no moral value).
Many acts that are legal might still be
considered to be unethical.
In other cases, laws themselves may be
determined to be unethical.

Ethics and Religion

Ethics and religion are related to each other.

Many of our ethical prescriptions, such as dont kill
or steal, derive from religious doctrine.
However, certain religious prescriptions have been
considered by others to be immoral or unethical.
E.g.: abortion.

What is Business
Ethics?
Business Ethics is the art and discipline of
applying ethical principles to examine and
solve complex moral dilemmas.
Business ethics asks, What is right and
wrong? Good and bad? in business
transactions.

History of Business
Ethics

Ethics in business has been an issue since the very

first business transaction
Prior 1960s - business was primarily considered to be
an amoral activity
1960s - a number of social issues in business began
to emerged
1970s - the field of business ethics took hold in
academia
1980-1985 - business ethics field continued to
consolidate
1985-1995 - business ethics became integrated into
large corporations
Since 1995 - issues related to international business
activity have come to the forefront

Why Study Business

Ethics?

To provide people with rationales, and

ideas to help them solve ethical
dilemma
Ignorance is one of the reasons why
people do unethical acts
Education can reduce ignorance

Why Businesses have

to be Ethical?

Good ethics means good business

To avoid legal consequences
To improve image of the companies
Unethical decisions lead to undesirable
consequences - eg. Tragedy of highland
towers etc.

Ethical Reasoning and

Standards

Ethical reasoning involves the application of

reasoning and logical thinking to arrive at moral
judgement
Criteria of ethical reasoning includes:

logic,
accuracy, and
consistency

ethical standards deal with matters that have

serious consequences on the harmony and well
being of mankind such as moral issues arising out of
the conduct of individuals and groups

Ethical Relativism

Ethical relativism holds that no universal

standards or rules can be used to guide or
evaluate the morality of an act.
What is right for you may be wrong for me.
This view argues that people set their own
moral standards for judging their actions.

Nature of Values

defined as fundamental principles or enduring

beliefs about the most desirable conditions and
purposes of human life
determine our actions and behavior, and they
enable us to understand why people act the way
they do
values are normally what we want to have or to
be associated with in life
sources:
upbringing,
religion,
social norms
experiences

Nature of Morality

Rules that govern what is right and wrong and the

values that are embedded, fostered or pursued by
activities and practices - De George (1999)
In short, we can say that morality is the governing
rules concerning right and wrong actions or conduct
Moral principles are based on an individuals
conscience - moral instructions internalized by
parents/ authority figures that raise individuals

Kohlbergs Moral
Development
The strategies used
to resolve moral conflicts are based on

cognitive moral development, particularly highlighted by Lawrence

Kohlberg.
Level1: Pre-conventional (self-orientation)
Obedience and punishment
Individualism and reciprocity
Level 2: Conventional (others orientation)
Interpersonal conformity/the good boy/nice girl stage
Social system/the law-and order stage
Level 3: Post-conventional, autonomous, principles (universal,
human kind orientation)
Social Contract
universal ethical approach

Example

Differences between
Ethics and Morality

Morality and ethics differ in their nature and scope

Moral refers to conformity to general standards of
goodness or rightness in conduct or character
Ethics refers to the conformity to an elaborated, ideal
code of moral principles such as those often found in
the codes of professional organizations
Ethics is also the 'discipline' or field of scholarly study
among the fields of philosophy

Similarities between
Ethics and Morality

both of them are used as a guide in

making ethical decisions
the issues and content of ethics and
morality are actually the same but
applied to different stages of moral
consciousness