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Etica in afaceri / Business Ethics
[Syllabus semestrul II, 2008]
Facultati
Etica in afaceri, REI, anul IV
Etica in afaceri, REI, anul III
Business Ethics, FABIZ, anul I
Obiectivele seminarului
La sfarsitul acestor seminarii, studentii trebuie sa fie capabili:
- sa delimiteze principalele tipuri de conflicte sau probleme etice in afaceri
- sa identifice si sa defineasca in termeni etici o problema etica intr-un caz particular; sa propuna solutii argumentate pentru o problema particulara de etica in afaceri; analizeze critic o decizie, o actiune, o solutie la o problema data apeland la principalele teorii sau instrumente etice discutate la curs.
C1: Conceptul de business si implicatiile sale etice
Seminar 1: Introducere
Supplementary readings
What is ethics?
"What is ethics? It is easily defined as an attempt to state and evaluate principles by which ethical problems may be solved. But this description is evidently incomplete without a characterization of the main features of an ethical problem."
W. T. Jones, Frederick Sontag, Morton O. Beckner, Robert J. Fogelin (eds.), Introduction, in Approaches To Ethics: Representative Selections from Classical Times to the Present, McGraw-Hill Book Company, N. Y., 1962, p. 1
Ethics vs. Morality
". the ethical theorist does not ask such questions as 'What would I do in .'s position?' or 'What decision would society (or the district attorney, or the church, or any other group) approve?' Ethics seeks the principles that will tell us what is the right thing to do, or what things are worth doing, no matter what people in fact approve or disapprove and no matter what people will be damaged by the decision. It is not concerned at all with what public opinion on moral matters actually happens to be, but with what public opinion ought to be, just as scientist is not concerned with what people believe about the shape of the earth but with its actual shape."
W. T. Jones, Frederick Sontag, Morton O. Beckner, Robert J. Fogelin (eds.), Introduction, in Approaches To Ethics: Representative Selections from Classical Times to the Present, McGraw-Hill Book Company, N. Y., 1962, pp. 6-7
C2: Baumhart: acceptiuni populare ale termenului "etic": sentiment, religie, traditii
Seminar 2: Discutii, aplicatii Baumhart. Prima parte
Supplementary readings
A few years ago, sociologist Raymond Baumhart asked business people, 'What does ethics mean to you?' Among their replies were the following:
'Ethics
has to do with what my feelings tell me is right or wrong.'
'Ethics has to do with my religious beliefs.'
'Being ethical is doing what the law requires.'
'Ethics consists of the standards of behavior our society accepts.'
'I don't know what the word means.'
These replies might be typical of our own. The meaning of 'ethics' is hard to pin down, and the views many people have about ethics are shaky.
Like Baumhart's first respondent, many people tend to equate ethics with their feelings. But being ethical is clearly not a matter of following one's feelings. A person following his or her feelings may recoil from doing what is right. In fact, feelings frequently deviate from what is ethical.
Nor should one identify ethics with religion. Most religions, of course, advocate high ethical standards. Yet if ethics were confined to religion, then ethics would apply only to religious people. But ethics applies as much to the behavior of the atheist as to that of the saint. Religion can set high ethical standards and can provide intense motivations for ethical behavior. Ethics, however, cannot be confined to religion nor is it the same as religion.
Being ethical is also not the same as following the law. The law often incorporates ethical standards to which most citizens subscribe. But laws, like feelings, can deviate from what is ethical. Our own pre-Civil War slavery laws and the apartheid laws of present-day South Africa are grotesquely obvious examples of laws that deviate from what is ethical.
Finally, being ethical is not the same as doing 'whatever society accepts.' In any society, most people accept standards that are, in fact, ethical. But standards of behavior in society can deviate from what is ethical. An entire society can become ethically corrupt. Nazi Germany is a good example of a morally corrupt society.
Moreover, if being ethical were doing 'whatever society accepts,' then to find out what is ethical, one would have to find out what society accepts. To decide what I should think about abortion, for example, I would have to take a survey of American society and then conform my beliefs to whatever society accepts. But no one ever tries to decide an ethical issue by doing a survey. Further, the lack of social consensus on many issues makes it impossible to equate ethics with whatever society accepts. Some people accept abortion but many others do not. If being ethical were doing whatever society accepts, one would have to find an agreement on issues which does not, in fact, exist.
What, then, is ethics? Ethics is two things. First, ethics refers to well based standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do, usually in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or specific virtues. Ethics, for example, refers to those standards that impose the reasonable obligations to refrain from rape, stealing, murder, assault, slander, and fraud. Ethical standards also include those that enjoin virtues of honesty, compassion, and loyalty. And, ethical standards include standards relating to rights, such as the right to life, the right to freedom from injury, and the right to privacy. Such standards are adequate standards of ethics because they are supported by consistent and well founded reasons.
