Business Ethics Study Guide PDF

Here are answers based on the provided document: --- ### **1. How can we balance the interests of stakeholders?** Stakeholder interests can be balanced by moving away from shareholder primacy (the idea that corporations exist solely for shareholders). Lynn Stout's critique in *The Shareholder Valu...

Here are answers based on the provided document: --- ### **1. How can we balance the interests of stakeholders?** Stakeholder interests can be balanced by moving away from shareholder primacy (the idea that corporations exist solely for shareholders). Lynn Stout's critique in *The Shareholder Value Myth* advocates for **corporate "satisficing,"** where companies aim to do well in multiple areas instead of maximizing one. For example, companies like Patagonia focus on environmental responsibility, ethical supply chains, and transparency, demonstrating a balanced stakeholder approach. --- ### **2. How can conflicts of interest among stakeholders be overcome?** Conflicts can be addressed by: - **Adopting alternative ownership models:** Co-operatives and social purpose corporations prioritize stakeholder inclusivity. - **Socially Responsible Investment (SRI):** This considers ethical and social factors in decision-making, promoting inclusivity. - **Procedural fairness:** Ensuring transparency and legitimacy in decision-making helps stakeholders accept outcomes. --- ### **3. How can we predict the ethicality of a decision?** Ethicality can be gauged using: - **Procedural Utility:** People value not just outcomes but also the fairness and transparency of decision-making processes. - **Moral Agency Framework:** Ethical behavior arises from moral thought, self-evaluation, conduct, and environmental factors. - Real-world cases like the Ford Pinto scandal demonstrate the consequences of neglecting these considerations. --- ### **4. What are Bandura’s eight moral disengagement strategies, and how can they be addressed?** Bandura's strategies include: 1. **Moral Justification:** Framing harmful acts as serving a greater good. Example: Environmental harm justified for "economic growth." 2. **Euphemistic Labeling:** Using benign language to downplay harm. Example: Calling layoffs "resource reallocation." 3. **Advantageous Comparison:** Comparing unethical actions to worse behaviors. Example: "At least we’re not polluting as much as others." 4. **Displacement of Responsibility:** Shifting blame to authority figures. Example: "I was following orders." 5. **Diffusion of Responsibility:** Collective decisions deflect individual accountability. Example: Boards collectively approving harmful actions. 6. **Disregard for Consequences:** Ignoring or minimizing harm. Example: Tobacco companies downplaying health risks. 7. **Dehumanization:** Treating others as less than human. Example: Exploiting workers in sweatshops. 8. **Attribution of Blame:** Blaming victims. Example: "Consumers should read the fine print." **Addressing Strategies:** Promoting transparency, empathy, and accountability reduces moral disengagement. --- ### **5. Who was Albert Bandura, and what is his contribution to ethics?** Albert Bandura was a psychologist who developed **Social Learning Theory** and the concept of **moral disengagement.** His work explains how individuals justify unethical behavior through psychological strategies, highlighting the role of self-regulation and environment in moral decision-making. --- ### **6. What is the Green Monday case?** The document doesn’t explicitly mention Green Monday, but it aligns with ideas like Patagonia's model of ecological consciousness: - Promoting environmental responsibility. - Supporting transparent supply chains and ethical business practices. - Encouraging sustainability, which mirrors Green Monday's mission of plant-based advocacy. --- ### **7. How is fairness defined in organizations? Why is procedural fairness important?** - **Fairness in Organizations:** - **Distributive Fairness:** Ensuring resources match contributions or needs (e.g., fair wages). - **Procedural Fairness:** Transparent and consistent decision-making processes. - **Importance of Procedural Fairness:** - It fosters trust, legitimacy, and acceptance of outcomes, even unfavorable ones. - Examples include Handelsbanken’s avoidance of bonuses to promote fairness and ethical behavior. To enhance intuition in predicting ethicality, several factors can be measured to provide a structured framework for assessing the ethical implications of decisions. These factors align with principles from ethical theories and psychological insights discussed in the document. Here’s a breakdown: --- ### **1. Moral Awareness and Sensitivity** - **Definition:** Ability to recognize that a situation has ethical implications. - **Measurement:** - Surveys or assessments of ethical sensitivity. - Scenarios that gauge individuals' capacity to detect moral issues. - Training programs improving awareness of ethical dimensions in decisions. --- ### **2. Consequential Analysis** - **Definition:** Anticipating the impact of a decision on stakeholders. - **Measurement:** - Stakeholder impact analysis (who is affected and how). - Metrics on harm/benefit balance, such as quality of life or environmental impact. - Scenario modeling to predict long-term vs. short-term effects. --- ### **3. Alignment with Core Values** - **Definition:** The extent to which actions align with organizational or societal values. - **Measurement:** - Value audits: Comparing decisions against stated values or codes of conduct. - Employee and stakeholder surveys to measure perceived alignment. --- ### **4. Transparency and Accountability** - **Definition:** Clarity and openness in decision-making processes. - **Measurement:** - Degree of stakeholder involvement in decisions. - Frequency and depth of public disclosures or audits. - Feedback loops for stakeholders to voice concerns. --- ### **5. Procedural Fairness** - **Definition:** Fairness in the methods used to reach decisions. - **Measurement:** - Consistency in applying rules or policies. - Documentation of processes and criteria for decision-making. - Surveys measuring perceptions of fairness among stakeholders. --- ### **6. Presence of Moral Disengagement** - **Definition:** Indicators that moral disengagement strategies are being used. - **Measurement:** - Language analysis to detect euphemistic labeling or blame-shifting. - Employee reporting systems for identifying diffusion of responsibility or dehumanization. --- ### **7. Organizational and Cultural Context** - **Definition:** Influence of organizational norms and culture on ethical behavior. - **Measurement:** - Ethical climate surveys: Assessing perceptions of moral behavior in the organization. - Analysis of historical patterns of behavior or decision outcomes. --- ### **8. Socio-Economic Impact** - **Definition:** Broader impact of decisions on societal well-being and equity. - **Measurement:** - Economic metrics like income distribution or job creation. - Social impact assessments focusing on marginalized groups. --- ### Practical Tools: - **Predictive Models:** Use AI or decision-analysis tools to weigh ethical considerations. - **Ethical Simulations:** Scenarios to test decision-makers' responses. - **Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA):** Balancing qualitative and quantitative measures. By measuring these factors systematically, intuition can be supplemented with robust, data-driven insights to predict and guide ethical behavior.