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Summary Ethics & Future of Business
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Masters Business Administration - Ethics and Future of Business Exam summary including all readings and lectures Exam grade: 9.7
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Ethics & the Future of BusinessLecture 1 - Moral & Ethics
1.1 Introduction to business ethics
- Normative Theory - How should we
behave ?
- Morality - sense of right and wrong
- Ethics - systematic study of morality
- Ethical theories - guideline, principles and rules that determine right and wrong
Ethics - Why interesting?
- Discussion about morality has a long history
- Cumulative, debates over time —> not newest is best
- Anthropocentric - examine right and wrong from perspective from human being
- Key questions
● What kind of moral principles should guide our actions ?
● Outcomes which guide our actions, aims we have ?
Do we need ethics when we have law?
- In society, morality is foundation of law
- Law and ethics partially overlap, nonetheless
- Cannot just follow law e.g. cheating on partner is unaccounted for
- Law and ethics can involve contradictions e.g. apartheid, law was
segregation but non ethical
- Companies can operate in locations with lacking legal infrastructure
The Moral Machine Awad et al. (2018)
Laws being written on how AI makes decisions in terms of saving human lives
● Due to cultural differences - do we have to change ethics etc. per country?
● 3 strongest preferences: sparing humans over animals, sparing more lives, and
sparing young lives
○ these three preferences may be considered essential building blocks for
machine ethics
● Problem e.g.: German Ethical Rule number 9 also states that any distinction based on
personal features, such as age, should be prohibited. This clearly clashes with the
strong preference for sparing the young (such as children) that is assessed through
the Moral Machine
,3 clusters
● North america & European countries
○ Relatively even everything
● Eastern cluster: japan taiwan, islamic countries e.g. indonesia
○ Less preference to spare young over old
○ Less preference to spare high status characters
○ High humans over dogs
○ High saving lawful
● Southern: Central and south america
○ Preference to spare young over old high
○ Preference to spare high status characters
○ Less preference to spare humans over pets
○ Strong preference to spare women
○ Strong preference to spare fit / healthy characters
1.2 Normative theories of ethics - Crane
Normative ethical theories are ethical theories that aim to prescribe the morally correct way
of acting; how we ought to behave.
➔What are the principles that guide our actions vs. outcomes of our actions→what kind of
decision should we make
Distinction between theories that focus on the principles vs. theories that focus on the
outcome:
● Consequentialist theories (teleological): theories that base moral judgements on the
outcomes of a certain action – goal oriented. If the outcome is desirable, the action is
morally right; if the outcome is not desirable, the action is morally wrong.
○ Ethical Egoism;utilitarianism
● Principle-based theories (deontological): theories that base moral judgements on
the
derivation of principles and the procedure by which they are arrived at – prioritize
what is right, rather than what is desirable.
, ○ Ethics of duties; rights and justice
2 outcome ethics
1.1 Ethical egoism
- Not considered ethical theory, perspective to ethics
- An action is morally right when decision-maker decides to pursue short-term desires
or long-term interests
- Thomas Hobbes
Problems
- If everyone goes for self-interest (rapist, murder), can be contradictory to moral
principles
- Enlightened egoism - focuses on long-term —> Still same problem
- Does not take a stance on the nature of interests, which can still lead to
problems due to conflicting interests
Moral Machine : What would an egoist do?
- If egoist buys the car, they would save themselves first
- Ethical egoist manufacturing the car - would likely aim to serve egoist customers to sell
more cars
1.2 Utilitarianism
- An act is morally right if results does Greatest amount of good to greatest amount
of people
- John stuart Mill
- Act utilitarianism: whether a single act is right or wrong depends on amount of
common good it produces
- Rule utilitarianism: focuses on creating rules that produce the most common good
- Basically is: Cost/benefit analysis
Problems
- Subjective, who decides?
- How do we make calculations? What outweighs, How to compare between people
- Can be against basic rights —> High value target but civilian casualties, might kill for
bigger outcome
- No reciprocity
- Maximizing generally is not best approach to addressing all values
, Moral Machine: What would a utilitarian do?
● Would aim to harm as few as possible
● Would conduct a Cost/benefit analysis of what causes the most benefit or least
harm in each situation
● Rule Utilitarianism: self-driving vehicles should minimize casualties, should
only be introduced if they make driving safer
2 action ethics
1.3 Ethics and duties
● Kant
● Need to apply in all situations - duty, universality, dignity, consistency
● Every person needs to develop moral code
● Categorical imperatives
● Universally applicable —> check that principle is acceptable to everyone
● Respect for persons / Dignity —> treat humanity as end and never means
only, everyone has dignity
● Consistency → What is right for one, is right for all
Problems
● Difficult & Abstract theory
● Burden —> I will not lie as a rule —> little hard sometimes
● Perhaps too strictly founded on the use of reason
● Undervalues outcomes of actions
Moral Machine: What would someone following ethics of duties do?
● If owner of car is fault for the consequences of it, they should be sacrificed
● The one who generates mobility risk cannot sacrifice non-involved individuals
● You bought it, your burden to carry if car fails
● Determine general rules that apply to all
● Human moral reasoning should be central
1.4 Rights & Justice
- Natural (human) rights are certain basic, important, inalienable entitlements that
should be respected and protected in every single situation
- Human dignity, rights which cannot be taken away from us
- Foundation of universal human rights: Right to life, freedom, speech …
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