Secondly, ethics refers to the study and development of one's ethical standards. As mentioned above, feelings, laws, and social norms can deviate from what is ethical. So it is necessary to constantly examine one's standards to ensure that they are reasonable and well-founded. Ethics also means, then, the continuous effort of studying our own moral beliefs and our moral conduct, and striving to ensure that we, and the institutions we help to shape, live up to standards that are reasonable and solidly-based.
This article appeared originally in Issues in Ethics IIE V1 N1 (Fall 1987)
Ethics and the decision-making process
1) better decisions imply rationalizing the decision-making process
2) better decisions imply taking account of all parties that are implied or affected by our decisions
3) better decisions imply taking account of moral conflicts that can be generated by our decisions
4) rationalizing implies taking account of all ethical perspectives: deontological, utilitarianism, and values;
so, it is necessary to identify all moral conflicts and define them from all
ethical views: as conflicts of duties
(or responsibilities or obligations), utilities vs. disutilities, and conflicts of values.
Studiu de caz
O colega iti marturiseste, la un moment dat, ca regulat scoate din registrul de casa sume cuprinse intre 5 si 10$. Ea a facut acest lucru timp de peste un an, fara a fi prinsa ori suspectata. Cum procedezi?
A. Faci la fel.
B. Ii spui ca nu te intereseaza ce face ea.
C. O intrebi daca ea considera ca este corect ce face.
D. Ii spui ca nu este corect ce face si ca esti de parere sa il anunte pe superior.
E. Incerci sa o determini sa il anunte pe superior si sa puna la loc banii furati.
C3: Baumhart: moralitate si legalitate
Seminar 3: Aplicatii Baumhart. Partea a 2-a
Supplementary readings
Business ethics: ethical issues in business
"Business ethics is a complex subject because it affects business operations in so many ways. Ethical issues arise for managers in every functional area of a company - in marketing, finance, production, accounting, and human resource in management. At the same time, these issues are also a fundamental concern of senior executives. The way in which a company's leaders define ethical issues and resolve them strongly influences their ability to guide and lead others, and it shapes the cultural and ethical climate of their organizations."
(J. L. Badaracco, Business Ethics: Roles and Responsibilities, Richard D. Irvin, 1995, p.1)
Business and management
The managers are "the people in business organizations who have responsibility for organizing and guiding the work of other people. In other words, a manager may be responsible for a department with only two or three other people or for an entire firm employing thousands."
The executives or senior executives are "the managers in the company who hold seniors positions and who are responsible for the management of the entire firm or for major parts of it."
".the moral responsibilities of business executives do not stop at the boundaries of their firms. In today's interdependent world, business managers' decisions have serious and sometimes profound effects on many stakeholders groups - in their local communities, their nations, and often around the world. As a result, business ethics often involves issues of conflict or misunderstanding among different political or ethnic groups, communities, cultures, or nations."
(J. L. Badaracco, Business Ethics: Roles and Responsibilities, Richard D. Irvin, 1995, pp. 1-2)
C4: Normele morale
Seminar 4: Aplicatii norme
Studiu de caz
Esti rugat sa iti dai sprijinul la gasirea unui inlocuitor pentru un angajat care este retrogradat din functie; acesta iti este un prieten apropiat. Seful iti cere ca actiunea sa ramana confidentiala, insa prietenul tau vrea sa stie ce se intampla. Ce faci in acest conflict personal?
A. Nu ii spui nimic prietenului tau si cauti un inlocuitor.
B. Nu ii spui nimic prietenului tau dar taraganezi cautarea unui inlocuitor.
C. Faci in asa fel incat prietenul tau sa afle adevarul fara ca tu sa ii spui ceva si amani cautarea unui inlocuitor.
D. Ii spui adevarul prietenului tau.
E. Refuzi sa participi la cautarea unui inlocuitor pentru prietenul tau.
Studiu de caz
Esti gestionar al unui depozit la care se primeste un mare transport de computere. La un moment dat, descoperi ca din inventar lipsesc trei computere. Esti aproape sigur ca acestea au fost luate de catre ceilalti angajati sau de catre seful tau. In afara de acestia, nimeni altcineva nu are acces la depozit. Cum procedezi?
A. Nu faci nimic.
B. Te ingrijorezi, insa iti spui ca daca nu se va intampla nimic, peste o satamana vei uita acea poveste.
C. Ii raportezi sefului tau pierderea si il lasi pe acesta sa rezolve problema.
D. Ii spui sefului tau si incerci sa ii supraveghezi pe ceilalti.
E. Te implici intr-un mod activ: trimiti o instiintare intregului personal al firmei si astepti sa vezi daca nu cumva cineva va gasi "intamplator" computerele disparute.
