Business Ethics Chapter 3: Individual Responsibilities

Chapter 3: Individual Ethics in Business

• Introduces responsibility and ethical issues in business
• Covers the meaning of responsibility in business
• Discusses the actions individuals can take within organizations
• Explores ethical issues that can arise in business

3.1 What Makes a Dilemma? A Case Study

• Examines dilemmas faced by business professionals
• Discusses how alternative choices can lead to difficult decisions
• Highlights a case study of Sam, an accounting employee
• Sam finds out her supervisor Sarah was fired unfairly
• Sam overhears a conversation suggesting Sarah was unaware
• She must decide whether to take action given the situation

3.1.1 Sam's Dilemma

• Sam, a new hire, learns of Sarah's unjust dismissal
• Sarah, a supervisor, was fired for falsifying financial statements
• Sam has no prior relationship or communication with Sarah
• Sam overheard a conversation where John, Sarah's boss, was the one who gave Sarah the data to falsify

3.1.2 Your thoughts

• If you were Sam, what would you do?

3.2 What is Responsibility in Business?

• Responsibility's roots trace back to the Latin word 'respondere' (to respond)
• Responsibility aligns with freedom of action and accountability for actions, stemming from intentions.
• Responsibility is determined by intentions, not just performance
• Examines duty fulfilment alongside intentional agency as concepts of responsibility

3.2.1 Where does the Concept of Responsibility Come From?

• Professor Daryl Koehn (2019) reviews responsibility within the Fourth Industrial Revolution
• Analyzes responsibility within Anglo-American culture, influenced by philosophy and legal traditions.
• Responsibility encompasses duty fulfilment & causal, intentional agency
• Responsibility encompasses company obligations to shareholders and other agents

3.3 Modifiers of Responsibility

• Responsibility depends on several factors
• Invincible ignorance: Action performed by unpreventable unawareness
• Surmountable ignorance: Actions that could be corrected with more effort, but aren't
• Intentional ignorance: A purposeful choice to remain ignorant despite available knowledge
• Lack of consent: Actions performed under coercion or influence such as mental illness, physical coercion, psychological coercion, or intellectual fear

3.3.1 Lack of Full Knowledge

• Examines various types of ignorance
• Outlines invincible ignorance, surmountable ignorance, and intentional ignorance
• Discusses when ignorance excuses actions

3.3.2 Lack of Full Consent

• Highlights cases where actions lack full consent.
• Explains factors that influence consent such as mental illness, physical coercion, and strong emotions.

3.4 Actions and Responsibility

• Classification of actions based on different categories.
• Outlines the classification of actions as actions, omissions, induction, and cooperation
• Illustrates how actions are transformative interventions with consequences.

3.4.1 Reflect

• Examining the ethical implications of situations involving cooperation

3.5 Responsibility in Action: Milgram's Experiment

• Explains the Milgram Experiment as a classic example illustrating responsibility.
• Explains how obedience to authority can influence responsibility

3.6 The Person in the Business Organization

• Discusses ethical issues arising from business activities.
• Examines small/large amounts of money/ resources, and personal interests
• Explores issues like using company resources for personal use, and how actions can have consequences

3.7 Ethical Issues in Business

• Identifies frequent ethical issues in business
• Examines misappropriation, misuse of company resources, misuse of company time, intellectual property issues, conflicts of interest, fraud, tax evasion/avoidance

3.7.1 Misappropriation

• Misappropriation describes taking something without permission
• Discusses misuse of company resources, time, and intellectual property
• Explains examples of misuse through case studies or examples

3.7.2 Fraud

• Fraud is intentional deception for personal gain
• Highlights how trust can be broken in business environments
• Examines examples like Enron and Volkswagen scandals to illustrate fraud

3.7.3 Conflicts of Interest

• Defining the issue of conflicts of interest in business interactions
• Discusses the ethical concerns surrounding familial or personal relationships in work environments

3.7.3.1 Case Study 1: Managing a Personal Association with a School Contractor

• Alice, a school business manager, faces a conflict of interest when her daughter's father's cleaning company is contracted with the school
• Examines the ethical dilemma of maintaining transparency and avoiding bias

3.7.3.2 Case Study 2: Employment of a Family Member

• A principal hires their daughter for an education support officer position
• Examines the ethical considerations related to family member employment, highlighting potential conflicts of interest and questionable timing

3.7.4 Tax Evasion and Tax Avoidance

• Tax evasion is defined as intentionally avoiding tax payments
• Tax avoidance involves conforming to the law while minimizing tax payments
• Discusses the ethical considerations surrounding tax evasion and avoidance practices

3.8 Review of Chapter 3

• Summarizes the chapter's key concepts of responsibility in business
• Outlines how to define business responsibility, list the actions individuals can take, and describe ethical misbehaviour