B LAW 210 1st Edition Lecture 4 Outline of Last Lecture I II How a Court Case Works Cont Constitutional Law a Federal System b Clauses c Amendments Bill of Rights Outline of Current Lecture 1 Business Ethics Terms 2 Ethical Decision Examples a Corporate Bid b Runaway Trolley c Runaway Trolley Part 2 Current Lecture Business Ethics The study of what constitutes right or wrong behavior in the business world Morals Of pertaining to or concerned with the principles or rules of right conduct or the distinction between right and wrong Social Responsibility The idea that those who run corporations can and should act ethically and be accountable to society for their actions o Three P s Planet People Profit Corporate Sustainability This refers to the capacity to endure Moral Minimum Compliance with the law o In many corporate scandals had most of the businesspersons involved simply followed the law they would not have gotten in trouble Profit Maximization The idea that asks which ethical decision would maximize profit in a company or business o Ex The more the company makes the more the workers get o Ex The companies contributes to the economy adds in profits o Ex Keeps hard workers WORKING Stakeholder Theory A theory of organizational management and business ethics that addresses morals and values in managing an organization These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute Ethical Leadership People within an organization looking towards leadership to model their behavior within the company o If the CEO tacks on days to his business trip wouldn t a salesperson perhaps feel okay to do that as well Ethical Code of Conduct The ethical code of conduct indicates the company s commitment to legal compliance as well as to the welfare of its customers or clients its employees and its suppliers Corporate Citizenship The idea that corporations are a part of the community and must hold themselves to the standard of the community o Hiring locals to hold positions o Most likely won t outsource their departments IT department to other places o Contributes to the surrounding community Ex After joining a corporation your boss asks you to write up a bid regarding the type of service you ve installed in this corporation for how much it would cost to put in other company Initially you estimate at 100k After your boss reviews it she asks you to bump the bid up to 200k What do you do o Do you bump it up because she is your boss Or leave it the same because you are uncomfortable with doubling your estimate o Would you talk to someone else that was in your position previously Someone at your level that s worked for your boss before In Ethical Decision Making YOU WILL NEVER HAVE ALL THE FACTS Ex There is a run away trolley car careening down some railway tracks towards two tunnels If it stays on the track it is on it will kill five people working in the eastern tunnel If you pull a switch it will move onto a side track go through the western tunnel and kill the person working in it Assume you can t do anything to stop the car or change its path except pull this switch o If the five people were all pedophiles and the one was a medical student would you change your decision Ex Same run away trolley but without the switch This time you re standing on a cliff looking over the track the car is about to careen down If unchecked it will kill the five people in the tunnel Fortunately there is a very fat man standing beside you fat enough that if somehow he were to fall onto the track his sheer mass would stop the trolley You give him a little shove he falls off the cliff onto the train tracks is killed by the trolley if not the fall and the five are saved o Does it make a difference knowing you action will for sure kill someone In a company YOU HAVE THE CHOICE to leave If a company s code of conduct compromises your morals YOU CAN LEAVE