Key
Concepts and Vocabulary
Key Concepts:
. Ethical Models: Utilitarian, Moral Rights, and Justice
· Concepts Of Social Responsibility: Stakeholder and Contemporary
· Whistle Blowing
· Accountability
Vocabulary:
Accountability
Employers, managers, and employees are held accountable or responsible for their actions – and for their failure to act when action would have been appropriate..
Amoral
Amoral behavior lacks moral sensibility. An amoral employee does not care about right or wrong. They are neither moral nor immoral.
Business Ethics
Business ethics refers to the ethical evaluation of the behaviors of businesses – including their executives, managers, and employees.
Complicity
One is complici,t or an accomplice, in an act of wrongdoing if one assists the wrongdoer. One may also be complicit if one fails to attempt to stop wrongdoing or to report it when one is aware that it has taken place.
Consequentialist Model
This model holds that the best action is the one that yields the best consequences. The Utilitarian vesion of consequentialism holds that the best consequences are those that produce the greatest good for the greatest number of people, where “good” is defined as happiness.
Defamation
Defamation is the act of harming the reputation of a person through written (libel) or spoken (slander) statements.
Deontological or Duty/Respect- Based Model
While there are various versions of deontological (or duty-based) ethics, the primary focus of them is on a person’s duty. Deontologists, like Immanuel Kant, contend that we have a duty to respect one another which means we never treat other people merely as objects, which means we never use them. We treat people as we want and expect to be treated. When making a decision, we should ask ourselves if we would want everyone to follow our example. Respecting one another means trying to convince others to be respectful and holding ourselves and others responsible when we act disrespectfully.
Ethics
Ethics refers to our systematic reflection on what is right and wrong or good and bad in actions that affect others and the reasons that we offer for our judgements.
Immoral
Immoral behavior is behavior that violates ordinary, accepted standards of right and wrong. .
Moral
Moral behavior is behavior that is considered to be right. These actions are controlled by one's conscience or ethical judgment.
Sarbanes-Oxley
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 legislates acceptable corporate conduct. It establishes new standards for corporate accountability and penalties for corporate wrongdoing.
Social Responsibility
Social responsibility is the idea that businesses should not function amorally. Instead they should contribute to the welfare of their communities
Stakeholder
Companies should strive to be responsible to five main groups. These include : customers, employees, investors, suppliers, and local communities.
Virtue-Based Model
Virtue-based ethics hold that we should always strive for excellence, to be the best people we can be. When making a decision, we should ask ourselves what a good and wise person would do in our circumstances and why, and then we should follow that line of reasoning in our actions. Each of us should try to become the best person he or she can be, to encourage others to become the best people they can be, and to work to build the best community in which we would want to live.
Whistleblower
A whistleblower is someone who reveals something covert or who informs against another. In the workplace, this would be an employee who reports any misconduct to superiors, government agencies or the public.
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