Business Ethics

Dr. Gajender Sharma

Dr. Gajender Sharma

1
Lecture One

An Overview of Business
Ethics

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company 1-2

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Business Ethics...

• comprises principles and standards that

guide behavior in the world of business
• is right or wrong, acceptable or
unacceptable behavior within the
organization
• is determined by key stakeholders

Dr. Gajender Sharma

3
Social Responsibility...

• is the obligation a business assumes

toward society
• is designed to maximize the positive
influence & minimize the negative
• includes economic, legal, ethical, and
philanthropic dimensions

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4
Why study business ethics &
social issues?

• in an Ethics Officer Assoc. Survey,

48% of employees indicated that they
had done something unethical or
illegal in the past year
• annual cost of unethical or illegal acts
by U.S. employees: $400 billion

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Common Unethical Acts...

• lying to supervisors
• falsifying records
• alcohol and drug abuse
• conflict of interest
• stealing
• gift/entertainment receipt in violation of
company policy
– 1997 Society for Human Resource Management/ Ethics
Resource Center, Business Ethics Survey.

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Legalization of Business Ethics
-FSGO-
Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations
• standards & procedures (code of ethics)
• high level oversight
• care in delegation of authority
• effective communication (training)
• systems to monitor, audit, & report
• consistent enforcement
• continuous improvement
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Business Ethics

Dr. Gajender Sharma

Video

Dr. Gajender Sharma

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Lecture One

Ethical Issues in Business

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company 1-9

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Key Causes of Unethical
Behavior...

• meeting overly aggressive financial or

business objectives
• meeting schedule pressures
• helping the organization survive
• rationalizing that others do it
• resisting competitive threats
• saving jobs
– 1997 Society for Human Resource Management/
Ethics Resource Center, Business Ethics Survey.
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Key Influences On Ethical
Behavior...
• personal values
• supervisor influence
• senior management influence
• internal drive to succeed
• performance pressures
• lack of punishment
• friends/coworker influence
– 1997 Society for Human Resource Management/
Ethics Resource Center, Business Ethics Survey.

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Why Misconduct Is Not
Reported...
• fear of not being considered a team player
• did not think corrective action would be
taken
• fear of retribution (from management)
• “no one else cares, why should I”
• did not trust the organization to keep
report confidential
– 1997 Society for Human Resource Management/
Ethics Resource Center, Business Ethics Survey.

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Classification of Ethical
Issues...

• conflict of interest

• honesty and fairness

• communications

• organizational relationships

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Conflict of Interest...

• exists when an individual must choose

whether to advance his/her own
interests, the organization’s, or others’
• examples include bribes or personal
payments, gifts, or special favors
intended to influence decision making

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Honesty & Fairness...

• following applicable laws a regulations

& not knowingly harming stakeholders

• Is advertising prescription drugs on TV

and in magazines fair?

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Communications...

• refers to the transmission of information

and the sharing of meaning
• examples: deceptive advertising, product
safety information, & product composition
• Are vitamin and herbal supplements using
‘puffery’ in their advertising?
– Note: roughly half of Americans take
supplements

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Organizational Relationships...

• behavior of organizational members

toward stakeholders
• includes confidentiality, meeting
obligations & deadlines, not pressuring
others to behave unethically

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Ethical Issues Can Relate to All
Functional Areas...

• accounting

• finance

• management

• marketing

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Business Ethics

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Lecture One

Applying Moral Philosophies

to Business Ethics

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company 1-20

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Moral Philosophy...

• principles or rules that people use to decide

what is right or wrong
– teleology
• egoism
• utilitarianism
– deontology
– relativist perspective
– virtue ethics

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Teleology...

• an act is considered morally right or

acceptable if it produces some desired
result, i.e., pleasure, knowledge, career
growth, a self-interest, or utility
• assessing the moral worth of a behavior
by looking at its consequences
(consequentialism)

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Two Teleological
Philosophies...
• Egoism: right or acceptable behavior in terms
of consequences for the individual
– maximize your self-interest, concerned with the
consequences, seeking alternative that contributes
the most to self-interests
• Utilitarianism: concern with consequences in
terms of seeking the greatest good for the
greatest number of people
– looking for the greatest benefit for all those
affected by a decision

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Deontology...

• focuses on the rights of the individual

and on the intentions associated with
behavior not on the consequences
• believe there are some things we
should not do regardless of the utility

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Relativist Perspective...

• ethical behavior is defined by

experiences of the individual and group
• the relativist or significant others are the
basis for defining ethical standards
• such beliefs may change over time (i.e.,
advertising in the accounting profession)

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Virtue Ethics...

• consists of trust, self-control, empathy,

fairness, and truthfulness
• what is moral is determined by current
societal definitions

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Organizational Justice...