C5: Valorile morale
Seminar 5: Aplicatii valori
Studiu de caz
Esti un tanar angajat al unei firme de consultanta in afaceri. De curand ai finalizat un studiu costisitor pentru o companie si stii ca nu mai poti face nimic in plus pentru clientul tau. Totusi, superiorii tai considera ca acea companie isi poate permite mai mult decat atat, mai multa cercetare. Cum procedezi?
Joanna works at Company A. During the checking of invoices she notes that one of the suppliers has invoiced her company for $2,000 less than the actual supply provided. Joanna takes the issue to her supervisor who immediately informs her that it is company policy to settle errors only if it is detected by the supplier. 'They can afford it and won't notice such a small amount' was the comment made to Joanna.
Studiu de caz
Esti agent de vanzari si uneori trebuie sa calatoresti. In acest scop, ai la dispozitie un credit de 100$ pe zi, insa rareori cheltui atat de mult. Compania nu iti cere sa justifici toate cheltuielile, astfel incat poti oferi informatii ambigue despre cheltuielile de deplasare. Cum procedezi?
A. Raportezi zilnic cheltuieli de 100$ pe zi, indiferent daca sunt ori nu reale.
B. Raportezi cel mai adesea cheltuieli de 100$ pe zi, indiferent daca sunt ori nu reale.
C. Ocazional adaugi cheltuieli suplimentare.
D. Declari doar cheltuielile reale.
E. Declari doar acele cheltuieli pe care le poti dovedi.
C6: Responsabilitatea sociala corporatista
Seminar 6: CSR, aplicatii
Studiu de caz
Bogdan Diaconu, Orasul de ciocolata si Orasul de carbune
Articol aparut in Idei in dialog, Nr. 7(10), iulie 2005
Orasele monoindustriale nu sunt o inventie comunista. Nici problemele sociale provocate de inchiderea fabricilor din aceste zone nu sunt noi. Doar solutiile guvernantilor. Refuzam sa intelegem ca solutiile verificate sunt cele mai eficiente.
Multa vreme, Hershey, un orasel din Pennsylvania, SUA, a fost cunoscut drept Orasul de ciocolata. Acesta este locul de nastere al celebrei fabrici de dulciuri creata in 1903 de Milton Hershey. In timp, compania s-a dezvoltat, ajungand sa se identifice cu orasul. Pana pe la inceputul anilor '70, un strain putea cu greu sa distinga intre fabrica si comunitate. Decenii bune, firma a oferit slujbe pentru majoritetea locuitorilor orasului, localnicii fiind privilegiati in obtinerea unui loc de munca. Mai mult, serviciile publice erau asigurate aproape in totalitate de catre companie. De pilda, fabrica de dulciuri se ocupa de deszapezirea strazilor si de iluminatul public; s-au construit terenuri publice de sport si s-au amenajat parcuri; s-au ridicat un mare centru comunitar, un orfelinat si un parc de distractii in care in fiecare duminica aveau loc concerte gratuite. In Orasul de ciocolata, viata era de basm. S-a ajuns pana acolo incat, o vreme, nu s-au mai perceput taxe locale, pe motiv ca, oricum, serviciile comunitare sunt asigurate de fabrica de dulciuri. Chiar si administratia era pusa pe seama companiei, de vreme ce, pana la mijlocul anilor '70, actele administrative ale orasului se pastrau in biroul unui angajat al acesteia, membru al consiliului local.
Lucrurile au mers asa pana in anii '70 cand, o data cu crsterea competitiei pe piata de dulciuri, Hershey Foods a inceput sa-si modofice raporturile cu comunitatea locala. S-a decis ca managementul si resursele sa se concentreze mai putin asupra problemelor orasului si mai mult asupra companiei. "Hershey a fost un paradis, o tara a minunilor, dar nu o lume reala", spunea directorul executiv. "La naiba, in lumea reala ori facem afaceri asa cum trebuie, ori iesim din afaceri. Este clar!" Astfel, firma a incetat sa se mai ocupe de curatenia strazilor precum si de celelalte probleme comunitare; centrul orasului a fost ocupat de cladiri de birouri pentru companie.
