BUS 4350 - Christian Business Ethics - Russ Maile - Exam Two

- The greatest good for the greatest number

- Class example: a company could save 1,000 lives by immediately releasing a drug but knows that rushing the process would kill five people

- Reasoning weighs aggregate benefits and harms

- Tension is whether a beneficial total outcome can justify knowingly harming particular people

Utilitarian Calculation

What are the 12 ethical dilemma categories (four clusters)?

Optional Question... Broken down into clusters in the following questions

- Taking things

- Saying things that are not true

- False impressions

- Buying influence

- Hiding information

- Unfair advantage

- Personal decadence

- Interpersonal abuse

- Organizational abuse

- Violating rules

- Condoning unethical actions

- Balancing ethical dilemmas

What are the four clusters of Jennings' ethical dilemma categories?

1. Truth/Honesty/Property

2. Influence/Trust/Information

3. Workplace Conduct/Abuse

4. Compliance/Complicity/Tradeoffs

What are the three ethical dilemma categories in the Truth/Honesty/Property cluster?

- Taking things

- Saying things that are not true

- False impressions

What are the three ethical dilemma categories in the Influence/Trust/Information cluster?

- Buying influence

- Hiding information

- Unfair advantage

What are the three ethical dilemma categories in the Workplace Conduct/Abuse cluster?

- Personal decadence

- Interpersonal abuse

- Organizational abuse

What are the three ethical dilemma categories in the Workplace Compliance/Complicity/Tradeoffs cluster?

- Violating rules

- Condoning unethical actions

- Balancing ethical dilemmas

Name the category of ethical dilemma...

Taking property or benefits that are not yours

Taking Things

Name the category of ethical dilemma...

Falsehoods

Saying Things That Are Not True

Name the category of ethical dilemma...

Technically true, but misleading

False Impressions

Name the category of ethical dilemma...

Improperly purchasing favorable treatment

Buying Influence

Name the category of ethical dilemma...

Concealing safety defects; exploiting consumers

Hiding Information

Name the category of ethical dilemma...

Exploiting ignorance or crisis/emergencies

Unfair Advantage

Name the category of ethical dilemma...

Off-duty or on-duty misconduct affecting work

Personal Decadence

Name the category of ethical dilemma...

Bullying, discriminatory hostility

Interpersonal Abuse

Name the category of ethical dilemma...

Hazardous working conditions

Organizational Abuse

Name the category of ethical dilemma...

Breaking rules

Violating Rules

Name the category of ethical dilemma...

Silence or permitting misconduct

Condoning Unethical Actions

Name the category of ethical dilemma...

Competing ethical obligations

Balancing Ethical Dilemmas

What are the three steps of the Jennings decision model?

1. Identify the dilemma and specific pressure

2. Apply philosophical tests

3. Apply public scrutiny

Name the step in the Jennings decision model...

Pinpoint the specific category of pressure being exerted

Identify the dilemma and specific pressure

Name the step in the Jennings decision model...

Evaluate responsibility and ethical obligations

Apply philosophical test

Name the step in the Jennings decision model...

Could the decision withstand full daylight disclosure?

Apply public scrutiny

Why does aggressive promotional copywriting cross into Jennings category 3 of false impressions?

Marketing Spin vs. False Impressions

- Because copy can be literally true while its overall message misleads

- Ethical persuasion is not the same as creating false impressions

Why is category 11 (condoning unethical actions) dangerous in high-performing teams?

When performance becomes identity, performance becomes the only thing that matters, regardless of the cost

In the Volkswagen case, engineers saw the workaround as a practical compromise rather than outright cheating. This is an example of what?

Scriptural warning: "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil."

Pragmatic Illusion

- Language can become a tool of moral concealment

- Calling illegal software an "acoustic function" reframes cheating as engineering

- Secrecy erodes integrity and normalizes deception

- Whistleblowers become "obstacles," not heroes; dissent is redefined as disloyalty

Power of Euphemisms

Engineers/decision-makers believed they knew best. This is an example of what?

Arrogance of Autonomy

What five workplace pressures were identified at Volkswagen?

- High-pressure circumstances

- Unattainable targets

- Toxic top-down intimidation

- Bad news unwelcome

- Ethical concerns unreported

"They made me do it." People abandoned personal moral accountability by citing authorities above them.

Evasion of Individual Ethics

When a mandate comes from above, employees assume somebody else bears responsibility.

Diffusion of Responsibility

- Scripture and law affirm that personal accountability cannot simply be delegated.

- Employees must uphold ethical standards regardless of risk or threat.

Duty to Resist

What was the euphemism used for the illegal Volkswagen software?

