Business Ethics

• Aristotle’s Polis

  the good of the individual is important but the good of the community should be prioritised, aimed to act ethically
• Corporate Social Responsibility

  companies have ethical responsibility to the wider community and environment
• Stakeholder

  individual/group affected by the actions of the business or organisation
• Stockholder

  individuals who one company and gain the profit
• Socialism

  argues that the means of production should be owned by the community as a whole
• Cardinal Vincent Nichols - “Blueprint for better business”

  7 characteristics for sustainable business:

  1. human dignity
  2. the common good
  3. solidarity
  4. subsidity
  5. fraternity
  6. reciprocity
  7. sustainability
• Capitalism

  an economic system based on private ownership and free trade rather than government intervention
• Friedman

  • good ethics may or may not be good business
  • if a business follows legal rules, it does not have to be ethical if this disrupts profit-making
  • ‘the business of business is business‘ - must prioritise profit
• Adam Smith

  • good ethics is good business
  • one of the fathers of capitalism
  • we provide good service, out of self-interest, to benefit in the end
• Smith’s division of labour

  • makes a factory production more efficient
  • ‘a conveyor belt’ system is more efficient, even if it is more boring for the workers
• Kant

  good ethics, doing our duty, is more important than good business
• Solomons

  • it is not possible to divide business from the rest of life
  • it is wrong to divide personal behaviour outside of work and behaviour in your business life
• Usury

  lending money at high interest rates
• Manning

  concerned about social issues affecting the poor
• Pope Leo XIII

  promoted fair wages, reminded people of the social responsibility of the government
• Equal Pay Act

  • 1970
  • equal pay and working conditions for men and women
• The Great Dock Strike

  • 1889
  • why? - no guarantee of work each day and poor wages
  • why was it successful? - trade unions and peaceful protests
• Whistleblowing

  illegal activity reported by an employee
• Public whistleblowing

  the employer is aware of who reported them
• Private whistleblowing

  the employer is unaware of who reported them, the employee is anonymous
• Kantian view

  • it is our duty to be loyal to the company
  • pros - loyalty promoted
  • cons - universal law is not applicable (all companies have different policies)
• Utilitarian view

  • is the greater good served by allowed company corruption?
  • “greatest good for the greatest number”
  • pros - prioritises human value
  • cons - ignores personal emotions and issues
• Globalisation

  companies operation internationally, exploitation for cheap labour