Friedman: “There is one and only one responsibility of business – to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud.”
Milton Friedman
- Pro- prostitution, drugs
- Advocate of free market.
- Note: US has a regulated market.
- Advocated end of draft.
Carroll’s 4 responsibilities, in order of priority:
Economic – Must do
Legal – Have to do
Ethical – Should do
Discretionary – might do
Social capital – the goodwill of stakeholders. Useable for competitive advantage.
Corporate stakeholders – they affect or are affected by the achievement of the firm’s objectives.
Primary – sufficient bargaining power to affect outcomes
Secondary – indirect stake but affected by corporate actions
Corporate practices
Writedowns
Misclassification
Pirating corporate assest
Perceptions
Bending Rules
Organizational performance required
Ambiguous or out of date rules
Pressure external
Governance
Relationship-based
Rule-based
Moral relativism – morality is relative to some personal, social, or cultural standard
Kohlberg’s levels of moral development
1. Preconventional level – concern for self, avoid punishment.
2. Conventional level – consideration of society’s actions or laws.
3. Principled level – adherence to an universal moral code.
Cultural – differences, which trumps which
Code of ethics – how an org expects its employees to behave.
Ethics – consensually accepted standards of behavior for an occupation.
Morality – precepts of personal behavior based on religious or social grounds
Law – formal codes that permit or forbid certain behaviors
Approaches to Ethical Behavior
1. Utilitarian approach – actions and plans should be judged by their consequences – least harm and the lowest cost.
Problem: those with power, legitimacy, and urgency will be given priority.
2. Individual rights approach - humans have fundamental rights. Ex. Bill of rights under the constitution.
3. Justice approach – decision makers be fair, equitable, and impartial.
Problems distributive justice, and fairness versus retributive justice, and compensatory justice.
Cavanagh’s questions for testing ethical decisions
1. Utility – Does it optimize the satisfactions of all stakeholders?
2. Rights – Does it respect the rights of the individuals involved.
3. Justice – Is it consistent with the canons of justice?
Immanual Kant’s Categorical Imperitives (Principles)
1. Golden rule
2. Never treat another as means but only as an end.
Badaracco:
Right vs. right problems, dirty hands problems.
St. Thomas:
Goodpaster: Books
Mike Knotten
Kennedy
Sailboat – tac’ing strategy?
Temporal decision – not an absolute?
Ethical decisions – Hussein/Iraq?
What’s a Business For?
What is the strategic perspective?
Who owns the framework?
Posted by ledlogic at September 26, 2007 09:48 PM