Business Ethic Paper!!!
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harrisfreemancarroll.pptxBusiness Ethics
the Separation Thesis
and
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
What is the Separation Thesis?
What is the Separation Thesis?
The Separation Thesis is the view that there is a sharp line between business and ethics.
| Business Economic concerns Descriptive theory (what is) Based on facts (objective) | Ethics Social/moral concerns Normative theory (what should be) Based on values (subjective) |
Harris and Freeman’s Main Claim
We should abandon the Separation Thesis and instead practice business ethics in a way that brings together economic and ethical concerns.
Harris and Freeman reject the Separation Thesis for two main reasons.
Reason 1
It is impossible to separate economic and ethical considerations.
“As such, attempts to separate the two serve simply to obscure a particular set of values--but such values exist nonetheless, lurking beneath the surface. Embracing the separation thesis, then, does not in fact disentangle facts and values, but merely appears to do so, while obscuring and embedding a particular set of values that privileges certain considerations and dismisses others.” (543)
Reason 2
Trying to separate economic and ethical considerations is harmful to the practices of both businessmen/economists and ethicists.
Harmful to business practices because it promotes a certain set of values (and thus encourages behavior that is in line with those values) while appearing not to.
“That business decisions have moral content is inescapable; pretending the two are divisible at best obscures important considerations and at worst paradoxically encourages a particular set of ethical norms that may be unintended.” (543)
Harmful to practices of ethicists because they lose sight of economic realities and create theories that are too abstract to be useful.
Carroll
Harris and Freeman recommend for business ethicists to bring together economic and ethical concerns in their theories. Carroll and the other ethicists in this unit give us theories that try to do just that.
Carroll points out that the social legislation of the early 1970s (including the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)) forced corporate executives to start balancing obligations to stockholders with obligations to other groups (stakeholders).
To help visualize these responsibilities, Carroll developed the Pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
The Pyramid of CSR
Economic Responsibilities
Be profitable.
These are at the bottom of the pyramid because making a profit while providing goods and services is the primary role of business and serves as the foundation of all of its other responsibilities.
If it is not fulfilling its economic responsibilities, a business cannot fulfill its other responsibilities.
The Pyramid of CSR
Legal Responsibilities
Obey the law.
Businesses are expected to comply with laws established by federal, state, and local governments—these lay the ground rules of business.
This is the next layer of the pyramid because they developed next, but they should be seen as intertwined with economic responsibilities because both are required of a business in order to operate.
The Pyramid of CSR
Ethical Responsibilities
Be ethical.
These include practices that are expected or prohibited by members of society in accordance with current cultural norms and standards even if they are not enshrined in law.
Newly emerging values that businesses are expected to meet fit in here, even if they go beyond the current baseline set by the law and are still in debate until they make it into law.
These norms and values can drive the creation of new laws.
The Pyramid of CSR
Philanthropic Responsibilities
Be a good corporate citizen.
These include actions that promote the wellbeing of the community or of humanity in general, and are done to conform with societal expectations of good corporate citizenship.
These are on the top because they are encouraged but are not required, or even morally expected. They are icing on the cake.
Discussion Questions
1. Carroll says that Friedman would support all of the levels of the CSR pyramid except philanthropic responsibilities. Do you think this is true?
2. Think back to what you wrote last class about what makes a business ethical. Do you think that Friedman or Carroll more closely captures your vision of an ethical business? Why?