Aceasta schimbare a determinat tot felul de atitudini din partea diferitelor grupuri afectate. Inevitabil, membrii comunitatii au inceput sa aiba resentimente. "Inainte aveau grija de oameni, dar acum sunt interesati doar de bani. Orasul asta va ajunge ca altele", spune un vechi angajat. In timp, insa, s-a dovedit ca divortul dintre companie si orasel a fost profitabil pentru ambele parti. In 1985, primarul Orasului de ciocolata afirma: "Fara indoiala, comunitatea s-a diversificat. Sunt aici din 1974 si de atunci, in fiecare an, imaginea de oras-companie este tot mai putin potrivita pentru localitate." La randul sau, editorul ziarului local surprinde aceeasi schimbare, diversificarea culturala a orasului: "Fiica mea a absolvit liceul anul trecut si, printre cei mai buni prieteni ai ei, unul era din Pakistan, altul japonez iar al treilea din Cehoslovacia. E fantastic!" De partea cealalta, analistii financiari considera ca schimbarile sunt bune pentru companie, pentru ca aceasta poate prospera mai mult daca renunta la managementul traditional si isi extinde gama de produse si piata.
Povestea Orasului de ciocolata este una cu happy-end. Nenumarate istorii asemanatoare s-au terminat, insa, prost pentru comunitatile locale. Hershey nu e decat un exemplu din sutele de asa-zise one-company-town (orase monoindustriale) care s-au confruntat cu crize sociale in urma inchiderii fabricilor ori a schimbarilor de strategii ale companiilor in jurul carora s-au dezvoltat.
Fenomenul inchiderii si stramutarii intreprinderilor din orasele monoindustriale s-a facut simtit in SUA la sfarsitul anilor '60, a luat amploare in anii '70 si a atins apogeul in anii '80. Cauzele acestui "val de inchideri de fabrici", cum a fost numit, sunt diverse, toate fiind legate de schmbarile economice din continentul nord.american si din alte zone de pe glob. Cateva din aceste cauze au fost: cresterea competitiei venite dinspre companiile straine; inlocuirea vechilor tehnologii cu tehnologii noi, care inlocuiesc forta de munca; mutarea productiei in regiuni ale lumii cu forta de munca mai ieftina. Consecintele nefaste s-au facut simtite atat in randul angajatilor cat si la nivelul comunitatilor si al administratiilor locale si centrale. S-a apreciat ca, numai in anii '70, si-au pierdut slujbele peste 38 de milioane de muncitori; efectele negative s-au raapandit si asupra celorlalte companii din orasele monoindustriale, lucru ce a dus la scaderea veniturilor obtinute din taxe. Intr-un studiu publicat in 1987 privitor la efectele sociale ale acestor fenomene, se arata ca: "Impactul asupra oamenilor poate fi devastator. Cercetarile arata ca muncitorii disponibilizati tind, de cele mai multe ori, sa isi caute noi slujbe la fel de bune sau la fel de bine platite precum cele pierdute la inchiderea fabricii. Familiile cu un singur venit pot fi lovite atat de tare incat taxele de amanetare a locuintelor nu mai pot fi platite; astfel, casele sunt scoase la licitatie pentru a fi recuperate taxele. Uneori, pensiile si asigurarile sociale sunt pierdute. Muncitorii varstnici, minoritatile si femeile au de suferit mai mult decat celelalte grupuri de muncitori disponibilizati, avand nevoie de mai mult timp pentru a-si gasi noi slujbe si primind salarii mai mici decat cele avute.
Iata, asadar, ca orasele monoindustriale nu sunt o inventie a statului comunist. Ele sunt un rezultat al accelerarii ritmului de industrializare in perioada postbelica, atat din tarile capitaliste cat si in tarile din spatiul de influenta sovietica. Dincolo de contextul economic diferit, exista multe elemente comune in ceea ce priveste efectele sociale ale inchiderii fabricilor. Orasul de ciocolata are drept corespondent Orasul de carbune din oricare bazin carbonifer din Romania. Crizele sociale aparute in zonele monoindustriale sunt tratate insa diferit. De fapt, diferenta esentiala dintre Orasul de ciocolata si Orasul de carbune consta in faptul ca primul s-a bucurat de o strategie de rezolvare a acestor probleme. O sa ma refer la doua idei centrale ce stau la baza acestor strategii.
In primul rand, trebuie spus ca, in raport cu administratia centrala, managementul privat s-a dovedit a fi nu doar un administrator mai eficient al capitalului, ci si un mai bun gestionar al nevoilor publice. Astfel, problemele comunitatii pot fi in buna parte rezolvate prin parteneriate sociale intre mediile private de afaceri si comunitatile locale. Este nevoie de gasirea unor noi forme de cooperare intre public si privat la nivel local. In acest scop, sunt necesare: studierea impactului social al activitatii companiilor asupra comunitatilor; identificarea cailor prin care compania poate raspunde la nevoile comunitare; identificarea acelor servicii publice a caror dezvoltare este interesanta pentru mediul de afaceri.