"Acoustic Function"

What does Psalm 5:6 confront, according to the class notes?

Falsehoods

Lens for examining deception, wrongdoing, and moral cost of dishonesty

What are the three stages of gradual ethical collapse?

1. Compromise

2. Concealment

3. Deeper Failure

What four actions show how David rose through integrity?

- Shepherd who defeated Goliath

- Loyal to King Saul

- Refused to seize the throne even while pursued

- Became anointed king after Saul's death

What happened in 2 Samuel 11 according to the class notes?

- David remains at the palace while his army fights and sends for Bathsheba, Uriah's wife

- David tries to get Uriah to go home to his wife to conceal the pregnancy

- Uriah refuses to enjoy comforts while his men fight

- David sends Uriah to the front line, where he is killed

Who confronted David, and what happened afterward?

- God sends Nathan to confront David

- Someone with nothing to gain tells truth

- David repents, but his actions have lasting consequences, including the child's death and consequences to household

What is known as the "bridge to doing wrong"

Bathsheba Syndrome

What are the five marks of Bathsheba Syndrome?

- Isolation: no tolerance for dissent

- Above the rules

- Identity tied to the trappings of success

- Sense of invincibility

- Lost purpose: "more, more, more" (most important)

What are the four fixes recorded for Bathsheba Syndrome?

1. Have people for accountability

2. Remember who you are and accept accountability

3. Giving and fulfillment through Christ

4. Remember where good things came from—God

Christian ethics starts with ___________

Dignity

What does Christian ethics starting with dignity mean?

- People are not instruments

- Respect individual worth

- Structures should serve all/the common good

How does dignity shape authority?

- Work and authority exist to benefit the community

- Leaders owe truth, honesty, justice, and fairness.

- Excessive pride, conceit, arrogance

- Grows from success

Hubris

What are the three class-note patterns of hubris?

1. "Go-to" leader—always the person who found a fix

2. "Wall"—when the wall fails, disclosure feels impossible

3. Deceit—protecting an image replaces telling the truth

How did the Penn State case show hubris?

Even when they heard, they chose to handle it within, rather than going to outside sources

Ethics can often start as an absolute standard and then turn into what?

Slide

What do the class notes say about choosing between profits and goods?

Businesses don't have to choose between profits or goods

In Milton Friedman's framework of social responsibility, who has responsibility? What is the problem with this thinking?

- Only people, not "business," have responsibilities in his framework

- Problem noted: using "business" as a shield.

What are the three objections to executive-directed CSR?

1. Spending other people's money

2. Acting like a tax (taxation belongs to government)

3. Lack expertise—executives lack expertise in choosing social good. Individuals can give their own money and time.

Class note: social responsibility may be "__________ _________" for self-interest.

Window Dressing

What were the positions of the 1932 Berle vs. Dodd debate (following the 1929 crash)?

*The earlier version of the shareholder-versus-social-responsibility debate

- Berle—managers are trustees for stockholders

- Dodd—corporations have a social-service as well as profit-making function

What are Dodd's three insights?

1. Public opinion shapes law as social expectations shift

2. Legal processes are guardrails before CSR becomes mandatory

3. Mandatory action-the cost is a time lag while harm continues

What are the four stages of the regulatory life cycle?

1. Latency—only insiders and academics know

2. Public awareness—issue becomes visible

3. Activism—demand for reform

4. Regulation or litigation—required response

When should companies act in the regulatory life cycle? Why?

Companies should act before regulation forces them... specifically discussed on class to act at Latency

Laws often follow public awareness and activism

Why should businesses be different from hospitals and schools?

Business can blend profit and social purpose

As discussed in the John Mackey/Whole Foods case, what is a myth when it comes to business?

- Profit maximization alone is a myth about why founders start businesses

- Profit is a by-product

What five reasons besides profit maximization may motivate founders to start businesses?

- Independence

- Challenge

- Creative outlets

- Proving something

- Making the world better

A lasting business is dedicated to what?

Serving Others

What are the three interconnected requirements of a lasting business?

1. Profitability

2. Capital

3. Stakeholders

What is the "Web of stakeholders"? How should it be used?

- Employees, customers, vendors, etc.

- Profits follow when the interdependent system is healthy

- Do not optimize one stakeholder group at everyone else's expense

All stakeholders should be treated with what two things?

Dignity and Thoughtfulness

What stakeholders were identified in the Smith & Wesson CSR discussion?

- Vendors

- Customers

- Employees

- Managers

- General public

Whose concerns did Smith & Wesson listen to, and who was negatively affected?

- Listened to the general public

- It negatively affected all other stakeholders

What are the three parts of Eve's reasoning for eating the fruit?

