BESR 2

• Socrates

  First person to give a practical and political focus to philosophy and ethics
• Socrates


  • Believed the most applicable questions philosophy had to deal with are related to how people should live mutually in communities and states
  • Equated knowledge with virtue, which eventually leads to ethical conduct
  • Believed the only life worth living was one that was carefully examined
  • Looked for principles and actions worth living by, creating an ethical base upon which decisions should be made
  • Believed knowledge of the good was almost similar to an enlightened state
  • Believed no person could willingly decide to do something damaging or harmful if they were completely aware of the value of life
• Application to business (Socrates)


  • Managers should not sleepwalk or simply go along with the crowd
  • Managers should be responsible for their actions and must be prepared to be fired or demoted rather than go against their conscience
  • A good manager is someone with a functionally relevant set of virtues to view personal success and moral excellence
  • An organization must encourage independent thinkers and their employees to follow their conscience
  • Employees must provide critical feedback to managers to create opportunities for good people to "blow the whistle" in cases of bad behaviors
• Plato


  • Believed only those who possessed scholarly and ethical qualities should be trusted with the control to rule above others
  • Believed personal development and personal insight is the only means to reveal the gifts that God has given everyone
  • Believed the physical world is the lesser world, and the greater world is not clear
  • Believed each social class must happily perform the function for which it is suited
• Application in business (Plato)

  • It is always important to know everyone's strengths and weaknesses in the organization
  • There should be continuous communication among the members of the organization
  • The company should solicit inputs from everyone in the company on the direction of tasks and how well they think they are going
  • It is best to hire the right people, and selection should be done carefully to fit the exact natural talents of qualified applicants with the job requirements and expectations
• Aristotle


  • The leader's ethical role is in the establishment of the conditions under which followers can attain their full potential and enhance their own power
  • Claimed people are by nature virtuous, rational, social, and happiness-seeking
  • Governments and organizations have to build the best systems to allow humans to carry out their natural drives
• Application to business (Aristotle)


  • The organization must provide an environment that is conducive to human growth and fulfillment
  • Employees will be inspired to work if they know their contributions to the company are significant and morally valuable
  • Employees must be rewarded proportionately to their contributions based on ethical principles
• Immanuel Kant: Duty-Based Ethics

  • Advances the theory of deontology or deontological ethics, which is the theory of duty and obligation
  • Deontological ethical systems maintain that an action can be morally right even if an alternative action in a given situation would have better overall consequences
  • Kant calls principles that are universally binding as a categorical imperative, which is uncompromising and not based on conditions
• Application to Business (Kant)


  • A hypothetical imperative takes the form "I should pay taxes if it is favorable for my business or for society"
  • A categorical imperative may be expressed as "Tax evasion and bribery are morally wrong. No ifs, no buts."
• Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill: Utilitarianism

  • Evaluates actions based upon their consequences, particularly the overall happiness created for everyone affected
  • Bentham held a hedonistic account of both motivation and value, according to which what is fundamentally valuable and what ultimately motivates us is pleasure and pain
  • Mill profoundly influenced the shape of nineteenth-century British thought and political discourse
• Application in Business (Utilitarianism)

  • The right decision is one that produces the best consequences that promote human well-being: the happiness, health, dignity, integrity, freedom, and respect of all the people affected
  • A decision that promotes the greatest amount of these values for the greatest number of people is the most reasonable decision from an ethical point of view
• Types of utilitarianism


  • Rule utilitarianism - Put in place to benefit the most people by using the fairest methods possible
  • Act utilitarianism - Makes the most ethical actions possible for the benefit of the people
• Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, and Shintoism are the world's eight (8) major religions
• Religious ethics


  • Provides a set of consistent and reasonable statements regarding business
  • A different approach that provides new horizons for thinking
• Judaism


