Buisness ethics

• CSR: corporate social responsibility, businesses responsibility to make profit for shareholders and stake holders
• Environmental CSR: businesses responsibility to not destroy the environment.

  Social CSR: business responsibility to not mistreat employees and customers
• Keith tender said: we should strive to live morally, grow our own food and live simply. But this is not always possible
• Capitalism: ecomonic structure built on privet ownership

  Consumerism: importance of getting material things
• Adam smiths capitalism (idealist):

  • viewed everyone as intrinsically good
  • relationships between employer and employee is systematic (dependent on each other)
  • if capitalism works well everyone benefits (production line)
  • Karl Marx would contrast this saying the poor is under the control of the rich (stakeholder vs stockholder)
• Utilitarisniam and Kant and Adam smiths capitalism:

  • Ulilitarisnim agrees with Adams free market capitalism idea
  • BUT but would not approve of the way globalisation destroys competition and leads to people being exploited (ends not means)
• What is whistleblowing?

  It is the act of going public with information about shady or unethical business practices.
• Can you provide an example of whistleblowing?

  Edward Snowden, who revealed that the NSA was illegally spying on innocent American citizens.
• What is the utilitarian perspective on whistleblowing?

  • Whistleblowing is good if the suffering it prevents outweighs the suffering it causes to the business.
  • Whistleblowing is bad if the suffering caused to the business outweighs the suffering it prevents.
• According to Kant, why are shady or unethical business practices deserving of whistleblowing?

  Because they likely treat people as a mere means, which is morally wrong.
• What does Kant claim about lying in the context of whistleblowing?

  Kant claims that lying is not universalizable and is always wrong, making truth-telling during whistleblowing morally right.
• Miltan fridman (stockholder theory)

  • purpose of a business is to make money
  • anything that prevents the making of money is theft
  • The humble pencil 'not a single person made this pencil' business does not exsist in a vacuum you need other people
  • Robert Solomon would disagree and said this view point is too narrow and profit is a means of encouraging and rewarding hard work
  • Focusing solely on money at the expense of others can be detrimental (gordon Gekko greed is good speech)
• Stake holder theory (contrasts stockholder theory)

  • business ethics should consider the needs of all who have a stake in the company
  • Johnsons and Johnsons Tylenol scandal
  • Anthony Weston 'looking after the stakeholders benefits the stockholders'
• Kant on business ethics:

  • values the golden rule, honesty, ends not means
  • rich man into heaven, camel through eye of needle
  • stockholder theory (fridman) cannot be universalised because if it was solely about the money it would be immoral
  • BUT
  • Kants views are idealistic and unrealistic doesn't take into account the day to day runnings of a business
  • W.D Ross boarder deontology, prima facie duties, how do you know when to say sorry
• Utilitarianism on business ethics:

  • most businesses work on cost benefit analysis (in essence utlilitraism)
  • Fort pinto example, valued a human life to be £200000, recall would be more expensive then compensation
  • Anthony Weston (disagrees), looking after the stakeholders benefits the stockholders (Johnson and Johnson for example)
  • Ted snyder: moving production to less economically developed countries could benefit that country more
  • Mill, stockholder (gordon gekko) greed this a low order pleasure, making money for the sake of money. but using it to benefit society is good
• Utilitarians would say it’s ok to violate rights if the consequences are good, but that could lead to allowing terrible actions against innocent people – e.g. sweatshops.

  Kant would argue that it’s always wrong to exploit people by treating them as a mere means. The consequences of exploiting people being good doesn’t make it ok. 

  BUT

  • Mill’s main rule was the harm principle – people should be free to do what they want so long as they are not harming others.