1. Desire—"good for food," "delight to the eyes"

2. Action—takes, eats, gives to husband

3. Consequences—eyes opened; shame and hiding; consequences is shame not wisdom

What is the difference between Eve's and Jesus' responses to temptation?

- Satan offered shortcuts to things Jesus would ultimately receive

- Eve negotiated, but Jesus did not

- Jesus had Scripture and his response ready before the moment of pressure

What does Professor Lefoe's ham example illustrate?

- Be especially careful about the first compromise

- Once someone crosses a line, it becomes easier to justify the next step

What does the new-car metaphor illustrate?

- Small exceptions weaken a rule

- A "no food in the car" boundary can gradually become "all the food"

What does the free shuttle rider illustrate?

- Rationalization

- "Who does it hurt?"

- "Everyone does it anyway"

What limits of ethical training were discussed?

Knowing rules and possible consequences does not necessarily produce ethical action

What are the eight ethical personality types listed in the notes?

- Ethically Clueless

- Ethical Egotist

- Ethical Schizophrenic

- Ethical Procrastinator

- Ethical Rationalizer/Compartmentalizer

- Ethically Detached

- Ethical Chameleon

- Sycophant

Name the ethical personality type...

Failure to recognize an issue

Ethically Clueless

Name the ethical personality type...

Self-interest

Ethical Egotist

Name the ethical personality type...

Compartmentalizing conduct; two distinct set of moral values

Ethical Schizophrenic

Name the ethical personality type...

Delaying action

Ethical Procrastinator

Name the ethical personality type...

Justifies wrongdoings and separates conflicting ideas

Ethical Rationalizer/Compartmentalizer

Name the ethical personality type...

Completely objective, unbiased, and free from personal self-interest or emotional prejudice

Ethically Detached

Name the ethical personality type...

Changes moral values based on situation or who they are with

Ethical Chameleon

Name the ethical personality type...

Boss made me do it

Sycophant

What are the three central themes of Daniel and the corporate scandal?

- Conformity

- Dissent

- Price of Speaking Up

What are the three steps of respectful refusal?

1. Ask

2. Propose

3. Verify

What does respectful refusal mean?

- Raise the issue respectfully

- Propose a workable alternative

- Verify the result

Dissent can be courteous and specific rather than merely complaining.

What happened in Daniel 6: a trap built from the rules? (Three short headings for what happened)

- No Corruption

- Targeted Faith

- Created a Trap

How can you be a Daniel at work?

- Decide ethical boundaries before pressure arrives

- Dissent respectfully with a specific proposal

- Assume written messages may become public

- Report and document concerns

What are the two threads across scandals?

- People knew ethical or legal lines were being crossed

- Warnings from employees went unheeded

What are the three steps to build a speak-up culture?

1. Hear

2. Notice

3. Act

What does building a speak-up culture require from leaders?

Leaders must protect the messenger and enforce consequences

How does God knowing everything help us?

- Avoid temptations

- Brings us closer to him

- Means everything we do is in the light

What three could-versus-should questions were asked about Subway, plaintiffs, and lawyers?

- Could Subway rely on its trademark?

- Could plaintiffs sue when no one was shorted food?

- Could lawyers take the case?

The ethical question is whether each should do so

What are the four takeaways from the honest measures discussion?

- Test the promise

- Expect the light (assume disclosure)

- Build checks into operations

- Answer candidly rather than defensively

What does "Character shapes community" mean?

The fruit of the Spirit builds trust and community; the works of the flesh destroy it.

Paul's warning: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God

What are the nine fruits of the Spirit?

- Love

- Joy

- Peace

- Patience

- Kindness

- Goodness

- Faithfulness

- Gentleness

- Self-control

What is said about the fruits of the spirit and belonging to Christ vs the flesh?

"Against such things there is no law."

Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires

How do you pressure-proof character?

- Practice, faith, and action before pressure comes

- Greater closeness to God and reliance on God can reduce the power of pressure

- Think before action

Why is workplace romance a culture issue?

- Favoritism

- Harassment claims

- Power differences

- Perceptions of unfairness affect coworkers and the organization, not just the couple.

What are the four workplace romance policy options?

- Coworker prohibition: prohibition or paired with transfer

- Reporting-line prohibition

- Disclosure

- Love contract

What are the career consequences of adultery discussed in the reading?

- "Adultery is a career killer"

- Affairs involving employees have ended senior executives' careers

- Most companies do not directly address adultery in policy

Why are policies not representative of not trusting people?

Rules set people up for success

What two personal characteristics make policies effective guardrails?

Integrity and Self-Control