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1
Q

Definition of Morality

A

a system of norms relating to actions of individuals or groups

2
Q

Differentiate between 3 types of Norms

A
  • Moral norms: actions affecting other people, don’t hurt others.
  • Social norms: concerning oneself, informal understandings that govern the behavior of members of a society
  • Legal standards: clearly defined guidelines that shall not be violated or get punished
3
Q

Definition of ethics

A

science of morality, examines moral standards of individuals or groups

4
Q

Two categories of ethics

A

Normative ethics: argues how behavior ought to be, and how a person should act
Descriptive ethics: describes how people really behave in moral dilemmas

5
Q

Main questions of Ethics

A

What should I do?
How should I live?
Why is this action right or wrong?
What is a good life?

6
Q

Descriptive Ethics: Adam Smith

A

Invisible hand: if every person pursues his own self-interest, the utility for the society will be maximized.
Empirical finding by Smith: people not only strive for maximization of own utility, but also upon reducing pain or increasing gain of others due to empathy.
Was measured and still proved valid today.

7
Q

Different layers of Ethics research

A

Main question: what is a good decision?

  • Microlevel (personal level): concerning the conditions under which an individual behaves ethically or not.
  • Mesolevel (institution/company level: business ethics): principles to govern the conduct of business. Analysis of how moral standards emerged and how to put them into practice.
  • Macro (economic ethics): how should the government interact with the economy, if at all.
  • Supra (international level): should several nations tackle global problems?
8
Q

Overview of relevant branches of ethics

A

Teleology: telos = purpose/goal.
An action is good when the consequence is good, looking at ends. Normative ethics, most popular strain: utilitarianism.

Deontology: deos = duty
an action is good when the intention to act was good, looking at intentions.

9
Q

Virtue ethics

A

when a person lives according to certain characteristics, he/she is good.
•Three parts of the soul: reason, appetite and spirit.
•Cardinal virtues: prudence, justice, temperance, courage.
→ One has to balance each of the virtues to be ethical

10
Q

Important terms business ethics

A

Stakeholders
Sustainable Development
Compliance

11
Q

Stakeholders

A

people being affected by the actions of the organization

12
Q

Sustainable development

A

meeting the needs of the present time without taking away the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (limitation of environmental resources)
Two key concepts:
- concept of needs: especially of the poor, should be prioritized
- concept of (technological and social) limitations, on the environment’s ability to meet present and future needs

13
Q

Compliance

A

Conforming to rules and laws; meeting legal or self-imposed standards within companies.

14
Q

Triple-Bottom-Line

A

Three P’s: People, profit, planet.
good business means balancing financial, social and environmental goals in business decision making.
- corporate profit
- people account/social responsibility
- planet account - environmental responsibility

15
Q

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

A

refers to companies voluntarily going beyond the limit of what the law requires to achieve social and environmental objectives

16
Q

Dieselgate example

A

VW programmed a special software to reduce the carbon-dioxide emissions when being in a testing facility.
Clash of CSR incentives with actual corporate culture? Still unclear

17
Q

Inversion of the internet - example

A

in 2018 more traffic in the internet is fake than real - to fool advertisers into thinking their ads have been seen.

18
Q

Theory of shared values (Porter)

A

Companies can create economic value by creating societal one.
▪Neoclassical thinking: CSR measures are another constraint to companies imposing additional costs.
▪Mainstream: CSR expenses are deemed to be mandatory and everything beyond will not be pursued.
▪Concept of shared value recognizes that societal needs in addition to economic needs define markets. Social harms and weaknesses = costs for the company.
Companies can create economic value by creating societal value

19
Q

three ways to create societal value

A

Reconceiving products & markets
redefining productivity in the value chain
building supportive industry clusters locally

20
Q

Leadership according to Jensen:

three elements of leadership

A

Integrity - being whole and complete by honoring one’s word
Authenticity - knowing who you are and acting accordingly (consistently)
Being committed to something bigger than oneself - source of charisma, teaching other leaders; is a source of persistence