Chapter 4 Ethics and Ethical reasoning

By : Waleed AL-Furaih Mohamed AL-Subaie Abdulmohsen AL-harbe Mohamed AL-Ansary

The meaning of Ethics

• Ethics : conception of right and wrong conduct .

• Principles : guides to moral behavior .

What is ethical relativism ?

• that what is truly right depends solely on what the individual or the society thinks is right. Because what people think will vary with time and place, what is right will also vary.

What is business ethics ?

• The application of general ethical ideas to business behavior .

* low management is one of the reason of unethical behavior .

* to be considered ethical … the organization must set

a proper behavior that fit every one .

Why be ethical

* to meet demands of business stakeholders

* to enhance business performance .

To comply legal requirement .

* Minimize harm

*promote personal morality .

The reason behind ethical problems

* personal gain and self interest .

* competitive pressures on profits .

* conflicts in interest .

* cross cultural contradictions .

The core elements of ethical character

* manager value .

* spirituality in the workplace .

Managers moral development .

The first method of ethical resoning

Virtue :

Value and personal character .

It goal is to be a good person and have moral values .

Examples :

Courage – faith – hope – honesty

The second method of ethical reasoning

Utility :

The amount of good can be produced by decision.

It compares between the benefit and cost of decision .

Its hard measuring the ethical utility like in employee morality – physically satisfaction – the worth of human life .

The third method of ethical reasoning

Rights :

That a person or a group is entitled to something or expect to be treated in a certain way .

Most important rights :

- safety – free speech – freedom – being informed

Its challenging to ORG balance the employes right because that may lead to conflicts in rights .

The right of a person must not cause any harm to the other and their rights .

Forth method of ethical reasoning

Justice :

Distributing benefits and burdens equitably and according to a accepted rule .

Example :

Salary must be fair according to the employee work .

The End