What do we mean when we say that a company has acted unethically? Can a company’s behaviour be unethical but legal? Can you think of any corporate scandals where a company has acted illegally or unethically?

1. Introducing Business
Ethics
Week 9

2. A CHANGING WORLD?
 Companies have always been criticised for their actions but
nowadays campaigns such as “Occupy WallSt” are getting
global attention. Why is this?
 A number of high-profile corporate scandals have made
people increasingly aware of how companies behave and
how their actions affect all of us.
 In the past, it was believed that only governments could
change the behaviour of a company = LAWS.
 Laws are not enough – there is increasing pressure on
companies to demonstrate that they act responsibly, ethically.
 This brings us to the subject of business ethics.

3. What do we mean when we
say that a company has
acted unethically?

4. Can a company’s
behaviour be unethical but
legal?

5. Can you think of any
corporate scandals where
a company has acted
illegally or unethically?

6. GETTING STARTED
 You are going to work in groups. Your instructor will
give you a corporate scandal/famous business
ethics case that you will research.
 In your groups, research the scandal, answer the
questions.
 Prepare a mini PPP presentation to inform the rest
of the group about the scandal.
 Your PPP should NOT contain more than 5 slides.

7. THE CASES
1. Ford Pinto – exploding gas engines
2. Nestlé baby milk
3. Johnson & Johnson Tylenol
4. Enron investment
5. Bhopal gas leak (India)
6. B.P. Oil spill (Gulf of Mexico)
7. Apple / Foxconn treatment of Asian workers
8. Ponzi investment scheme Bernard Madoff
9. Hewlett-Packard spying case
10. Coca-Cola/Pepsi Co spying case

8. THE TASK
1. Give some basic background information
about the company: where is the company
based? What does it do?
2. Summarise the case: What happened? What did
the company (or an employee) do? Why? What
was the result?
3. Analyse the ethical issues in the case: What
ethical issues does this case raise? Did the
company act ethically or not? Why? Has anything
changed in the company (or in other companies)

9. Is it possible to change a
company’s behaviour?

10. ABOUT BUSINESS ETHICS
 Business (corporate) ethics is a sub-branch of
ethics and its roots as an academic subject are in
moral philosophy rather than business
management.
 Most leading business schools around the world
offer courses on Business Ethics as part of their
courses, as do many universities.
 Business ethics actually affects students in all
degree subjects – it offers a framework for decision-

11. SOME ASPECTS OF BUSINESS
ETHICS
 Production ethics – how products are made
 Marketing ethics – how products are
advertised & promoted
 Workplace ethics – how companies recruit and
treat their employees, etc.

12. THE CASE FOR BUSINESS
ETHICS
 Changing corporate behaviour requires specialist knowledge &
training.
 It is the right thing to do. You cannot separate companies from
society.
 It is a practical subject that discusses “the rules of the game”.
 It gives employees and managers a “framework” for decision-
making.
 There is clearly a public interest in corporate behaviour –
companies cannot afford to ignore public opinion.
 Companies benefit in many ways from business ethics training.
 Companies have a social responsibility to everyone – not just their
shareholders.

13. BENEFITS OF BUSINESS
ETHICS
 For companies: enhanced reputation, greater
understanding & strategic thinking, a more
motivated workforce
 For employees: a better working environment, job-
seekers can make informed decisions about the
type of company they want to work for
 For consumers: more transparency and higher
standards
 For the government: less need to make intrusive

14. Why are some people
against teaching business
ethics?

15. THE CASE AGAINST BUSINESS
ETHICS
 Ethics is not something that can be taught. It is learnt
naturally. In addition, many ethical dilemmas are not
“clear-cut”.
 “Ethical” is not a universal value – it changes from
culture to culture.
 If companies are taking an interest in business ethics
just because of public opinion, then it is only “window
dressing”.
 Governments are the ones who should worry about what
is acceptable, and they do that by making laws.

16. What do you think?

17. What is a counter
argument, and how can
you make use of them to
develop opinions?

18. DEVELOPING OPINIONS
 Counter arguments are used to show that you have
thought about the opposing side of an issue but you
believe your argument is more convincing.
 Demonstrating that you understand both (or more)
perspectives on an issue makes it easier for you to
support your opinion and develop your personal
response = CONTENT.
 Using relevant examples and evidence to support
your arguments makes your opinion much stronger.

19. COUNTER ARGUMENT TASK
 You are going to consider the following notion:
“It is the role of companies to make money,
not worry about ethics.”
 Half of you will agree with the statement, half of
you will disagree with the statement.
 Please use appropriate language!!!