Are there human values that apply everywhere despite differences in time, place, and culture (Figure 5.7)? Want to cite, share, or modify this book? Utilitarianism: Ethical Theories and Business. startxref Boeing leadership encourages employees to proactively seek out issues, speak up and report concerns, and engage with transparency. Kantian ethics are a set of universal moral principles that apply to all human beings, regardless of context or situation. Also, the issue arises, Who defines virtuous, especially when a complex act or incident is involved that requires factual information and objective criteria to resolve?, The common good is defined as the sum of those conditions of social life which allow social groups and their individual members relatively thorough and ready access to their own fulfillment. Decision makers must take into consideration the intent as well as the effects of their actions and decisions on the broader society and the common good of the many. For example, the famous Warren Buffett stands as an icon of good character who demonstrates trustworthy values and practical wisdom. After all, free enterprise has the interests of the enterprise at heart. The Workplace Environment and Working Conditions, 23. Intellectual, emotional, and social biases affect all decision-making, including those of an ethical nature. (5) Do I/we want to assume responsibility for the consequences? One alternative is to put the humanities into business. Cooper, Santora, and Sarros wrote, Universalism is the outward expression of leadership character and is made manifest by respectfulness for others, fairness, cooperativeness, compassion, spiritual respect, and humility. Corporate leaders in the Worlds Most Ethical Companies strive to set a tone at the top to exemplify and embody universal principles in their business practices. | Leaders create positive relationships with stakeholders, including their employees, to cultivate investor goodwill and because they believe in the underlying values of trust and authenticity. The film The Post, based on fact, portrays how the daughter of the founder of the famed newspaper, the Washington Post, inherited the role of CEO and was forced to make a decision between publishing a whistle-blowers classified government documents of then top-level generals and officials or keep silent and protect the newspaper. The 2017 conviction for bribery and embezzlement of Lee Jae-yong, heir to the Samsung electronics empire, was part of a widespread corruption scandal that brought down the president of South Korea. This book uses the Ethical universalism is the theory that there is a universal ethic that applies to all people, no matter the individuals history, preferences, traits orshow more content. The damage done to an organizations or governments reputation due to scandal can be enormous and long lasting. Becoming familiar with these principles, then, can help inform your moral decision process and help you observe the principles that a team, work-group, or organization that you now participate in or will be joining may be using. That policy lasted until the 1990s, when several parties negotiated its demisewith the help of Nelson Mandela (www.history.com/topics/apartheid). Particularism, on the contrary, means that some people are more equal than others. 2 The principles that we will cover are utilitarianism, universalism, rights/legal, justice, virtue, common good, and ethical relativism approaches. Other names for this doctrine are universal restoration, universal In opposition to moral relativism, moral universalismalso called moral objectivismholds that there are objective right or wrong actions, independently of the The film The Post, based on fact, portrays how the daughter of the founder of the famed newspaper, the Washington Post, inherited the role of CEO and was forced to make a decision between publishing a whistle-blowers classified government documents of then top-level generals and officials or keep silent and protect the newspaper. There are some limitations to this ethic. <>/Border[0 0 0]/Contents(scholar@valpo.edu)/Rect[350.833 72.3516 427.21 82.8984]/StructParent 8/Subtype/Link/Type/Annot>> In this model, organizations focus on employees as a vital part of the operation and support them in their professional training, health care, education, family responsibilities, and even spiritual concerns. At the individual level, then, principles and values offer a source of stability and self-control while also affecting job satisfaction and performance. <>/Border[0 0 0]/Contents()/Rect[72.0 607.0547 200.4551 619.9453]/StructParent 3/Subtype/Link/Type/Annot>> Transparency, whistleblower programs, ethics training, and modeling of appropriate behavior by upper management can create the conditions for employees to act ethically, but conscience is a personal phenomenon. Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher, calls the The Supreme Court upheld her and her staffs decision. Business 148 Study Guide. But employees are human beings first, which means any attempt to improve their welfare must begin by thinking of them as human beings rather than as employees. Based on the expressed preferences of 163 undergraduate and graduate students of business ethics, this article briefly examines the two most popular theories, Universalism (Kantian) and Utilitarianism (consequentialist), and presents a SWOT analysis of both. Ethical Issues in the Provision of Health Care, 18. Many leaders character and actions serve as examples of how character-based virtues work. WebBusiness Ethics Final. > If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a print format, It is interesting to reflect on how many corporate disasters and crises might have been prevented had the leaders and those involved taken such questions seriously before proceeding with decisions. However, happy employees are one thing; the human flourishing identified by Aristotle and John Stuart Mill is quite another. To date, the fallout has cost the company nearly $30 billion in fines. 