Rationalization And Business Ethics in Society

Rationalization And Business Ethics in Society - Lecture 7 Notes Rationalizers will tell themselves: "I know I deceived for the contract, but it's going to generate much business and pay many bills." ● They convince themselves that they are expected to act this way. ● Nobody is going to find out what I did. That is, self-questioning reduces to "If I didn't get caught, had I done it? " The answer is yes. There is a simple way not to fall for this rationalization: always do as if somebody is watching you. This company will let me off the hook and defend me. Such a rationalization is illogical. Here's another rule of thumb: if you have to rationalize a decision, it's probably a bad one. Like our five questions, some ethical problems are pretty straightforward. Others, alas, are trickier, but consider our five-question test as flags that will alert you of a tough decision—to be taken seriously and may be discussed with someone else. ● The situation is like driving up to a traffic light. Red and green lights are no problem; you know what those mean, and exactly what to do. ● Yellow lights are trickier. - Before you decide which pedal to hit, try posing our five questions. If you get a single yes, you'll surely be better off hitting the brake. Key takeaways Important terms and concepts: Business ethics is the application of ethical behavior in a business context. ● Ethical (trustworthy) companies are better able to attract and keep customers, talented employees, and capital. ● Acting ethically in business means more than obeying laws and regulations. It also means being honest, doing no harm to others, competing fairly, and declining to put your own interests above those of your employer and coworkers. ● In the business world, you will be faced with conflicts of interest—circumstances under which you will have to choose between taking action that promotes your interest and taking action that favors another's interest. Corporate social responsibility is an organization's approach to balancing its responsibilities. ● Accordingly, managers have a responsibility to act in the best interests of the company's owners while balancing those with the interests of other relevant stakeholders (owners, employees, customers, and the communities in which they do business) with regard to legal, economic, ethical, and social considerations. Managers have an additional set of responsibilities, too: 1. to increase the value of owners' investments via profitable operations, 2. to provide owners and other stakeholders with precise, dependable financial data 3. to protect the company's assets, 4. to faithfully manage its funds. Companies are responsible for paying fair wages and benefits, treating all workers fairly, and giving equal opportunities to all employees. ● They must guard the safety and health of workers and be obligated to provide them with a work environment free from sexual harassment. Consumers have certain legal rights: to use safe products, to be informed about products, to choose what to buy, and to be heard. ● The vendors are supposed to adhere to these. ● Business people are usually subjected to two types of ethical challenges: ethical dilemmas and ethical decisions. ● A moral dilemma is one of those morally problematic situations where you are presented with competing options, which are also conflicting and thus cannot satisfy all stakeholders. An ethical decision involves a right or wrong choice, where the wrong choice is unethical or downright illegal.