• distributive justice

• procedural justice

• interactional justice

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Distributive Justice...

• based on the evaluation of the outcome

or results of the business relationship
• if you perceive that you are underpaid,
you may cut back on your amount of
work output, show up late, or look for
another job
• evaluates benefits derived and equity
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Procedural Justice...

• based on the processes and activities

that produce the results or outcomes
• evaluates decision making processes
and level of access, openness, and
participation

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Interactional Justice...

• based on an evaluation of the

communication process used in
business relationships
• evaluates accuracy of information and
truthfulness, respect, and courtesy in
the process

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Business Ethics

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Lecture Two

Social Responsibility

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company 1-32

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Social Responsibility...

• an organization’s obligation to maximize

its positive impact on stakeholders and
to minimize its negative impact
• includes legal, ethical, economic, and
philanthropic (discretionary) dimensions

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Legal Dimension...

• refers to obeying governmental laws

and regulations
• civil law: rights & duties of individuals
and organizations
• criminal law: prohibits specific actions
and imposes fines and/or imprisonment
as punishment for breaking the law

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Ethical Dimension...

• behaviors and activities that are

expected or prohibited by organizational
members, the community, and society
(not codified into law)
• standards, norms, or expectations that
reflect the concern of major
stakeholders

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Economic Responsibilities...

• how resources for the production of

goods and services are distributed
within the social system
• Do you think consumers favor socially
responsible companies or are they most
enamored with companies that
maximize profits?

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Philanthropic Dimension...

• business’s contributions to society

• strategic philanthropy
– Home Depot
– Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, IBM
– Avon

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Business Ethics

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Lecture Two

A Framework for
Understanding Ethical
Decision Making in Business
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company 1-39
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Factors Influencing Organizational
Ethical Behavior...

• Ethical Issue Intensity +

• Individual Factors +
• Corporate Culture (including significant
others and opportunity)
• = Ethical or Unethical Behavior

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Ethical Issue Intensity...

• your perception of the relevance or

importance of an ethical issue (reflects
individual and work group sensitivity)
• influenced by organizational use of rewards
and punishment, codes and values of
corporate culture
• Pennzoil settled a racial discrimination suit for
$6.75 million

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Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral
Development...

1. Punishment or obedience (rules and

authority orientation)
2. Individual instrumental purpose and
exchange (serving ones own needs)
3. Mutual interpersonal expectations,
relationships, and conformity
(emphasis on others rather than
self)
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Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral
Development...

4. Social system and conscience

maintenance (duty to society)
5. Prior rights, social contract, or utility
(upholding basic rights, values, and legal
contracts of society)
6. Universal ethical principle (right is
determined by universal ethical
principles that everyone should follow)

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Corporate Culture...

• a set of values, beliefs, goals, norms,

and ways to solve problems that an
organization’s members share.
• What is unique about the corporate
cultures of Wal-Mart, McDonald’s,
Hershey Foods, and Southwest Airlines?

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Significant Others...

• those who have influence in a work

group including peers, managers,
coworkers, and subordinates
• Do you have any corporate examples in
which a “bad apple” spoiled a barrel?
(when a key organizational member
damaged the organizational reputation
in the ethics/legal area)

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Opportunity...

• conditions that limit or permit ethical or

unethical behavior
• opportunity to engage in unethical
behavior can be limited through formal
codes of ethics, policies, and rules that
are adequately enforced

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Business Ethics

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Lecture Three

Organizational Culture and

Ethical Decision Making

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company 1-48

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Centralized Organizations...

• decision making is concentrated at the upper

management levels
• works well in high risk industries with less
skilled lower-level employees
• ethical issues: very little upward
communication, less understanding of the
interrelatedness of functions, and transferring
blame to those who are not responsible
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Decentralized Organizations...

• decision making is delegated as far down the

chain of command as possible
• control and coordination are relatively
informal and personal and the organization is
adaptable and sensitive to external changes
• employees are empowered to make
decisions, therefore decentralized
organizations tend to have less formalized
ethics programs and policies

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Corporate Culture...

• a set of values, beliefs, goals, norms, and

rituals that members or employees of an
organization share
• a company’s history and unwritten rules are
a part of its culture
• an organization’s failure to monitor or
manage its culture may result in unethical
behavior
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Role of Leadership…

• to guide and direct others toward the

achievement of a goal
• to motivate others and enforce
organizational rules and policies
• is key in influencing the corporate
culture and ethical posture of the
organization (rewards and punishment)
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4 Dimensions of Leader Behavior Related to
Rewards & Punishment...

• performance-contingent reward behavior

• performance-contingent punishment behavior
• noncontingent reward behavior
• noncontingent punishment behavior

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Role of Motivation...

