Business Ethics

Business Ethics JBIMS A sharing of practices 29.2.2012 *

Management of Business Ethics

Business Ethics JBIMS A sharing of practices 29.2.2012


ETHICS

“Principles of Right and Wrong used by Individuals as Free Moral Agents to guide behaviour”

BUSINESS ETHICSBusiness Ethics - The study of how personal moral norms apply to the activities and goals of commercial enterprise.

Business Ethics generally dwells on what it right or wrong in the workplace and doing what's right -- this is in regard to effects of products/services and in relationships with stakeholders..

(K. Laudon) Management Information Systems Business Ethics JBIMS A sharing of practices 29.2.2012


•Business ethics is about more than just managing with tools and techniques – it is much more about expanding horizons, deepening understandings, and developing critical thinking about business practices

•Ethical theories might help to structure and rationalise some of the key aspects of decisions, but their status can never be one that allows a moral judgement or decision to be made without effectively immersing into the real situation

CRANE AND MATTEN “Business Ethics” 2005



The simple question of ‘what is business ethics?’ does not exactly lend itself to a simple answer

New problems continued to arise because of:•New technologies•Changes in business practices or markets•Exposure to different cultures•Changing expectations•New opportunities for ethical abuse

Consequently, never possible to determine the exact extent of the business ethics subject

CRANE AND MATTEN “Business Ethics” 2005Business Ethics JBIMS A sharing of practices 29.2.2012


THE STARK REALITY OF BUSINESS...• Conflict of Interest• Gifts & Bribes• Compulsion & Expediency• DILEMMAS• Duties & Rights… third party• Risk and Reputation• Product Liability• Responsibility & Accountability



ETHICS AND LAW == ?•Law reflects society’s MINIMUM norms and standards of business conduct.•There is a great deal of OVERLAP between what’s legal & what’s ethical.•Law-abiding behavior is generally believed to also be ethical.•There are many particular situations not covered strictly by law that fall under the umbrella of “ethical dilemmas.”

LAW

ETHICS



Ethical analysis proceeds from : Agent, Acts, Results & Stakeholders.

•AGENT = The person(s) in question

•ACTS = The set of alternative courses of action available which have consequences in terms of

•RESULTS which are expected to occur and

•STAKEHOLDER(S) who has an Interest in what the agent does.

Ethical reflection has been referred to as corrective vision.

“Ethics supplies a type of corrective lens and relies heavily on the distinction between what is and what ought to be”.

William May (Medical Ethicist)



PUTTING ETHICAL ANALYSIS TO WORKTypical approaches •Arguing from example, analogy and counter-example. •Identifying stakeholders in concrete situations. •Identifying ethical issues in concrete situations. •Applying ethical codes to concrete situations.

•Identifying and evaluating possible courses of action.Business Ethics JBIMS A sharing of practices 29.2.2012


VIEW THE SAME ISSUE BY APPLYING DIFFERENT ETHICAL THEORIES:•Virtue EthicsWhat would a virtuous person do under the circumstances?•Utilitarian EthicsWhat are the consequence of the action or proposed action and how significant are they?•Ethics of dutyWhat are my obligations in this situation?•Ethics of RightsAre people’s fundamental rights being impacted here?•Ethics of Fairness and JusticeIs every stakeholder being treated fairly here? Have processes allowed for equal chance to all impacted?

By viewing the problem through different ethical theories, options for decision making can be worked out.



•Consider broadly who is affected by their work;•Examine if they and their colleagues are treating other human beings with due respect; •Consider how the public, if reasonably well informed, would view their decisions; •Analyze how the least empowered will be affected by their decisions;•Consider whether their acts would be judged worthy of the ideal professional….

(ACM/IEEE CS Software Engineering Code of Ethics & Professional Practice)

A strategy for professionals to address ethical tensions





FOUR PILLARS OF MBE

• Leadership

• Compliance structure

• Communication and Training

• Measurement of effectiveness



MBE IN PRACTICE•CODE & related policies (allegiance to Code)•Ethics Officer and MBE structure •Channels for voicing concerns•Metrics : Classificn, SLA, Action taken•Concern Analysis, distribution•SURVEY periodically•Reporting to Sr Mgmt•Walk the talk, Top Down•Ethical Climate – “comfort” with the system•Communication to the organisation•Training Business Ethics

JBIMS A sharing of practices 29.2.2012


PRAXIS BASED ON THEORY....CASE lets•Crystal vase•Responsibility for provision of official data •Consensual relationship @ work•Misuse of Company Assets,

TYPICAL AREAS OF CONCERN•Harassment •Discrimination•Conflicts of Interest•Data Handling (Privacy, protection, confidentiality)•Responsibilities towards the Environment



Beware of these ethical shortcuts….

•Naïve Relativism - The belief that all moral choices are relative to the situation and the culture makes it easy to get along in polite conversation with others. However, whenever difficult choices have to be made, a truth can emerge that is not culturally specific.

•Naïve Egoism - The simple belief that selfishness is the best guiding principle can make it convenient to ignore duty to others while concentrating only on personal profit. This approach conceals a fundamental inconsistency since its naïve form suggests that everyone else should still follow ethical norms.



Beware of these Ethical shortcuts……..

•Naïve Agency - Surrendering all moral authority by claiming to be a simple agent of some other entity (e.g. your employer) has its own clear problems. In the end, even the legal system requires individual responsibility, and military codes of conduct require soldiers to disobey some orders. Responsibility cannot be this easily dismissed.

•Naïve Legalism - Equating ethicality with legality is a tempting way to dispense with serious ethical reflection. Assuming that “if it is legal, it is ethical” is asking more of the law than it can provide, and denies the legitimacy of principled disagreement with the law.



ETHICAL DECISIONS REQUIRE :

•competence to recognize ethical issues and to think through the consequences of alternative resolutions.

•self-confidence to seek out different points of view and then to decide what is right at a given time and place, in a particular set of relationships and circumstances.

•tough-mindedness : the willingness to make decisions when all that needs to be known cannot be known and when the questions that press for answers have no established and incontrovertible solutions.

Ethics in Practice (Kenneth R Andrews) HBR-1989Business Ethics JBIMS A sharing of practices 29.2.2012


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Business Ethics