In al doilea rand, am in vedere actiunile propriu-zise ce trebuie realizate in momentul deciziei de inchidere a unei fabrici. Aici este important sa distingem intre asistenta pasiva, care creeaza someri inactivi, care se complac in pozitia de asistati social; si, pe de alta parte, asistenta activa, care formeaza muncitori dispusi sa se recalifice si sa foloseasca facilitatile care li se ofera. Evident, aceasta din urma forma de asistenta sociala este mai eficienta. In acest sens, ma voi referi la doua din concluziile unui studiu publicat in 1982 referitor la actiunile pe care managerii si angajatii le considera oportune dupa inchiderea fabricii. Desi nu sunt intotdeauna de acord in aceasta privinta, ambele grupuri considera ca seminariile si consilierea ce abordeaza problemele sociale sunt in topul prioritatilor. In general, cei ce isi pierd slujbele doresc sa primeasca informatii despre problemele cu care se vor confrunta si despre modul in care pot fi ajutati pentru gasirea de noi locuri de munca. De asemenea, este remarcabil ca nici managerii si nici muncitorii nu acorda importanta deosebita platilor compensatorii pentru pierderea locurilor de munca si nici posibilitatii cumpararii companiei de catre angajati.
Cam aceasta este diferenta dintre Orasul de ciocolata si Orasul de carbune.
Studiu de caz
You are the production manager of a pharmaceutical company under a lot of competitive pressure. Your boss suggests that you could double productivity if you filled half the penicillin ampoules with saline solution instead of penicillin. To be sure, the patients wouldn't get the penicillin prescribed, but most penicillin prescriptions are unnecessary anyway, so probably it wouldn't do anyone any harm. But your boss suggests only that you speed up the process from penicillin culture to filling the ampoules, raising a 2% probability that the drug dispensed will not be up to strength. That doesn't sound good; but there is no evidence that such a change will hurt anyone at all. Meanwhile, the extra income generated will pay off some serious short term debt and put the company in a better position to carry on its research. The quality control manager, who would prohibit this change on general principles, has just retired, and the company is 'searching' for another, so you have a probable three-week window during which you can get the new standard drug on the market.
C7: Interesul rational
Seminar 7: Responsabilitatea morala, aplicatii
Rationalizing the moral decision. The decision-making process: ethical tools
Ethical theories can be used in understanding and analyzing moral conflicts. They offer us some criteria for deciding between moral and immoral, or morally right and wrong, or morally good and bad actions and decisions. So, they can be viewed as decision-making tools.
One of the most complex ethics tool is J. Badaracco's framework for action. It is based on a set of hypotheses:
1) better decisions imply rationalizing the decision-making process
2) better decisions imply taking account of all parties that are implied or affected by our decisions
3) better decisions imply taking account of moral conflicts that can be generated by our decisions
4) rationalizing implies taking account of all ethical perspectives: deontological, utilitarianism, and values; so, it is necessary to identify all moral conflicts and define them from all ethical views: as conflicts of duties (or responsibilities or obligations), conflicts of interests (utilities vs. disutilities) and conflicts of values.
The basic elements of this device are:
Pragmatic view on business ethics
In this approach, "for men and women with real responsibility, good intensions are not good enough." From this point of view, in the decision-making process the core problem is: What can I actually do in one particular case?
(J. L. Badaracco, Business Ethics: Roles and Responsibilities, Richard D. Irvin, 1995, pp. 33-8)
C8: Utilitarism
Seminar 8: Aplicatii utilitarism
Utilitarianism
When used as a managerial guideline, utilitarianism asks business executives to examine the full range of consequences at stake in a dilemma.
Supplementary readings. Bentham and Mill
Jeremy Bentham, An Introduction To the Principles of Morals and Legislation (1789, ed. rev. 1823)
Chapter I. Of the Principle of Utility
I. "Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure. It is for them to point out what we ought to do, as well as to determine what we shall do. On the one hand the standard of right and wrong, on the other the chain of causes and effects, are fastened to their throne. They govern us in all we do, in all we say, in all we think: every effort we can make to throw off our subjection, will serve but to demonstrate and confirm it. In words a man may pretend to abjure their empire: but in reality he will remain subject to it all the while. The principle of utility recognizes this subjection, and assumes it for the foundation of that system, the object of which is to rear the fabric of felicity by the hands of reason and of law." (.)
II. "By the principle of utility is meant that principle which approves or disapproves of every action whatsoever, according to the tendency which it appears to have to augment or diminish the happiness of the party whose interest is in question: or, what is the same thing in other words, to promote or to oppose that happiness. I say of every action whatsoever; and therefore not only of every action of a private individual, but of every measure of government."
III. "By utility is meant that property in any object, whereby it tends to produce benefit, advantage, pleasure, good, or happiness (.), or (.) to prevent the happening of mischief, pain, evil, or unhappiness to the party whose interest is considered: if that party be the community in general, then the happiness of the community: if a particular individual, then the happiness of that individual."