• to focus employees behavior toward

goal achievement within the
organization
• to understand an individual’s hierarchy
of needs and how they influence
motivation and ethical behavior

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Role of Power...

• 5 power bases from which a person

may influence another:
– reward power
– coercive power
– legitimate power
– expert power
– referent power

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Group Influence on Organizational
Culture...

• formal groups:
– committees
– work groups, teams, quality circles

• informal groups

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Work Group Influence on Ethical
Decision Making...

• perceived ethicalness of the work group

has the greatest influence on daily
ethical decision making

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Business Ethics

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Lecture Four

Organizational Relationships
and Conflicts in Ethical
Decision Making
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company 1-59
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Significant Others...

• superiors, peers, and subordinates in

the organization who influence the
ethical decision making process
• have an influence on ethical decision
making in the organization

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Corporation as a Moral
Agent...
• organizations can be held accountable for the
conduct of their employees and for all
business decisions and outcomes
• the organization is responsible to society for
its collective decisions and actions
• organizations must be responsible for the
correctness of all policies

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Variation of Employee
Conduct...
• 10% of employees follow their own values
and beliefs
• 40% try to follow company rules and policies
• 40% go along with the work group
• 10% take advantage of the situation if the
penalty is low and risk of being caught is low

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Implications of Employee
Conduct...

• employees use different approaches to

making ethical decisions
• a large percentage of employees (50%) will
either go along with coworkers or take
advantage of the situation
• organizations must provide communication
and control mechanisms to maintain an
ethical climate
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Socialization...

• refers to the process through which a

person learns the values and behavior
patterns considered appropriate by an
organization or group
• ethical conflict results when the values
and norms taught through socialization
contradict the new employee’s personal
values
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Role-Sets...

• total of all relationships in which a

person is involved because of his or her
position in the organization (role)
• peers and top managers are the most
influential factors in organizational
ethical decision making

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Differential Association...

• the idea that people learn ethical or

unethical behavior while interacting with
others who are part of their role-set or
other intimate personal groups
• association with those who are
unethical, combined with the
opportunity to act unethically, is a major
influence on ethical decision making

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Whistle-Blowing...

• exposing an employer’s wrongdoing to

outsiders, such as the media or government
regulatory agencies
• whistle blowers often receive negative
performance appraisals, become
organizational ‘outcasts,’ and lose their jobs
• companies often establish internal whistle-
blower reporting mechanisms
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Opportunity Creates Ethical
Dilemmas...

• opportunity is the set of conditions that

limits unfavorable behavior or rewards
favorable behavior
• a person who behaves unethically and
is rewarded (or not punished) is likely
to continue to act unethically

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Business Ethics

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Lecture Five

Development of an
Effective Ethics Program

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company 1-70

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Why do companies develop
ethics programs?

• to allow employees and stakeholders to

understand the values of the business
• to comply with policies and codes of
conduct
• to create the ethical climate of the
business

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Federal Sentencing Guidelines
for Organizations...

• assess risk areas

• assign high level responsibility
• use care in the delegation of authority
• provide effective communication & training
• develop systems to monitor, audit, and report
misconduct
• provide consistent reinforcement
• provide for continuous improvement
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FSGO Considerations if Misconduct
Is Determined...

• organizations must remedy any harm

caused by the offense
• if criminal purpose, fines are designed
to put the firm out of business
• fines are based on the seriousness of
the offense as well as culpability
• probation may be assigned
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Top Ten Unethical Behaviors
Reported by Employees...

• sexual harassment • drug or alcohol

• lying on reports or abuse
falsifying records • improper accounting
• conflicts of interest procedures

• theft • violation of
environmental laws
• lying to supervisors
• gift/entertainment
• discrimination violations
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Code of Ethics...

• formal statement of what an

organization expects in the way of
ethical behavior (what behaviors are
acceptable or unacceptable)
• reflects senior management’s
organizational values, rules, and policies

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Six Steps in Implementing a
Code of Ethics...

• distribute internally & externally

• assist employees in understanding
• specify management’s role
• make employee’s responsible for
understanding the code
• establish grievance procedures
• provide a concluding statement

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How CEOs Support Ethics
Initiatives...
• communicate directly with employees
• use their own “phraseology”
• tout successes and condemn failures
• use one standard for all employees
(regardless of level)
• acknowledge & promote ‘ethically aware’
managers
• survey employees about the program

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Role of an Ethics Officer...

• coordinate the program with top

management
• develop, revise, & disseminate the code
of ethics
• develop effective ethics training tools
• establish audit & control systems
• develop enforcement techniques
• revise the program as needed
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Forms of Ethics Training...

• lectures • games
• videos • cases
• CD-ROMs • brief scenarios
• interactive CD-ROMs • manuals
• simulations • web-based materials

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“Bad Apple” Theory...

