International Business Ethics Lecture 1

Ethics

• Morality refers to prevailing ideas about good and bad
• Business ethics involves critical thinking and taking a stance on business problems
• Ethical absolutism believes in one conception of right and wrong for all people at all times
• Continental philosophers are skeptical of absolutist claims due to totalitarian implications

Stakeholder Theory

• Stakeholders are key concepts in mainstream business ethics and CSR development
• Freeman's stakeholder analysis is a way of handling complexity in business ethics
• Stakeholder theory is about what society expects of businesses
• It has a moral perspective (reasonable pluralism) and is politically relevant
• Philanthro-capitalism can be undemocratic or anti-democratic
• Hyperagents are individuals who can do what it would take a social movement to do
• Stakeholder analysis has theoretical flaws, emphasizing powerful stakeholders and being firm-centric

Moral Decision Making

• Consequentialism is a moral philosophy that suggests decisions should be made based on their consequences
• Utilitarianism is a form of consequentialism that seeks to maximize overall happiness or well-being
• Immanuel Kant's categorical imperative emphasizes intentions and universality over consequences
• Kohlberg's moral development theory proposes three stages of morality: reward and punishment, external ethics, and personal ethics
• Bounded rationality suggests that humans cannot make fully rational decisions due to limited information
• Derrida's différance concept suggests that moral concepts are dynamic and lack fixed meaning

Reward, Incentive, and Compensation

• Rewards are often justified when associated with risks taken
• Merit arguments suggest that rewards should be based on effort and achievement
• John Rawls' veil of ignorance thought experiment proposes that fairness is achieved by forgetting one's identity
• Communitarianism, in contrast, grounds morality in social context
• In organizational justice, fairness is a subjective perspective and is descriptive rather than normative

Organizational Justice

• Organizational justice focuses on justice for the self
• Aristotle, Thrasymachus, and Bernard Mandeville have contributed to the concept of organizational justice
• John Rawls' theory of justice as fairness is influential in this area
• Three dimensions of organizational justice are distributive, procedural, and interactional
• Levinas' ethics emphasize the importance of the Other and puts them first

Leadership

• Leadership is often embellished and made to seem more beautiful than it is
• Great Man Theory proposes that great leaders are born, while Behavioral Leadership suggests they are made
• Transformational leadership transforms people's lives, while transactional leadership is based on reward or punishment
• Good leadership is ethical and effective, according to Joanne B. Ciulla
• The Hitler Problem challenges the idea that all transformational leaders are moral
• Zizek's approach to leadership emphasizes the importance of the sublime body

Whistleblowing

• Whistleblowers are individuals who report unethical behavior to prevent harm
• Internal and external whistleblowing differ in their approaches to reporting
• The nature of an organization affects the acceptability of whistleblowing
• John Caputo believes that obligations do not require consent, while Bauman suggests that moral practice should always set unachievable standards

Corporate Social Responsibility

• CSR is a controversial and optical concept
• Attitudes towards CSR range from defensive to civil, with implications for business strategy
• From CSR to Corporate Social Responsiveness, emphasizing responsiveness over responsibility
• Critics of CSR argue that it is superficial or used for reputation management
• The corporate social performance approach integrates social issues into business strategies
• Archie Carroll's pyramid of social responsibility proposes four levels of responsibility

Corporate Social Responsibility Standards

• Principle-based standards, reporting-based standards, and certification-based standards are three types of CSR standards
• UN global compact is a set of universal principles for corporations to follow
• Advantages of standards include providing orientation and creating a level playing field, while criticisms argue that they are bureautic or allow for blue washing

Sustainability

• Sustainability is a complex and multifaceted concept
• It involves environmental, social, and economic dimensions
• Corporations have a role to play in promoting sustainability

Globalization

• Guidelines for MNCs by Richard De George propose a set of principles for corporate behavior
• Hyperglobalization and skepticism are two approaches to understanding globalization
• Globalization can be economic, political, or cultural in nature
• Nancy and Sloterdijk propose conflicting views on globalization and cultural identity
• Hypernorms, as proposed by Donaldson and Dunfee, are universal moral principles that apply across cultures

Ethics and Morality

• Morality refers to the prevailing ideas about good and bad.
• Ethical absolutism is the belief that there is one conception of right and wrong that should hold for people at all times.

Business and Ethics

• Business ethics involves crossings between business and ethics, business and philosophy, and business ethics and continental philosophy.
• It requires a willingness to take a critical stance, questioning unquestioned positions, and developing one's own perspective on business problems.

Stakeholder Theory

• Stakeholders are a key concept in mainstream business ethics and a theoretical cornerstone for the development of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
• Stakeholder analysis is a way of handling complexity in business ethics.

Veil of Ignorance

• The veil of ignorance is a thought experiment by John Rawls to identify fairness.
• It involves forgetting one's identity to make impartial decisions.

Communitarianism

• Communitarianism is the opposite of the veil of ignorance, emphasizing that our ideas of right and wrong are grounded in the social context.
• It argues that our identity and social context influence our moral judgments.

Organizational Justice

• Organizational justice focuses on justice for the self, with fairness being a subjective perspective.
• It is descriptive, examining how people perceive fairness in their interactions with others.
• There are three dimensions of organizational justice: distributive, procedural, and interactional.

Philosophical Theories

• Aristotle's views on justice emphasize the importance of fairness and equality.
• Thrasymachus believed that justice is the interest of the strong.
• Bernard Mandeville thought that private vices lead to public benefits.
• John Rawls' theory of justice emphasizes fairness and equality.

Leadership

• Leadership involves a willingness to make tough decisions and take responsibility.
• There are different approaches to leadership, including the Great Man Theory, behavioral leadership, transformational leadership, and transactional leadership.
• Joanne B. Ciullia believes that good leadership is both ethical and effective.

Whistleblowing

• Whistleblowing involves reporting unethical behavior or wrongdoing within an organization.
• There are two types of whistleblowing: internal (reporting within the organization) and external (reporting outside the organization).
• Whistleblowing can be challenging, especially in organizations with rigid bureaucracies and lack of open communication.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

• CSR is a controversial and complex topic, with different attitudes towards it, ranging from defensive to civil.
• There are different approaches to CSR, including defensive, compliant, managerial, strategic, and civil.
• Archie Carroll's pyramid of social responsibility emphasizes the importance of economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic responsibilities.

Corporate Social Performance (CSP)

• CSP involves measuring and evaluating an organization's social performance.
• Donna Woods' approach to CSP emphasizes the importance of making CSR measurable and determining identity.

Corporate Social Responsibility Standards

• There are different types of CSR standards, including principle-based, reporting-based, and certification-based standards.
• The UN Global Compact is a voluntary initiative that encourages companies to align their operations with ten universal principles in four areas: human rights, labor, environment, and anti-corruption.

Sustainability

• Sustainability involves balancing economic, social, and environmental responsibilities.
• There are different approaches to sustainability, including the triple bottom line and stakeholder theory.

Globalization

• Globalization involves the increasing interconnectedness of economies and societies worldwide.
• There are different forms of globalization, including hyperglobalization and skepticism.
• Guidelines for multinational corporations (MNCs) include respecting human rights, adhering to international labor standards, and adopting environmentally sustainable practices.