IV. "The interest of the community is one of the most general expressions that can occur in the phraseology of morals: no wonder that the meaning of it is often lost. When it has a meaning, it is this. The community is a fictitious body, composed of the individual persons who are considered as constituting as it were its members. The interest of the community then is, what? - the sum of the interests of the several members who compose it."
V. "(.) A thing is said to promote the interest, or to be for the interest, of an individual, when it tends to add to the sum total of his pleasures: or, what comes to the same thing, to diminish the sum total of his pains."
VI. "An action then may be said to be conformable to the principle of utility, ., when the tendency it has to augment the happiness of the community is greater than any it has to diminish it."
Chapter IV. Value of a lot of pleasure or pain, how to be measured
I. "Pleasures then, and the avoidance of pains, are the ends which the legislator has in view: it behoves him therefore to understand their value. Pleasures and pains are the instruments he has to work it: it behoves him therefore to understand their force, which is again, in other words, their value."
II. To a person considered by himself, the value of a pleasure or pain considered by itself, will be greater or less, according to the four following circumstances:
1) Its intensity.
2) Its duration.
3) Its certainty or uncertainty.
4) Its propinquity [proximity] or remoteness."
Reproduced from W. T. Jones, Frederick Sontag, Morton O. Beckner and Robert J. Fogelin (Eds.), Approaches To Ethics: Representative Selections from Classical Times to the Present, McGraw-Hill Book Company, N. Y., 1962, pp. 269-72.
John Stuart Mill, Utilitarianism (1863), Chapter II. What Utilitarianism Is
"The creed which accepts as the foundation of morals 'utility' or the 'greatest happiness principle' holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. By happiness is intended pleasure, and the absence of pain; by unhappiness, pain, and the privation of pleasure."
This theory of morality is grounded on a theory of life according to it "pleasure and freedom from pain are the only things desirable as ends; and that all desirable things (.) are desirable either for the pleasure inherent in themselves, or as means to the promotion of pleasure and the prevention of pain."
"It is quite compatible with the principle of utility to recognize the fact that some kinds of pleasure are more desirable and more valuable than others."
". utilitarian writers in general have placed the superiority of mental over bodily pleasures chiefly in the greater permanency, safety, uncostliness, etc., of the former."
(Reproduced from W. T. Jones, Frederick Sontag, Morton O. Beckner and Robert J. Fogelin (Eds.), Approaches To Ethics: Representative Selections from Classical Times to the Present, McGraw-Hill Book Company, N. Y., 1962, pp. 302-3)
C9: Drepturi si datorii - Kant
Seminar 9: Aplicatii Kant
Deontological Ethics
Deontological Ethics asks managers to take account of all implied or affected parties' rights; the others' rights are the manager's responsibilities.
Kantianism, The Golden Rule
Case study. Olin Corporation: the responsibility of preventing harm
"Saltville is a small community of 2,500 located in rural southwest Virginia. Since 1892 it had been the epitome of the one-company town. By 1954, the original Mathieson Alkali Works had been taken over by the giant Olin Corporation. Although some of the symbols of the one-company town - for example, company houses and a company store - had become a thing of the past, the Olin Company was the foundation of Saltville's economic and psychological support.
In 1960, Olin Corporation's Saltville facilities employed about 1,500 people. By 1970, that employment figure had dwindled to about 800. In 1970, Olin Corporation announced that it would close its soda ash facilities in Saltville. The closing would occur in a phaseout over a two-and-one-half-year period. Presumably, a phaseout rather than an abrupt shutdown would give Olin's Saltville employees an opportunity to find other work.
In making its announcement, the company contended that three economic factors had led to its decision: (1) the failure of a 1968 modernization program of Olin's Saltville facilities to raise production; (2) the resulting rise in production costs as a result of the failure; and (3) stricter requirements by the Virginia Water Control Board that would require a $2 million expenditure at the Saltville facilities. Company officials placed most of the emphasis on the economic impact of the Virginia Water Control Board's decision.
Some were unconvinced that revised water pollution standards were the chief reason for the closing. In addition to the failure of the modernization program, the parent company had made a major error in the timing of its investment in aluminum production. Others focused on the environmental issues. One study showed that Olin's Saltville facilities caused $2 million in damages per year to the river. Olin was in effect being asked to make total expenditures for pollution reduction equipment, which were equal to the damage it caused in one year. In any case, Olin never appealed the board's decision, and the state granted Olin a two-and-one half year exemption so that the shutdown of the Saltville facilities might be orderly.
The assumption that most people would not be out of work until mid-1972 was shattered in June 1971. It was announced that the soda ash facilities would close permanently July 1, 1971. Worsening economic factors represented by an inventory buildup were given as the cause. On November 18, 1971, Olin announced it would close its Saltville caustic soda plant on March 1, 1972. Increasing production costs and needed modernization costs were given as the reasons. The final blow fell when the Navy failed to renew a contract with an Olin Saltville hydrazine plant. Instead, the contract was given to another Olin company facility in Louisiana. Again, economic factors were cited. On June 30, 1972, all Olin facilities in Saltville were closed.