  • Sees nothing immoral with business and making a profit as long as the firm realizes it has other responsibilities
  • Any organization must practice loving, kindness, justice, and righteousness as stressed and demanded by God
  • The very first question an individual is asked in the next world at the final judgment is "were you honest in your business dealings?"
  • Biblical law mandates the establishment of precise weights and measures to ensure fairness in business transactions
• Religious ethics provides a set of consistent and reasonable statements regarding business. It's a different approach that provides new horizons for thinking.
• In our global world, business means dealing with people of different religions, and ignoring or misinterpreting religious, ethical approaches can cause serious problems.
• Judaism sees business and making a profit as moral


  As long as the firm realizes it has other responsibilities like practicing loving, kindness, justice, and righteousness as stressed and demanded by God
• The Jews believed that the very first question and individual are asked in the next world at the final judgment: "were you honest in your business dealings?"
• Biblical law mandates


  1. Establishment of precise weights and measures

  2. Periodic self-inspection

  3. Appointment of an independent inspector

  4. Prohibition of false or deceptive packaging and labeling

  5. Prohibition of other deceptive practices
• Sale of an item at a very high or low price relative to its fair market price


  Considered oppression, and under many circumstances, the sale could be canceled out by the wronged party
• Jewish civil law


  • Mindful of laws and regulations in the wider non-Jewish societies among which all Jews lived for centuries
  • Accepts the authority of the government
• Jewish ethics advises the application of general ethical principles in one's business affairs as in every other aspect of one's life
• Jewish ethics pushes the individual to go further than what the law says in determining one's obligations to others in the monetary sphere
• Integrity (in Christian business)


  • It is about Christ-centered living
  • It is about doing what is right rather than what is convenient
  • The organization with integrity will make its business decisions based on the standards and principles of God, which are righteousness, truth, and honesty
• Commitment to excellence (in Christian business)

  • The organization must always honor God and be thoroughly aware of its role and mission in a pagan world
  • It never forgets that God has called them to be His witness to the lost world in which they do business
• Commitment to its people (in Christian business)

  Includes the area of fair compensation, performance recognition, and providing growth opportunities, both professionally and personally
• Employees must obey their earthly masters in everything with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord
• Employers could hardly expect to be treated fairly by God if they failed to treat their employees fairly
• Contracts in Islamic business

  • Should be fair to all parties
  • Partnership is preferred over hierarchical claims
• Speculation


  Prohibited in Islamic business
• Interest


  Prohibited in Islamic business
• Compassion

  Required when a business is in trouble in Islamic business
• Power in Muslim world

  • Largely ascribed, meaning that people can often reach high places by virtue of their birth and social position
• Community in Muslim societies

  • There is an obligation to the community
  • People's role in the society is respected, and the group takes precedence
• Rules in Muslim business

  • The written rules governing any scenario are the final authority
  • Existing business practices and trusted guides are normally used in navigating business transactions
• Communication in Muslim business

  • Verbal communication is not direct
  • People get their points across in long, winding stories, and being straightforward is seen as impolite
  • In negotiations, one should carefully listen and be patient to get helpful information
• Islamic Finance

  • Takes the concept of fairness very sincerely
  • Charging interest is regarded unfair
  • Speculative finance is also considered unprincipled
• Hinduism business practices

  • Doing a business meeting requires a handshake called namaste as part of etiquette
  • Names speak volumes about an Indian's background
  • Always use the appropriate formal title when addressing a person
  • Business cards should be exchanged at the first meeting and received and given with the right hand
  • Doing business involves building relationships because they only deal favorably with those they know and trust
  • Meetings should be arranged well in advance and not scheduled near or on national holidays
  • Punctuality is expected, although being 10 minutes late will not have ruinous consequences
  • When entering a meeting room, a person must always approach and greet the elder figure first
  • Meetings should always start with some conversation
  • Business dealings involve negotiations and can be slow
  • Business decisions are not solely based on statistics, empirical data, and exciting PowerPoint presentations
  • Avoid high-pressure tactics and do not be forceful when negotiating
  • Once terms have been agreed, there will be a celebration dinner for a successful negotiation
• Buddhist business maxim: "Too cold, too hot, too late"

  Opportunity favors the hard worker, and those with an uninspiring work ethic will always find a defense