Ethics Midterm Exam - Lara Grow

Shareholder Theory - Person

Milton Friedman

Justice Theory - Person

John Rawls

Who was known as the "Godfather of Libertarianism"

Robert Nozick

Deontology - Person

Kant

Utilitarianism - Person

Bentham & Mill

Rights Thoery

Patricia Werhane

Virtue Theory - Person

Aristotle

Shareholder theory - definition

- maximizing shareholder value

- what is in the best interest of the shareholder

Stakeholder Theory - definition

ethical theory stating that social responsibility is paying attention to the interest of every affected stakeholder in every aspect of a firm's operation

Deontology theory - definition

- humans have dignity and should be treated as an END rather than a means to an end

- applied to all stakeholders of a corporation

Justice Theory - definition

- Everybody has basic liberty rights

- Putting yourself in a position of originality or a "blank space"

Virtue Theory - definition

- Character-driven approach

- Think about it as "Am I being the person I want to be in this specific situation?"

Batman Example: Does Batman want to be known as somebody who kills? ... No he doesn't

Utilitarianism - definition

what would produce the greatest good for the greatest number of stakeholders

Example: You might do something immoral, but if it achieves an end goal that is beneficial to the majority, then it is ok

Rights Theory - definition

- Theory stating that everyone has rights arising simply from being born

- Basic: food, shelter, water, etc.

- Non-basic: property, right to income, etc.

Nozick & Locke

- Disagreed with Rawls' rights theory

- concerned with private property ( believed government only exists to protect private property rights and companies can do whatever they want with property as long as they do it legally)

comformity bias

The tendency to behave like those around you

Incrementalism

When people's actions evolve from small, technical violations to larger, more significant wrongs

Fundamental attribution error

Tendency to attribute others' actions to their character, ignoring the impact of situational factors

Confirmation bias

Tendency to search for information that supports what someone already thinks, basically confirming and reinforcing their opinion

Categorical Imperative

everyone has a duty to follow principles that you would want to be a universal standard for behavior

normative comformity

the tendency to go along with the group in order to fulfill the group's expectations and gain acceptance

In Dodge v. Ford, the court embraced a _________ view of shareholder theory

short-term

This company had some questionable drug testing protocols in the 90s

Eli Lilly

If you pull that trolley lever, you are a _________

utilitarian

In Wrigley, the court embraced a _________ view of shareholder theory.

long-term

This step of the Hosmer analysis is where one would consider psychological and behavioral theories that influence decision-making.

Step 4

"The system is corrupt" is an example of which rationalization?

Condemning the Condemner

Nozick's view of property is an extension of this philosopher.

John Locke

Hiring someone who went to your same college would be an example of ___________.

In-Group Favoritism

This event is seared into the memory of all 1980s children

Challenger explosion

She believed that you should look at the effects of a particular action, and make decisions that prioritize basic over non-basic rights.

Patricia Werhane

Shlensky v. Wrigley (1968)

Wrigley had no lights, so they could only host day time games. Shlensky thought this was violating law because they were missing out on profits.Wrigley was opposed because he was thinking about the culture of Chicago baseball. Looking out for the neighborhood.

Dodge v. Ford Motor (1919)

Ford wanted to reduce prices by reinvesting profits into business, Dodge disagreed with that.Dodge won the case, meaning Ford could not keep the money.Ruling was in favor of Dodge because they believed he should be giving these dividends to shareholders in the short-term, failing to see the long term viewpoint of growing the company.

Dan Ariely TED Talk on Cheating

- lots of people who cheated a little bit- how far can people cheat and still justify it/feel good about themselves

- if in-group cheats, cheating increases

- steps away from monetary reward increases your cheating

- honor code doesn't do too much

Jack Abramoff Article

- constantly battled in the gray area between ethical dilemmas and legal dilemmas

- role morality (how his mortality shifted based on the role he was filling while making decisions)

- wanted to win by any means necessary "to do right and best by his clients"

Incrementalism Examples

Enron, college admissions scandals

Overconfidence Bias

tending to overestimate ones' own ethical ability, tend to think of themselves on the high ground

Hosmer's Moral Reasoning (Step 1)

Identify the moral issue

Hosmer's Moral Reasoning (Step 2)

Identify additional facts helpful to making the decision

Hosmer's Moral Reasoning (Step 3)

identify the alternatives available to solve the problem

Hosmer's Moral Reasoning (Step 4)

identify personal impacts to decision maker

Hosmer's Moral Reasoning (Step 5)

apply 3 leading contemporary theories of business ethics

Hosmer's Moral Reasoning (Step 6)

conclude with a decision based on your #5 answer

Denial of Responsibility

"it wasn't my fault" or "i didn't mean it"

Denial of Injury

"no one got hurt" or "I didn't steal, I just borrowed"

Denial of the Victim

"they had it coming" or "I'm the real victim here"

Condemning the Condemners

"This place is unfair" or "The rules are unjust anyway"

Appeal to Higher Loyalties

"I did it for the company" or "I had to put my family first"

Metaphor of the Ledger

"I've done more good than bad" or "For all i've done for this place..."

Claim of Entitlement

"I deserve this" or "I've earned the right to have this"

Claim of Relative Acceptability/Normality

"there are people way worse than me" or "everybody does this"

3 major areas of ethical concern

1. Privacy & Surveillance

2. Bias & Discrimination

3. Role of Human Judgment

UK's Ban Tries to Tackle what 3 things...

1. Gender-reinforcing norms in ads

2. Over-sexualization of women in ads

3. Lack of body inclusivity in ads

Shareholder - critiques

- geared toward short-term profit

Virtue Ethics - Criticism

- too flexible and not rigid whatsoever- principles are shifting and subjectivity comes into play as well

Justice Theory- critiques

Nozick and Libertarianism (groups should not be advantaged at the expense of another group)

Stakeholder Theory - critiques

lacks specificity and exact steps to do the things they say they want to do

accountability to so many parties at times can be accountability to no one

Utilitarianism - critiques

- fail to respect individual rights

- places the same value on everybody's happiness

- focuses on outcomes, not motives

- lose sight of the fact that behavior may be unethical