Despite the economic motivation for the closedowns, Olin took several steps to mitigate the charge that Saltville had been heartlessly sacrificed on the altar of profits. A generous severance plan and early retirement plan were implemented. Olin established a relocation assistance service. Olin donated plant, property and equipment to Saltville and contributed $600,000 to compensate for lost taxes and for planning and development. Some were unimpressed with Olin's generosity. The company "gifts" represented huge tax write-offs, and in any case did not fully compensate Saltville for the harms it suffered."
Ethical analysis:
"Using the prevent-harm criteria, one might make a case that Olin has a responsibility to keep the pant open. Classical theory would argue that since Olin is a private corporation, and since the owners started it of their own free will, they are free to end it of their own free will. But if we consider the Simon, Powers, and Gunneman criteria, we recognize that our responsibilities are not simple. Since we are all part of the same society, we have responsibilities toward one another. ..I may not be a relative, but I am a fellow human in the area, (proximity), and proximity has to do with a network of relationships that exist. We will look at these shortly. At any rate, just as I am close by, so is Olin, and Olin's closing is going to cause social injury that could possibly be prevented. At any rate, Olin is proximate. The fact that there is going to be widespread unemployment and consequent hardship establishes a need for the people of Saltville to be helped.
This brings up capability. Is Olin capable? The Saltville plant is not showing a profit, but Olin is more capable of keeping Saltville afloat than would be the case if the Saltville plant were not part of a large company that arguably can afford some losing operations.
Finally, is Olin the last resort? The free enterprise system works well because of the freedom of movement of business, because one is free to move in and move out of business. Thus, it may be the case that is better for the government to bail out or help the people of Saltville, and if the government can, the responsibility of Olin would be diminished. But if . the government isn't, then one person acting alone is the last resort, and the responsibility to prevent harm becomes more stringent. Consequently, we can argue that business may have not only an obligation or responsibility to avoid harm but also one to prevent it."
(Norman E. Bowie and Ronald F. Duska, Business Ethics, Second Edition, Prentice-Hall, 1990, pp. 37-9)
C10: Dreptate si echitate - Rawls
Seminar 10: Aplicatii dreptate si echitate
Studiu de caz
Suppose that six physicians are discovered by the IRS each to have understated his or her taxable income by over $50,000. As legal advisers to the IRS Jerry and Paul agree that all six must pay tax on the income they failed to declare at appropriately high rates on that income and substantial financial penalties. Jerry and Paul disagree, however, concerning the criminal prosecution of the doctors. Jerry believes that all six should be prosecuted and sent to prison. Paul, however, believes, that only two of the doctors should be prosecuted on the grounds that the community cannot afford to lose any more than four doctors at this time (the six doctors all live in a predominantly rural region with limited resources for medical care). Jerry disagrees strongly. He views the needs of the community for medical practitioners as irrelevant to the decision to prosecute. He contends that the evidence of criminal violations of the tax code against all six doctors is equally strong, and thus they all should be prosecuted.
Who is right, Jerry or Paul? Explain your answer.
C11: Etica virtutii - Aristotel
Seminar 11: Actionari si manageri
Ethics of Virtue and Character "focuses on the character of the person who acts"; this way of ethical judgment reflects "not only the duties that obligate a person but the commitments and aspirations that guide a person's life".
Studiu de caz
You are a recruiter for an executive recruitment firm that has recently been retained by one of the largest corporations in the United States to find appropriate candidates for the position of President of the corporation. If the corporation hires one of the candidates you find then your firm will receive one third of the President's cash compensation - salary and bonus, an amount in excess of $750,000. Several weeks into the recruitment process it becomes clear to you that the company has gone about the search in a severely flawed way, making it highly unlikely that it will find the kind of candidates it needs. The Board of Directors, in your judgment, has allowed the CEO to control the search. It is clear to you that he wants someone who will be deferential towards him, which, in your judgment, will make it extremely difficult to attract the most highly qualified candidates. You discuss the issue with your superior. She says that given the intensely competitive environment for executive search firms, it would seriously disadvantage your firm to offend the Board of Directors of one of America's largest corporations. She reminds you that the Board of Directors is responsible for hiring the President of the Corporation. A recruitment firm, she says, bears no legal liability if a candidate it presents to a company is hired and proves unsuccessful in his position.
What should you do in this situation, and why?
