Summary Business Ethics PHI2043S | Notes for the entire course
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Course
Business Ethics (PHI2042S)
Institution
University Of Cape Town (UCT)
These notes thoroughly cover all the content for the course and allowed me to achieve a 75% overall for the module. It is a Word document so that you can edit and add new work that may be covered.
WEEK 1 - INTRO TO BUSINESS ETHICS............................................................................................................ 2
WEEK 2 – CRITICAL THINKING...................................................................................................................... 10
WEEK 3 – THE ETHICS OF ECONOMIC SYSTEMS............................................................................................ 22
WEEK 4 - IN WHOSE INTERESTS SHOULD BUSINESSES ACT...........................................................................32
WEEK 5 – AFFIRMATIVE ACTION (AA)........................................................................................................... 40
WEEK 6 – THE ETHICS OF ADVERTISING....................................................................................................... 48
WEEK 7 – PRODUCT SAFETY + LIABILITY....................................................................................................... 59
WEEK 8 – MEANINGFUL WORK.................................................................................................................... 68
WEEK 9 – BUSINESS AND THE ENVIRONMENT............................................................................................. 75
WEEK 10 – WHISTLEBLOWING..................................................................................................................... 84
WEEK 11 – BEHAVIOURAL ETHICS................................................................................................................ 90
,Week 1 - Intro to Business Ethics
What is philosophy?
Philosophy is a systematized body of thought all about matters of right and wrong
and is the route to wisdom. (Experts in thinking).
Wisdom is defined as ‘experience and knowledge judiciously applied’. Ideas are
wise if they are sensibly and insightfully derived from our observations of how the
world is, and from our understanding of why it is that way.
Ideas usually contain some piece of advice.
Academic philosophy, being one of the types, is a systematic, wide-ranging
endeavour involving a great many people applying their minds to problems.
Philosophy consists of several branches, including metaphysics (Is there God? What
is a person?) and epistemology (questions relating to knowledge – Can we every
really know anything?). Moral philosophy is another branch, which include
questions about ethics.
Experts in their fields should think like philosophers to solve their problems.
Because moral philosophy is a sub-discipline within philosophy it enhances our
critical thinking skills.
NB: The practice of philosophy involves being sceptical of the ideas we come
across.
How does philosophy help with critical thinking?
The discipline of philosophy has always involved paying direct attention to thinking
itself. Studying philosophy usually involves taking at least one course in reasoning –
logic is described as a branch of philosophy.
It is so vital to philosophy that it is known as ‘the grammar of philosophy’.
Distinguishes between beliefs that are true (results from sound deductive
reasoning), beliefs that are probably true (sound inductive reasoning) and beliefs
that have no good reason to hold.
Philosophy’s ambition is to give insightful and reliable answers to fundamental
questions by way of the most careful and precise thinking available to us. And logic
is the most precise thinking system we have.
,What is the difference between ethics and morality?
1. The study of principles of right and wrong behaviour or character.
2. Codes of right or wrong behaviour or character applying to a certain group.
Common meanings: Principles of right and wrong behaviour or good and bad
character.
What do ‘moral’, ‘immoral’ and ‘amoral’ mean?
Immoral: (unethical) – an act or a characteristic that falls short of the standard
established by some moral principle.
Example: The standard suggests: “All employees underperforming should not be
dismissed unless they have been informed of their underperformance and given
reasonable time and training to help them improve”. Employer fires an employee
without previously informing her about her underperformance.
Amoral: (non-ethical) – no moral standard is applicable.
Example: Employer usually sends Christmas cards to employees. This year the
business made a loss, so he now sends emails instead.
Moral: (ethical) – 1. Describes an act which meets a moral standard.
2. Describes the exceeding of a moral standard (supererogatory).
Immoral Amoral Moral (1) Supererogatory
Synonyms Unethical, wrong Non-ethical, Ethical, right Moral, ethical,
non-moral right
Relation to Fails to meet No relevant Meets the moral Exceeds moral
the relevant moral standards. moral standards. standards. standards.
moral
standards
Example Stealing from Smiling when Being honest Saving colleagues
one’s employer. greeting with one’s from a fire.
colleagues. employer.
Moral Not morally Indifferent if acts Not performing Performing and
permissibility permissible. are performed or these acts is not not both morally
not both morally morally permissible.
status
permissible. permissible.
Moral Are morally Not morally Are morally Not morally
obligation obligated. obliged or obligated. obligated or
morally obliged.
status
obligated.
, Distinguishing moral standards from amoral standards
For a standard of behaviour to be a moral standard, it should be derived from moral
principles, for example principles avoiding harm, improving freedom, promoting
equality, or achieving justice.
If someone does not meet your own standards of behaviour, they are not acting
immorally unless two things are true:
Your standard is a moral standard
It is correct
NOTE: We should not presume that a standard of behaviour is a moral standard
simply because it is commonly accepted within a group.
Descriptive VS Normative ethics
Descriptive: Describes a person’s or a group’s moral judgements (believe it is wrong
to eat meat ). *These claims can be tested empirically – thus determine if they are
true by studying the relevant people (observations).
Normative: Prescribed moral judgements (it is wrong to eat meat ). *Cannot be
tested and establish truth on their own (more insight is needed) – but aims to help
each of us know ‘what we should do’ and ‘how we should be’. Sometimes called
prescriptive ethics
Objective moral facts
A claim is a fact if it is true, and it is an objective fact if its truth is independent of
what we or anyone else thinks about it.
What is emotivism and why do most philosophers think that it is
incorrect?
Emotivists believe that they can in fact explain moral claims without using the
languages of ethics – which contradicts what was said earlier. Emotivists say that
moral claims are nothing more than expressions of feelings.
Express not describe.
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