8 It simply emphasizes the other side of the twofold purpose of business (profit and responsibility). A simple way of summarizing this principle when examining a moral dilemma is to ask of a proposed action or decision: (1) Is it fair? OpenStax is part of Rice University, which is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. If you belong to such an institution, please log in or find out more about how to order. Feelings may come and go, but the solidarity that people have with each other and the care they take with one another define them as human beings (Figure 5.8). In addition, using this principle can require sacrifice of human lifethat is, giving ones life to help or save otherswhich may seem contrary to the principle. Countries and cultures that follow this orientation can result in dictatorships and absolutist regimes that practice different forms of slavery and abuse to large numbers of people. Textbook content produced by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License . > endobj The Journal of Values-Based Leadership: Vol. Can Martin Bubers notion of love play a role in business? However, middle managers and employees often complain their ethics training consists of passing a computerized sexual harassment or fraud program once a year but that nothing is done to address issues in a substantive way or to change the culture of the organization, even those that have experienced problems.31 Compliance is important, but business managers must attempt to go above and beyond to clearly model and enforce the highest standards of ethical behavior. Available at: But Again, the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a useful starting point for the way business can conduct itself. Until that time, international firms doing business in South Africa were expected to abide by the apartheid policy and its underlying values. 94 terms. To put this question another way, is there a set of universal values that all can endorse? endobj The social and natural sciences provide data to make better ethical choices, but science cannot tell people what they ought to do (nor should it). Universalism, belief in the salvation of all souls. Textbook content produced by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License . (credit: Happiness Is a Piece of Cake Close Up Photography by Antonio Quagliata/Pexels, CC0), If there is anything that transcends time, place, and culture, it is love. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Dec 12, 2022 OpenStax. The Worlds Most Ethical Companies also provides examples of workforce and workplace legal and moral rights. 0000002386 00000 n Contributing to a Positive Work Atmosphere, 26. At the organizational and societal levels, laws, regulations, and oversight can go a long way toward curtailing illegal activity. e d u / j v b l / v o l 8 / i s s 2 / 3)/Rect[128.1963 131.7406 312.7275 143.4594]/StructParent 7/Subtype/Link/Type/Annot>> then you must include on every physical page the following attribution: If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a digital format, As effective as they may be, however, they beg the larger question not of how someone can act on what their conscience tells them but how to determine what their conscience is telling them in the first place. Ethical relativism is really not a principle to be followed or modeled. Using creativity is also important when examining difficult moral decisions when sometimes it may seem that there are two right ways to act in a situation or perhaps no way seems morally right, which may also signal that not taking an action at that time may be needed, unless taking no action produces worse results. When we present the specifics and facts of a situation, this and the other principles begin to make sense, although judgement is still required. Legal rights are entitlements that are limited to a particular legal system and jurisdiction. The Worlds Most Ethical Companies also provides examples of workforce and workplace legal and moral rights. Altruism is also part of character-based virtue ethics. <>/Border[0 0 0]/Contents()/Rect[499.416 612.5547 540.0 625.4453]/StructParent 4/Subtype/Link/Type/Annot>> Our mission is to improve educational access and learning for everyone. Our mission is to improve educational access and learning for everyone. At the organizational level, principled and values-based leadership influences cultures that inspire and motivate ethical behavior and performance. Can being aware of the actual values you use to guide your actions make a difference in your choices? 141 0 obj Universalism in ethics may be identified with claims about the form, scope or content of ethical principles, or with the very idea that ethical judgment appeals to principles, rather than to particular cases. As some have asked, What is a human life worth?. 136 0 obj If not, and if ethical standards are relative, are they worth having? So, although the work of national, regional, and international organizations can limit corruption through enforcement and the prosecution of cases (as was the case with the revelation of the so-called Panama Papers), corruption will not be reduced in any significant way unless efforts have been made to form individual conscience and teach practical ways to act on it. . WebFor forty years, successive editions of Ethical Theory and Business have helped to define the field of business ethics. Freeman's stakeholder theory, on the other hand, is seen as being on the other end of the continuum, arguing for selflessnessanother misinterpretation, as I argue with Ed Freeman's help.

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universalism theory in business ethics