Curs 12: Grija simpatetica - etica feminista
Seminar 12: Angajati
Studiu de caz
Marcia Bonacre is a 32-year old salesman, and a single parent to three small children. Her company has been having a harder time than usual competing in its changing markets, and to make life a bit easier for themselves, they've started, very quietly, getting together with similarly situated competitors to divide up the market and establish prices for products that they all sell. Marcia is expected to go along with this practice, and she finds it troubling. 'I can't blow the whistle on them,' she says, 'I need the job too much. If the Department of Justice finds out about this price-fixing activity, I might possibly go to jail--but the company would take good care of me if that happened. Ironically, I might be better off going to jail than being fired, as far as the consequences to my career are concerned. But even though the whole industry is doing it, I still feel guilty about my participation in an illegal scheme. Should I resign, try to find another job somehow, move to another city? Should I blow the whistle even though it will wreck my family? What should I do?' Incidentally, there is no money in the family beyond that brought in by Marcia.
Studiu de caz
Ahmed heads up the marketing division of a large footwear manufacturer, Company C. The performance of the sales division in Queensland has been unsatisfactory for the past 18 months despite the support Ahmed has given the Manager, Paul. Ahmed has no choice but to appoint a new manager. Just prior to his departure Paul is having heart problems. He will require surgery. Paul has been with the company for 17 years.
Are these decisions morally correct? Compare the two cases from the point of view of companies' responsibilities toward its stakeholders.
Curs 13: Concluzii
Seminar 13: Consumatori
Studiu de caz
Michael Harrison is an excellent pharmacist, very proud of his new store in Harborville. He is already acquiring customers, as the physicians of the area are pleased with his work. Now Mrs. Jones arrives with a prescription for a pain relief medicine that Michael recognizes as somewhat dangerous, especially if an accidental overdose is taken, very addictive, and very little used. He is familiar with several recent articles in the medical and pharmacological literature essentially discrediting the drug. He wonders if the prescribing physician, the oldest in town and the one with the largest practice, is equally familiar with the literature on this medication.
Telling the waiting customer that he wants to 'clarify' the prescription, Michael calls the physician and timidly asks if what he's reading is really what the physician wanted, given recent doubts on this particular medication The answer is swift and sure--'I know the drug well, thank you, you do your job and I'll do mine.' Michael isn't sure he knows just what his job is, at this point.
a. To be a storekeeper, dish out the product to the customer, take her payment, and forget the situation? He needs that physician's referrals, after all.
b. To be a good health care professional, go over the advantages and disadvantages of the medicine with Mrs. Jones, so that she can make an informed choice to buy the substance or not? That might be suicidal, as far as his business is concerned.
c. To be a good citizen, given the unmistakable evidence of dangerous incompetence, and call the County Medical Society (or the state licensing board)?
d. To tell Mrs. Jones that he is fresh out of the medication, and to find another pharmacy for that substance?
e. try to advocate the use of the $5 rod by using all acceptable internal communication channels available.
Curs 14: Concluzii
Seminar 14: Etica in multinationale & Concluzii
Company B is about to establish a large mining project in a developing country. As part of the government approval process, payments of cash are requested to be paid to government officials. Once paid the appropriate permits can be issued and the project can proceed.
Studiu de caz
In 1966, Charles Pettis, angajat al unei companii americane multinationale, devine inginer rezident la unul din proiectele companiei din Peru: un proiect de 46 de milioane de dolari, constand in construirea unei autostrazi de 146 de mile de-a lungul Anzilor. Curand, Pettis a constatat ca standardele de siguranta din Peru sunt departe de cele din SUA. Proiectul autostrazii a conceput constructia prin taierea muntelui in zone in care formatiunile de roci erau instabile. Astfel, fara precautii speciale alunecarile de stanci erau posibile oricand. Pettis a apelat la superiori din companie, apoi s-a plans oficialilor guvernului peruan si in cele din urma, oficialilor SUA. Nu au fost luate nici un fel de precautii si, in consecinta, 31 de oameni au fost ucisi in timpul construirii autostrazii. Pettis a fost concediat li si-a gasit cu dificultate un loc de munca la o alta companie.
Studiu de caz
O banca americana nou venita in Italia a fost sfatuita de catre avocatii ei sa dea declaratii de venituri care sa falsifice veniturile si cheltuielile. Astfel, de la un moment dat, banca a inceput sa dea declaratii care subestimenu grosier taxele reale. Managementul bancii a inteles ca majoritatea companiilor italiene considera aceasta practica o procedura standard, un pas care face parte dintr-un proces complex de negociere cu autoritatea fiscala italiana. Initial banca a refuzat sa declare venituri false din considerente morale; insa, deoarece taxele rezultate erau de multe ori mai mari decat cele ale companiilor italiene comparabile, in anii urmatori banca si-a schimbat strategia, urmand "stilul italian" de declarare a veniturilor.
