Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making & Cases 11th Edition Instructor manual

2.     Regardless of an individual’s beliefs about a particular action, if society judges it to be unethical or wrong, new legislation usually follows.
3.   Whether correct or not, that judgment directly affects a company’s ability to achieve its business goals
C.    The Reasons for Studying Business Ethics
1.     Studying business ethics is valuable for several reasons.
a.     Business ethics is not merely an extension of an individual’s own personal ethics—an individual’s personal values and moral philosophies are only one factor in the ethical decision-making process.
b.     Being a good person with sound personal ethics is not sufficient to handle the ethical issues that arise in a business organization.
c.     Business strategy decisions involve complex and detailed discussions. A high level of personal moral development may not prevent an individual from violating the law in an organizational context.
d.     The morals people learn from family, religion, and school may not provide specific guidelines for complex business decisions.
2.     Studying business ethics helps businesspeople begin to identify ethical issues, recognize the approaches available to resolve them, learn about the ethical decision-making process and ways to promote ethical behavior, and begin to understand how to cope with conflicts between personal values and organizational values.
 
III. The Development of Business Ethics
A.    Before 1960: Ethics in Business
1.     Prior to 1960, the United States went through several phases questioning the concept of capitalism.
a.     In the 1920s, the progressive movement sought to provide citizens with a “living wage,” or income sufficient for education, recreation, health, and retirement.
b.     In the 1930s, the New Deal specifically blamed business for the country’s economic woes. Businesses were asked to work more closely with the government to raise family income.
c.     By the 1950s, the New Deal had evolved into the Fair Deal, defining such matters as civil rights and environmental responsibility as ethical issues that businesses had to address.
2.     Until 1960, ethical issues related to business were discussed within the domain of theology or philosophy.
a.     Catholic social ethics included concern for morality in business, workers’ rights, and living wages; for humanistic values; and for improving the conditions of the poor.
b.     The Protestants work ethic encouraged individuals to be frugal, work hard, and attain success in the capitalistic system.
c.     Religious traditions provided a foundation for the future field of business ethics, with the first book on business ethics published in 1937 demonstrating the necessity of the ethical treatment of different stakeholders.
B.    The 1960s: The Rise of Social Issues in Business
1.     American society turned to causes such as consumerism. An antibusiness attitude developed as critics attacked the perceived vested interests that controlled both the economic and political sides of society—the so-called military-industrial complex.
2.     The 1960s saw the decay of inner cities and the growth of ecological problems.
3.     The rise of consumerism—activities undertaken by independent individuals, groups, and organizations to protect their rights as consumers—began, and President John F. Kennedy outlined a Consumers’ Bill of Rights (the right to safety, the right to be informed, the right to choose, and the right to be heard).
4.     The modern consumer movement has roots in 1965 and Ralph Nader’s Unsafe at Any Speed. His group fought successfully for consumer-protection legislation.
5.     President Johnson’s Great Society told the business community that the U.S. government’s responsibility was to provide the citizen with some degree of economic stability, equality, and social justice. Activities that could destabilize the economy or discriminate against any class of citizens began to be viewed as unethical and unlawful.
C.    The 1970s: Business Ethics as an Emerging Field
1.     Business professors began to teach and write about corporate social responsibility, an organization’s obligation to maximize its positive impact on stakeholders and to minimize its negative impact.
2.     Philosophers applied ethical theory and philosophical analysis to structure the discipline of business ethics.