Teaching Business Ethics
Gerald F. Cavanagh
Provides education in the cognitive and habitual skills needed to make ethical judgments on business matters. Ethics is a system of moral principles for distinguishing right from wrong, and the methods of applying them. Ethics enables one to make better decisions and ultimately to develop virtue and character. Business ethics equips one to systematically look beyond one’s own interests to the interests of others. The terms ‘‘ethical’’ and ‘‘moral’’ are often used interchangeably.
Business ethics provides the language, concepts, and models that aid one in making moral judgments. Teaching business ethics provides practical guidance through three steps: (1) gathering relevant factual information; (2) analysis using the ethical norms(s) that are most applicable; (3) making the judgment as to whether the act or policy is ethical or not. The facts gathered must be appropriate and sufficient for judging (see methodologies of business ethics research). The moral norms most often used are rights and duties, justice, utilitarianism and caring. The flow chart in figure 1 presents one approach to teaching business ethics.
The ethical norm of personal rights and duties indicates a person’s entitlement to something and parallel duties to others. Rights stem from the human dignity of the person, and enable individuals to pursue their own interests. Rights also impose the duties of correlative prohibitions or requirements on others.
Justice requires all parties to be guided by fairness, equity, and impartiality. Justice calls for even handed treatment of individuals and groups in the distribution of benefits and burdens of society, in the administration of laws and regulations, and in the imposition of sanctions. Justice considers how all stakeholders are impacted by the consequences of a business act, including workers, customers, the poor, and the community.
The norm of utilitarianism enables one to judge that an act is right if it produces the ‘‘greatest good for the greatest number,’’ or the greatest net benefit when all the costs and bene fits (financial and otherwise) are taken into ac count. The decision process is similar to a cost benefit analysis applied to all stakeholders who are touched by the decision.
The norm of caring stems from our relation ships to other people; it is an extension of family life. Personal relationships, trust, teamwork, and communication are built upon caring. Caring engages our emotions, as does any ethical reasoning. In making any ethical judgment, it is essential to consider the interests of others, and this requires one to empathize with those that are affected by one’s decisions.
Ethics is the foundation for, but goes beyond, legal ethics. Law specifies the minimum requirement. To provide a level playing field in a healthy society, legislation is necessary. For example, if pollution were not regulated, unethical firms would benefit financially, at least in the short term. However, ethics often calls us to actions above what the law requires.
Figure 1 Flow diagram of ethical decision making
Source: Adapted from Gerald F. Cavanagh, Dennis J. Moberg and Manuel Velasquez, ‘‘Making Business Ethics Practical,’’ Business Ethics Quarterly (July 1995).
Pedagogy for Business Ethics
Teaching business ethics requires one to con sider substantive business issues with regard to the ethics of the individual, the firm, and the market system. First, issues internal to the firm, such as work, employee rights, worker satisfaction, worker safety, and discrimination in employment are often treated. Second, the environment external to the firm: customers, advertising, media, energy use, pollution, the environment, and sustainability (see environment and environmental ethics). Third, the strengths and weaknesses of the business system itself are examined. Citing the positive ethical outcomes of the market system, such as quality products, services, and jobs, along with freedom and innovation, we strive to lessen the negative outcomes, such as suppression of worker wages, environmental degradation, and the fostering of selfishness, greed, and corruption.
Teaching business ethics today demands that one understand other peoples and cultures and their ways of thinking and acting (see multiculturalism, islam, judaism, hinduism, and specific country profiles).
Good teaching demands active learning and interaction (see Piper et al., 1993). Standard methods of teaching business ethics include input (reading, lecture, film), business cases (see case method), web information and communication, written assignments, discussion, and projects (often with teams to teach cooperation). There are excellent business ethics texts available, such as Velasquez (2002), De George (1999), Boatright (2002), and Cavanagh (1998). Good Internet sites are also available, as are films. A journal, Teaching Business Ethics, pro vides some useful material.
Personal Values, Character, and Moral Development
Ethics provides the skills to decide specific acts or policies. Ethical values also influence ethical behavior and moral development (see values). Consistently making ethical decisions deepens a lasting belief that a certain goal or mode of conduct is morally better than the opposite goal or conduct and this supports more ethical behavior and ultimately virtue and good character. This can then develop better managerial values and support a more ethical climate within the organization.
Bibliography
Boatright, J. R. (2002). Ethics and the Conduct of Business. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. (Well organized, comprehensive overview of business ethics.)
Cavanagh, G. F. (1998). American Business Values: With International Perspectives, 4th edn. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. (Historical and behavioral overview of values, along with ethics and cases.)
De George, R. T. (1999). Business Ethics, 5th edn. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. (Clear, philosophical approach.)
Donaldson, T., Werhane, P. H., and Cording, M. (2002). Ethical Issues in Business: A Philosophical Approach, 7th edn. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. (Excellent collection of philosophical articles and cases.)
Hosmer, L. T. (2002). The Ethics of Management, 4th edn. Homewood, IL: Irwin. (Ethics cases by strategic management expert.)
Piper, T., Gentile, M., and Parks, S. D. (1993), Can Ethics Be Taught? Perspectives, Challenges and Approaches at Harvard Business School. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School. (Overview of Harvard Business School’s experience with teaching business ethics.)
Teaching Business Ethics (1997 2003). Vols. 1 7. (A journalon the subject.)
Velasquez, M. G. (2002). Business Ethics: Concepts and Cases, 5th. edn. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice- Hall. (Comprehensive, engaging text with cases interwoven.)
Selected Internet sites
Aspen Business Ethics Case Studies http://www.caseplace.
org
Business Ethics (emphasis on Canada) http://www.businessethics.ca
Business and Sustainable Development http://www.busglobal. com
Caux Round Table Principles for Business http://www.cauxroundtable.org
Ethics Classroom http://www.ethicsclassroom.info/
Ethics Resource Center http://www.ethics.org
Santa Clara Markkula Center for Applied Ethics (excellent links to many other sites) http://www.scu.edu/ ethics
Transparency International http://www.transparency.org
UN Global Compact http://www.unglobal.compact.org