CSR Project on Apple Inc.

Ethical and Legal Theories

What are Ethics?

❖ Ethics are how you should be acting.

❖ Ethics are not how you feel.

❖ Religion isn’t ethics, but there may be overlap.

❖ Ethics isn’t following cultural norms, but there may be overlap

Ethical Theories

❖ Utility

❖ Rights

❖ Justice

❖ Common Good

❖ Virtue

Utility Theory

❖ Doing the most good with the least harm.

❖ Began with Bentham, BAMF John Stuart Mill is best known for it.

Rights Theory

❖ Respects the rights of all stakeholders.

Justice Theory

❖ Justice as Fairness

❖ The idea’s leading thinker is John Rawls.

❖ You need to be able to articulate how each stakeholder is treated equally, or if unequally, a fair reason why.

Common Good Theory ❖ Does it serve the community?

❖ Similar, but not identical to Utilitarianism.

Virtue Theory ❖ Would a person of good character do this?

❖ Various “professionals” have governing bodies that have ethical standards.

❖ If you violate them you can:

❖ Lose your license

❖ Be censured

❖ Be subject to other discipline

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

❖ Similar in concept to Business Ethics

So what is it?

❖ Some people believe that corporations have a duty only to their shareholders.

❖ Some people believe you owe a duty to something larger. This is corporate social responsibility.

❖ CSR has grown in popularity over the last ~15 years, especially after Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

3 P’s

❖ People

❖ Planet

❖ Profit

People ❖ Paying a living wage.

❖ Locally sourcing. Or don’t.

❖ Giving back to the community.

Planet

❖ Avoiding deforestation.

❖ Saving animals.

❖ You name it.

Profit

❖ Making money for the shareholders.

❖ Making money to grow the business.

❖ “Who is John Galt?”

Ethical Decision Making

❖ Recognize the Issue

❖ Get the facts

❖ Evaluate Alternatives

❖ Make a decision by applying the theories

❖ Act and Reflect