business ethics

Philosophy 3338: Professional Ethics

Midterm Exam Study Guide

-- Types of actions considered business bluffing in Carr’s account; Carr’s argument why bluffing is necessary if a person is to succeed in business

--The example of the butcher, brewer, and baker; Sen’s use of example to tease out common behavior patterns and show that ethics is at its base

--Friedman’s description of socially responsible actions; why they are beyond executive’s authority as agent; the sole social responsibility of the corporate executive

--Freeman: the dominant model; why is it inconsistent with the law?

--primary and secondary stakeholders in Freeman’s stakeholder theory; the trade-off view; primary responsibility of the executive

--Payne: “misguided assumption” about unethical behavior; Paine’s counter proposal about unethical behavior; prominent cases she references to illustrate

--Brenkert: differences in the status of beneficiaries of social programs depending on whether those programs are administered by private corporations or public agencies

--Donaldson’s middle-of-the-road ethical position in doing business internationally; basic principles; core values; how companies can realize core values

--Rachels: cultural relativism; argument from consequences; what can we learn from cultural relativism?

--classic Utilitarianism’s conception of happiness; whose happiness; our own happiness within framework

--Act Utilitarianism v. Rule utilitarianism

--what are some counterexamples to act utilitarianism which rule utilitarianism is meant to overcome?

--objection that utilitarian moral theory is too demanding and an example

--Kant: acting from duty v. acting in conformity with duty

--problem with the absolute character of Kantian duties; case to explain

--Solomon’s analysis of CSR through virtue of magnificence; Solomon’s response to the objection that CSR has no moral worth

--Ross’s idea of a prima facie v. a Kantian categorical imperative; Ross’s decision-making procedure

--ethics decision making per RIE toolkit

--Williams and Lebsock: what is fight over; changes responsible for success of #Me Too movement

--Schutlz: “quid pro quo;” what is most sexual harassment really about

--Johnson: typical framing of the ethical issue involving users of information and individuals who the information is about (i.e., the computers and privacy issue as she calls it)

--Johnson’s argument for privacy as a social good

--Bok: whistleblowing; its aims and its nature

--Rawls: original position; veil of ignorance?”