 | Term | Definition |
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Ethical duties |
essentially the belief that a manager should always act in accordance with a set of objective norms of behavior or universal statements of belief that are "right" and "just" and "fair" in, of, and by themselves. |
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Moral Reasoning |
logically working from an objective and universal first principle through to a decision on the ethical duties we owe to others--requires an understanding of normative philosophy. |
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Normative philosophy |
the study of proper thought and conduct; that is, how we should think and behave. They have attempted to establish a logical thought process, based upon an incontrovertible first principle, that would determine whether an act is "right" or "wrong," "just" or "unjust," "fair" or "unfair." |
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Morality |
refers to the standards of behavior by which people are judged, and particularly to the standards of behavior by which people are judged in their relationships with others. |
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Primary Unifying Principle |
the belief that members of a group do bear some form of responsibility for the well-being of other members of that group. |
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Moral Relativism |
it is whether your moral standards that help other members of society are as good as mine that help other members of society. It forces both of us to justify our standards relative to a principle that does extend over groups, cultures, and times. |
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Buddhism |
(religious creed and ethical system of central and eastern Asia, founded about 460 B.C.) "Harm not others with that which pains yourself." |
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Confucianism |
(ethical system added to the existing Chinese religious creed about 510 B.C.). "Loving kindness is the one maxim which ought to be acted upon throughout one's life. |
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Hinduism |
(traditional religious creed and social system of the Indian subcontinent). "This is the sum of duty: do nothing to others which if done to you would cause you pain." |
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Islam |
(religious creed of western and southeastern Asia, founded about AD 630). "Not one of you is a believer until you wish to everyone what you love for yourself." |
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Judaism |
"What is hurtful to yourself, do not unto others. That is the whole of the Torah, and the remainder is but commentary. Go and learn it." |
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Taoism |
(religious creed and philosophic system of northern China, founded about 550 BC). "Regard your neighbor's gain as your gain, and regard your neighbor's loss as your loss." |
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Principle of Eternal Law |
the principle of Eternal Law can be summarized in the statement that we should act in a way that our creator wanted us to act, with kindness and compassion towards others |
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Flaws/Problems with Principle of Eternal Law |
no two Natural Law theorists, and very few religious writers, have ever been able to agree on the exact provisions of the revealed or reasoned truth. |
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Principle of Personal Virtue |
can be summarized in the statement that we should always act in ways that convey a sense of humor, pride, and self-worth. Why this and not all the other elements we have discussed? Because the goal of human existence is the active, rational pursuit of excellence, and excellence requires those personal virtues. |
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Flaws/Problems with Principle of Personal Virtue |
being "open, honest, truthful, moderate, and proud" in reality is not enough. Some people can be "open, honest, truthful, moderate, and proud" of decisions and actions that may seem to the rest of us to have been exploitive, mean, and self-centered. |
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Principle of Utilitarian Benefits |
can be summarized in the statement that we should attempt to create the greatest net benefits for society. |
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Principle of Utilitarian Benefits |
this is termed a teleological approach in normative philosophy. It places emphasis on the outcome, not the character or intent, of individual actions. |
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Flaws/Problems with Principle of Utilitarian Benefits |
the possibility of exploitation. In the vast majority of cases, where no one is going to be hurt very badly, and particularly where it is possible to use financial equivalents for both the costs and the benefits, it is a familiar and useful form of analysis. But, there is always the possibility of justifying benefits for the great majority of the population by imposing sacrifices or penalties on a small minority. |
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Principle of Universal Duties |
can be summarized in two statements: (1) "Take no action that you would not be willing to see that others, faced with the same or equivalent situation, should also be free or even forced to take." and (2) "Treat each person as an end in himself or herself, worthy of dignity and respect, never as a means to your own ends." |
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Principle of Universal Duties |
this is the deontological approach to managerial ethics. This ethical principle states that the moral worth of an action cannot be dependent upon the outcome because those outcomes are so indefinite and uncertain at the time a decision to act is made. Instead, the moral worth of an action has to depend upon the intentions of the person making the decision or performing the act. |
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Flaws/Problems with Principle of Universal Duties |
there are no priorities and there are no degrees. This is another ethical system that depends on the situation of the individual for interpretation. |
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Principle of Distributive Justice |
can be summarized in one simple statement: Never take any action that would harm the least among us, those with least income, education, wealth, competence, influence, or power. We don't have to help those people in the lower ranks of our society to any great extent; we just should never harm them. |
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Flaws/Problems with Principle of Distributive Justice |
it is entirely dependent upon an acceptance of the proposition that social cooperation provides the basis for all economic and social benefits. Individual effort is downplayed, if not ignored. |
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Principle of Contributive Liberty |
can be summarized in one simple statement: Never take any action that would interfere with the rights of everyone--not just the poor, the uneducated and the weak--to develop their skills to be the fullest. We don't have to help people. We just can never interfere with their attempting to help themselves. |
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Flaws/Problems with Principle of Contributive Liberty |
It is based upon a very narrow definition of liberty that is limited to the negative right not to suffer interference from others; there may also be a positive right to receive some of the benefits enjoyed by others. |
