MIDTERMS

• Ethics


  Examines the rational justification for our moral judgments; it studies what is morally right or wrong, just or unjust
• Ethics


  Reflects on human beings and their interaction with nature and with other humans, on freedom, on responsibility and on justice
• Business ethics


  The implementation of policies and procedures regarding topics such as fraud, bribery, discrimination, and corporate governance
• Moral standards


  Norms that individuals or groups have about the kinds of actions believed to be morally right or wrong, as well as the values placed on what we believed to be morally good or morally bad
• Moral standards


  • Promote what is "the good" like the welfare and well-being of humans as well as animals and the environment
  • Prescribe what humans should do in terms of rights and obligations
• Moral standards


  The sum of combined norms and values
• Norms


  General rules about our actions or behaviors
• Characteristics of moral standards


  • They deal with matters we think can seriously injure or benefit humans, animals, and the environment
  • They are not established or changed by the decisions of authoritative individuals or bodies
  • They are overriding, that is, they take precedence over other standards and considerations, especially of self-interest
  • They are based on impartial considerations, hence they are fair and just
  • They are associated with special emotions (such as guilt and shame) and vocabulary (such as right, wrong, good, and bad)
• Non-moral standards


  Standards by which we judge what is good or bad and right or wrong in a non-moral way
• Non-moral standards


  • Standards of etiquette
  • Standards we call the law
  • Standards of aesthetics
• Etiquette


  The set of norms of personal behavior in polite society
• Law


  A rule made by a government that states how people may and may not behave in society and in business, and that often orders particular punishments if they do not obey, or a system of such rule
• Aesthetic


  A set of principles concerned with the nature and appreciation of beauty, especially in art
• Religion


  • The belief in and worship of a superhuman power or powers, especially a God or gods
  • A particular system of faith and worship
• Dilemma


  A situation in which a difficult choice has to be made between two or more alternatives, especially equally undesirable ones
• Levels of dilemma


  • Personal
  • Organizational
  • Structural
• Personal dilemma


  A moral dilemma is a situation wherein a person is required to make a difficult choice
• Characteristics of a personal moral dilemma

  • A person is expected to do two or more actions, but not at the same time
  • There is an appropriate and an inappropriate choice, but it's difficult to know which is best
  • Someone can get hurt, making the choice even harder
  • It can involve a legal issue
• Organizational dilemmas


  Ethical cases encountered and resolved by social organizations
• Organizational dilemmas


  • A hospital's conflict in resolving whether to withdraw life support from a dying patient
  • Moral dilemmas in business involving corporate practices, policies, business behaviors, and the conducts and relationships of individuals in the organizations
  • Moral dilemmas in the public sector involving favoring family/friends over constituents, favoring political party agenda over good policy, dealing with conflicting public duties, becoming a whistleblower
• Structural dilemmas


  Moral dilemmas pertaining to cases involving networks of institutions and operative theoretical paradigms, usually larger in scope than organizational dilemmas
• Structural dilemmas


  • Prices of medicine in the Philippines being higher compared to other countries, due to factors like cost of research, competition, government regulations, and patent protection
• Classic dilemma


  A choice between two or more alternatives, in which the outcomes are equally undesirable, or equally favorable, not involving a moral or ethical crisis
• Classic dilemmas


  • Deciding between colleges to attend
  • Uncertainty about which job offer to take
  • Wondering whether or not to make the move to a new city
• Ethical dilemma


  Arises when a person is forced to decide between two morally sound options, but they may conflict with the established boundaries of a business, a governmental agency, or the law
• Types of ethical dilemma

  • Absolute or pure ethical dilemma (two or more ethical standards in conflict)
  • Approximate dilemma (complicated situation requiring a decision, involving conflicts between values, laws, and policies)
• Moral dilemma


  A situation in which a person is torn between right and wrong, involving a conflict with the very core of a person's principles and values
• Moral dilemmas


  • Fixing the priority between meeting a friend and helping a relative involved in an accident
  • Deciding whether to tell a friend that their best friend's boyfriend is cheating
• Kohlberg's theory of moral development


  Proposes three levels of moral development, with each level split into two stages, suggesting that people move through these stages in a fixed order and that moral understanding is linked to cognitive development
• Levels of moral development

  • Preconventional
  • Conventional
  • Postconventional
• Preconventional morality


  The earliest period of moral development, lasting until around age 9, where decisions are primarily shaped by the expectations of adults and the consequences of breaking the rules
• Stages of preconventional morality

  • Obedience and punishment
  • Individualism and exchange
• Obedience and punishment stage


  People see rules as fixed and absolute, and obey them to avoid punishment
• Individualism and exchange stage

  People account for individual points of view and judge actions based on how they serve individual needs, with reciprocity possible if it serves one's own interests
• Conventional morality


  The period of moral development marked by the acceptance of social rules regarding what is good and moral, where adolescents and adults internalize the moral standards they have learned
• Stages of conventional morality

  • Developing good interpersonal relationships
  • Maintaining social order
• Developing good interpersonal relationships stage


  Focused on living up to social expectations and roles, with an emphasis on conformity, being "nice", and considering how choices influence relationships
• Maintaining social order stage


  Focused on ensuring that social order is maintained, where people begin to consider society as a whole when making judgments, with a focus on maintaining law and order
• Postconventional morality


  The level of moral development where people develop an understanding of abstract principles of morality
• Stages of postconventional morality

  • Social contract and individual rights
  • Universal principles