ABD3153 (Business Ethics) Topic 1 : Moral, Philosophy & Ethics

1. Moral, Philosophy & Ethics
Chapter 1

2. Definition of Legality
• Legality = a narrow scope of ethics. But a person who follows rules
and regulations need not necessarily be an ethical person. Ethical
behaviour rests upon one’s full conscience and accountability to do
good deeds as a social responsibility under all circumstances

3. Definitions of Ethics
• Ethics = a set of principles that contains behavioural/codes to
determine what is right or wrong.
• Ethical Behavior = That which is “right” or “good” in the context of
governing moral code
- Ethical behaviour is value driven
- What is considered ethical varies among moral reasoning approaches
- What is considered ethical can vary across cultures
- Ethical dilemmas arise as tests of personal ethics and values
- People have tendencies to rationalize unethical behaviors

4. Definition of Business Ethics
• The study of business situations, activities & decisions where issues of
right & wrong are addressed
• An extension of the commercial practices and rules which the
majority of business people recognize as essential to sound and
continuing business relationship.
• Ethical principles in business are not different from ethical principles
in general
• Business actions are judged
- By general ethical standards of society
- Not by more permissive standards

5. Types of Business Ethics
Business ethics have two dimension:
1. Normative business ethics
Consequentialist Theories – Those theories that determine the moral
rightness or wrongness of an action based on the action’s
consequences or results (Egoism, Utilitarianism)
Non-consequentialist Theories –Those that determine the moral
rightness or wrongness of an action based on the action’s instrinsic
features or character (Kant’s Ethics)
We will discuss about theory of Egoism, Utilitarianism and Kant’s Ethics in Chapter 2

6. Types of Business Ethics
2. Descriptive business ethics (Comparative business ethics)
• The study of people’s beliefs about morality, in contrast to normative
ethics and metaethics.
• What motivated pro-social behaviour, how people reason about
ethics, what people believe to have overriding importance, and how
societies regulate behaviour (such as by punishing people for doing
certain actions)
• Empathy helps motivate pro-social behaviour (such as giving to
charity) and our beliefs about what has overriding importance is
somewhat based on the culture we live in.

7. The importance of business ethics
1. The power and influence of business in society is greater than ever
before. Business ethics helps us to understand why this is happening,
what its implication might be and how we might address this situation
2. Business ethics provides the means to appreciate and understand the
challenges more clearly, in order that firms can meet the ethical
expectation more effectively
3. Business ethics can help to improve ethical decision making by providing
managers with the appropriate knowledge and tools that allow them to
correctly identify, diagnose, analyse and provide solutions to the ethical
problems and dilemmas they confronted with.

8. The importance of business ethics
4. Business ethics can provide us with the ability to assess the benefits
and problems associated with different ways of managing ethics in
organizations
5. Business ethics provides us with knowledge that transcends the
traditional framework of business studies and confronts us with
some of the most important questions faced by society.

9. Moral
• Morality = a norms, values and beliefs embedded in social processes
which define right or wrong for an individual or a community.
• Moral Reasoning = Reasons for various ethical practices
Moral-rights view Individualism view Justice view Utilitarian view
Does a decision or
behaviour maintain
the fundamental
rights of all human
beings?
Does a decision or
bahavior promote
one’s long term self-
interests?
Does a decision or
behaviour show
fairness and
impartiality?
Does a decision or
behaviour do the
greatest good for the
most people?

10. Values
• Values = broad beliefs about what is appropriate behaviour
• Value are the relatively permanent and deeply held preferences of
individuals or groups, they are the basis upon which attitudes and personal
choices are formed.
Terminal Values = ends-oriented values
- Preferences about desired end states
- Eg: comfortable life, family security, self-respect, and sense of
accomplishment
Instrumental Values = means-oriented values
- Preferences regarding the means to desired ends.
- Eg: include ambition, courage, honesty and imagination

11. Personal ethics & business
Personal Ethics Business Ethics
The code of conduct that govern an
individual’s whole life
The code of conduct imposed on an
employee or a member of a certain
profession
Learned from childhood; influenced
by family, religion, friends and close
surroundings
Learned relatively late in life, specially
after joining the work force
Examples include honesty, openness,
integrity, sincerity, etc.
Examples include punctuality, time
management, confidentiality and
transparency

12. Individual Responsibilities
• Individual responsibilities – the duties assigned to ensure an overall
image of the individual concerning his/her moral code as perceived by
the society
• The explanation of personal responsibility can vary from people to
people, depending entirely on their individual thought process

13. Priorities
Social Responsibility & Personal Responsibility
Social Responsibility Personal Responsibility
Concern with the welfare of each
individual who is a part of the society
Limited only to an individual and his
surroundings
Depend upon an individual’s profession,
age, and their willingness to get
involved
Assigned to every individual at a
particular point. There can be many
personal responsibilities which appear
one by one in each stage of life
Persuade us to think from a larger
perspective and for a more practical
benefit
The focus is more towards achieving the
personal benefits and ensuring the
welfare of people
More interested in society as a whole
and their welfare
Restrict the interest of the individual’s
only to himself and his family members
Nature of
Responsibilities
Profit vs. welfare
Interests

14. Individual Personality
• Individual personality = Personal characteristics that lead to
consistent pattern of behaviour
• Heredity : Research on the nature-nature controversy indicates that
about 50% of the variance in personality is inherited, thus setting
limits on development.
• Environment: Shape at least 50% of personality: culture, family, group
membership, life experiences

15. (Dull, unimaginative, literal-minded)(Imaginative, curious, original)
Intellectual Openness
(Independent, cold, rude)(Warm, tactful, considerate)
Agreeableness
(Impulsive, careless, irresponsible)(Planful, neat, dependable)
Conscientiousness
(Shy, unassertive, withdrawn)(Gregarious, energetic, self-dramatizing)
Sociability
(Nervous, self-doubting, moody)(Stable, confident, effective)
Adjustment
Personality Structure: The “Big Five”
Personality Factors

16. Goal Orientation as a Personality Trait
• Definition: The preference for one type of goal versus another. Two
orientations are important in understanding individual job
performance:
Learning goal orientation – a predisposition to develop competence
by acquiring new skills and mastering new situations; may be
associated with better individual job performance
Performance goal orientation – a predisposition to demonstrate and
validate competence by seeking favourable judgements from others
(e.g, a supervisor) and avoiding negative judgement; may be
associated with a ‘helpless’ response pattern and weak performance.

17. The End…..