Transcript Individual Factors: Moral Philosophies and Values

C HAPTER 6
Individual Factors: Moral
Philosophies and Values
Chapter Objectives
• To understand how moral philosophies and values
influence individual and group ethical decision
making in business
• To compare and contrast the teleological,
deontological, virtue, and justice perspectives of
moral philosophy
• To discuss the impact of philosophies on business
ethics
Chapter Objectives (cont.)
• To recognize the stages of cognitive moral
development and its shortcomings
• To introduce white-collar crime as it relates to moral
philosophies, values, and corporate culture
Chapter Outline
• Moral Philosophy Defined
• Moral Philosophies
• Applying Moral Philosophy to Ethical Decision
Making
• Cognitive Moral Development
• White-Collar Crime
• The Role of Individual Factors in Business Ethics
Moral Philosophy
• Principles or rules that people use to decide what is
right or wrong
• No single moral philosophy is accepted by everyone
• Moral Philosophy Defined
– Economic value orientation
– Idealism
– Realism
Moral Philosophy Perspectives
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Teleology
Deontology
The Relativist Perspective
Virtue Ethics
Justice Perspectives
Goodness Theories
• Basic concepts
– Monists
– Pluralists
– Instrumentalists
Moral Philosophy and Ethical Decision
Making
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Individuals use different moral philosophies
depending on whether they are making a personal
or making a work-related decision
Kohlberg’s Model of Cognitive Moral
Development
Consists of six stages:
1. Punishment and obedience
2. Individual instrumental purpose and exchange
3. Mutual interpersonal expectations, relationships,
and conformity
4. Social system and conscience maintenance
5. Prior rights, social contract or utility
6. Universal ethical principles
White Collar Crime
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“Crimes of the suite” do more damage in
monetary and emotional loss in one year than the
“crimes of the street” over several years
combined
The presence of technology has aided WCC
Individual Factors
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Most business managers do not embrace extreme
philosophies
A personal moral compass is not sufficient to
prevent ethical misconduct in an organizational
context
The corporate culture and the rewards for meeting
performance goals are the most important drivers
of ethical decision making
Equipping employees with skills that allow them to
understand/resolve ethical dilemmas will help them
make the right decisions