Dynamic business law 4e kubasek 4e CH02

• LO2-1: What are business ethics and the social responsibility of business?. • LO2-2: How are business law and business ethics related?. For example, would this principle require you to

Chapter 2

Business Ethics

• LO2-1: What are business ethics and the social responsibility of business?

• LO2-2: How are business law and business ethics related?

decisions?

Chapter 2 Discussion

• Chapter 2 of the textbook cites The Golden Rule as a guideline for ethical decision-making, noting the following ways to interpret

this principle:

• Do unto others as you want them to gratify you;

• Be considerate of others' feelings as you want them to be considerate of yours;

• Treat others as persons of rational dignity like you;

• Extend brotherly or sisterly love to others, as you would want them to do to you;

• Treat others according to moral insight, as you would have others treat you;

• Do to others as God wants you to do to them.

• Is it truly possible to follow The Golden Rule and operate a business successfully? For example, would this principle require you to

extend brotherly or sisterly love to a business competitor or a government regulator? Can a business owner be considerate of

others' feelings and simultaneously seek to maximize profits?

Chapter 2 Hypothetical Case 1

• As hiring coordinator for Hennessey Networking Solutions, Inc (Hennessey), Andrea Templeton knew that her position was of utmost importance to her company in

terms of hiring candidates who were well-qualified, and who would best contribute to the company's overall success On her desk was the employment application and

resume of Timothy Carraway Templeton had just finished her interview of Carraway, who was the last in a long line of interviewees who had applied for an entry-level

information technology (IT) position at Hennessey Hennessey only had one opening available During Carraway's interview, the candidate revealed that seven years ago,

he had been tried and convicted in federal court for selling a significant amount of cocaine Carraway had also revealed the conviction on his employment application

Carraway went to great lengths to explain to Templeton that he sincerely regretted the indiscretions of his youth, and that he had spent the last seven years of his life

paying penance, and reforming his life After serving three years in federal penitentiary, Carraway had earned his bachelor's degree in Information Technology, graduating

with honors.

Carraway's interview had gone very well In fact, Andrea felt that in terms of his personality and education, he was the best fit for the position Templeton was obviously

concerned about Carraway's criminal background, but she was also concerned about the young man should he not find an employment opportunity after graduating

from college Without a legitimate employment option, would Carraway revert back to his criminal ways?

• Does Hennessey have an ethical obligation to hire Timothy Carraway? Should Templeton's hire decision be based exclusively on Carraway's qualifications for the job? Why

or why not?

Chapter 2 Hypothetical Case 2

• What is the best source for ethical business practices: the individual employee, or the business organization

itself? To what extent should individual employees be allowed to lend input in the creation of a code of

ethics for a business organization? In the event that an individual employee's ethical standards differ from

his/her employer's code of ethics, what can/should be done to resolve those differences?

What Is Business Ethics?

• Ethics: The study and practice of decisions about what is good or right

• Business ethics: The use of ethical principles to solve business dilemmas

• Ethical dilemma: A question about how a person should behave that requires the

person to reflect about the advantages and disadvantages of the optional choices for

various stakeholders

Business Ethics and

Social Responsibility

• Social responsibility of business: The responsibility of firms doing business within a

community to meet the expectations that the community imposes on them

• Firms always subject to the implicit threat that legislation will impose social

obligations on them

• Firms acting outside the prevailing ethical norms risk ill will and damage to their

reputations, profits, and continued existence.

How Business Law and

Business Ethics Are Related

• Law and business ethics serve as an interactive system—informing and assessing

each other

• Business ethics builds on business law

• Business law provides a floor for business ethics, telling business leaders the

minimally accepted course of action

WPH Process of Ethical Decision Making: W—WHO

(Stakeholders)

• Owners or investors

WPH Process of Ethical Decision Making: P—PURPOSE (Values)

• Security

• Justice

• Efficiency

Primary Values and Business Ethics: Freedom

• To act without restriction from rules imposed by others

• To possess the capacity or resources to act as one wishes

• To escape the cares and demands of this world entirely

Primary Values and Business Ethics: Security

• To possess a large enough supply of goods and services to meet basic needs

• To be safe from those wishing to interfere with your property rights

• To achieve the psychological condition of self-confidence to such an extent that risks

are welcome

Primary Values and Business Ethics: Justice

• To receive the products of your labor

• To treat all humans identically, regardless of race, class, gender, age, and sexual

preferences

• To provide resources in proportion to need

• To possess anything that someone else is willing to grant you

Primary Values and Business Ethics: Efficiency

• To maximize the amount of wealth in society

• To get the most from a particular output

• To minimize costs

WPH Process of Ethical Decision Making: H—HOW (Guidelines)

• Public disclosure

• Universalization

Chapter 2 Hypothetical Case 3

• Yogo Apparel, a manufacturer of women's athletic wear, has seen explosive growth in sales of its most popular yoga pant over the

past two months, thanks to some very flattering publicity Sales are so strong, in fact, that the company's U.S.-based supplier

cannot keep up with demand The company's president, Susan Keough, receives a bid from an offshore supplier that promises to

make the pants in its own facilities at 10 times the capacity of the U.S supplier and at two-thirds of the cost

Keough asks one of her managers, Steven Little, to investigate the offshore suppliers' history of workers'-rights complaints The

news is not good: Little reports that the supplier has been accused of multiple instances of worker abuse, including forced

overtime, sexual harassment, and suppression of organized labor Keough and Little approach several other vendors, but none can

produce the quantity Yogo needs at the price it is able to pay

Chapter 2 Hypothetical Case 3 (cont'd)

• Imagine that you are in Keough's situation Apparel stores and Yogo's own website are inundated with orders for the yoga pants

Yogo cannot keep up with the demand without looking elsewhere Yogo's stock has risen dramatically as a result of the surge in

sales, and shareholders expect the growth to continue What are the possible ramifications for Yogo if Keough chooses to use this

supplier? What type of exposure does Yogo have—legally, in terms of potential damage to its reputation, and in terms of risk to

profit?

What if you are in Little's position, and Keough chooses to move forward with the offshore supplier? What would you do?