Ethics & Business Ethics
Lecture 1
Sandhya Tewari
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Ethics
Moral principles or beliefs about what is
right or wrong
Ethics guide managers in their dealings
with stakeholders and others when the
best course of action is unclear.
Managers often experience an ethical
dilemma in choosing between the
conflicting interests of stakeholders.
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Values & Attitudes
Values
◦ Describe what managers try to achieve
through work and how they think they should
behave
Attitudes
◦ Capture managers’ thoughts and feelings
about their specific jobs and organizations.
Moods and Emotions
◦ Encompass how managers actually feel when
they are managing
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Values are of two types
Instrumental
Terminal Values: Values:
•A personal conviction •A personal conviction
about life long goals. about desired mode of
•Sense of accomplishment, conduct or ways of
self respect & equality behaving.
•Being hard working,
capable & broad minded.
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The terminal and instrumental values that are
the guiding principles in an individual’s life are
the Value System of that particular individual.
An individual’s value system if often
related to their attitude. Hence to
understand the values we must have a
better understanding of attitudes.
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Attitudes
Attitudes in simpler terms is a collection of
feelings & beliefs.
Job Satisfaction is collection of feelings and
beliefs that managers have about their
current jobs.
Organizational Citizenship Behaviors are
behaviors that are not required of organizational
members but that help the firm in gaining a
competitive advantage.
Managers with high satisfaction are more likely perform
these “above and beyond the call of duty” behaviors.
Managers who are satisfied with their jobs are less likely
to quit.
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Ethics:
What’s the Fuss?
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If integrity is second to any of the
alternatives, then it is subject to
sacrifice in situations where a
choice must be made. Such
situations will inevitably occur in
every person’s life.
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Educational Institutions
have established ethics
codes for their students,
e.g. the U.S. Air Force
Academy:
"We Will Not Lie, Steal Or Cheat, Nor
Tolerate Among Us Anyone Who Does"
-- Which do you think is the harder part:
Line 1 or Line 2? Why?
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In his best-seller, The Closing of the
American Mind, Allan Bloom says that the
eternal conflict between good and evil has been
replaced with “I’m okay, you’re okay.” Students
unthinkingly embrace a blind tolerance in which
they consider it “moral” never to think they are
right because that mean someone else is wrong.
[Allan Bloom, The Closing of the American
Mind, New York, Simon and Schuster, Inc.
1987]
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Where Do We Start?
Upon What Can We
Agree?
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Whether we
derive a code of
ethics from
religious beliefs, a
study of history
and literature, or
personal
experience and
observation: We
can all agree
upon some basic
values. 14
In an issue of Management Accounting,
James Brackner stated: The universities are
responding with an increased emphasis on
ethical training for decision making. For the
most part, however, they ignore the teaching
of values. For moral or ethical education to
have meaning there must be agreement on
the values that are considered “right.”
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Be sure you are
right, then go
ahead.
Davy Crockett
1786-1836
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A nation or a culture
cannot endure for long
unless it is undergirded
by common values such
as valor, public
spiritedness, respect for
others and for the
law; It cannot stand unless it is populated by
people who will act on the motives superior to
their own immediate interest.
Chuck Colson, Against the Night
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When the situation
needs improvement,
Gandhi offers
guidance: “You must
be the change you
wish to see in the
world.”
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Michael Josephson, in Chapter 1 of
Ethical Issues in the Practice of
Accounting, describes the “Ten Universal
Values: “Honesty, integrity, promise
keeping, fidelity, fairness, caring, respect
for others, responsible citizenship, pursuit
of excellence, and accountability.”
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If we want to
produce people who
share the values of a
democratic culture,
they must be taught
those values and not
be left to acquire
them by chance.
Cal Thomas, The
Death of Ethics in
America
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Can you make
a difference?
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“To sin by silence
when they should
protest makes
cowards of men.”
Abraham Lincoln
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“To see what is
right and not to
do it is want of
courage.”
(Confucius)
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‘The right way is not
always the popular and
easy way. Standing for
right when it is unpopular
is a true test of moral
character.’
- Margaret Chase
Smith, first woman
elected to both houses of
the U.S. Congress
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“Leadership is a potent
combination of strategy
and character. But if
you must be without
one, be without
strategy.” General H.
Norman Schwarzkopf
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The reputation of a thousand years may be
determined by the conduct of one hour.
Japanese proverb
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At a Congressional Hearing on
Accounting and Business Ethics,
distinguished entrepreneur, Truett
Cathy, the Founder of Chick-Fil-A,
quoted Solomon– "A good name is
more desirable than great riches; to
be esteemed is better than silver or
gold."
The truth is that fame and fortune
are nothing compared to personal
honor.
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President
Lincoln
said:
Honor is
better
than
honors.
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