• blame for unethical behavior rests with

a few opportunistic individuals
• assumes that people are ethical or
unethical and organizations will have
little influence on their behavior

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“Bad Barrel” Theory...

• assumes corporate culture can influence

otherwise ethical individuals
• the organization can influence ethical
behavior

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Ethical Compliance Audit...

• systematic evaluation of an
organization’s ethics program and/or
performance to determine its
effectiveness
• focuses on the key factors that
influence how ethical decisions are
made

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Business Ethics

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Lecture Six

Business Ethics in a Global

Economy

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company 1-84

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Self-Reference Criterion...

• unconscious reference to one’s own

cultural values, experience, &
knowledge
• a reaction based on knowledge
grounded in our cultural heritage &
accumulated over a lifetime
• may not have the same relevance to
people of other cultures
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Perceptions of Corruptness...

• Least Corrupt: • Most Corrupt:

– Denmark – Cameroon
– Finland – Paraguay
– Sweden – Honduras
– New Zealand – Tanzania
– Iceland – Nigeria
– Canada – Indonesia
– Singapore – Colombia
– Netherlands – Venezuela
– Norway – Ecuador
– Switzerland – Russia

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Culture...

• everything in our surrounding made by

people, both tangible and intangible
• language, religion, law, politics,
technology, education, social
organization, general values, & ethical
standards
• differences in speech & body language
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Cultural & Ethical Relativism...

• Cultural relativism means that morality

varies from one culture to the next
(business practices are defined as right
or wrong based on a particular culture)
• Ethical relativism is the belief that only
one culture defines the ethical behavior
for the whole globe, without exception

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Multinational Corporations...

• corporate organization that operates on

a global scale without significant ties to
any one nation or region
• because of their size & financial power
MNCs have been criticized for engaging
in unethical behavior

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Multinational Corporations...

• corporate organization that operates on

a global scale without significant ties to
any one nation or region
• because of their size & financial power
MNCs have been criticized for engaging
in unethical behavior

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Criticisms of MNCs...

• transferring jobs to countries where

wages are low
• using labor saving devices resulting in
increased unemployment in countries
where they manufacture
• increasing the gap between rich and
poor nations by misusing &
misallocating scarce resources
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Caux Round Table...

• collaboration with business leaders in

Europe, Japan, & the U.S. to create an
international code of ethics
• this group reviewed laws enacted
around the world to determine universal
conceptualization of ethical conduct

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Global Ethical Issues...

• sexual & racial discrimination

• human rights
• price discrimination
• bribery
• harmful products
• pollution
• telecommunications issues
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Sexual & Racial
Discrimination...

• U.S. law prohibits American businesses

from discriminating on the basis of sex,
race, religion, or disabilities in their
hiring, firing, & promotion decisions
• globally, discrimination is culturally
embedded in many countries/regions

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Human Rights...

• concern for the well-being of

employees; key concerns are use of
child labor, payment of low wages, &
abuses in foreign factories
• multinational corporations should view
the law as the floor of acceptable
behavior and strive to improve workers’
quality of life
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Price Discrimination...

• occurs when a firm charges different prices to

different groups of customers (these
differences are legal if they do not reduce
competition, or can be justified on the basis
of cost)
– gouging is when unusually high prices are charged
due to a shortage
– dumping involves charging high prices for a
product at home and low prices in foreign markets

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Bribery...

• facilitating payments are acceptable in

many cultures
• U.S. law addresses this issue with the
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act:
– prohibits American corporations from
offering or providing payments to officials
of foreign governments to obtain or retain
business abroad

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Causes of Bribery...

• matching competitor’s bribes

• lack of monitoring and training
• organizational pressure to meet sales quotas
• belief that bribery is a cost of doing business
• perception that bribery is acceptable
• vendor pressures for bribery
• political involvement in decision making
• showing appreciation
• gaining entrance in to new markets
• displacing major competitors

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Harmful Products...

• issues surrounding pesticides, tobacco

products, dumping of waste materials,
illiteracy, unsanitary conditions, &
cultural values

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Pollution...

• there are no physical boundaries on the

extent of the damage resulting from
environmental abuse
• key concern areas:
– carbon dioxide (greenhouse gas)
– methane gases
– overall water & air quality

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Telecommunications Issues...

• violations of copyright laws

• money laundering
– illegally received funds are transferred or
used in a financial transaction so as to
conceal the actual owner

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Business Ethics

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Lecture Seven

Business Ethics and

Organizational Performance

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company 1-103

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Ethics & Performance
Correlations...

• intrafirm trust
• commitment to quality
• customer satisfaction
• employee commitment
• profitability
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Benefits of Intrafirm Trust...

• efficiency in decisions and actions of

employees
• many human resource problems
decrease (turnover, conflict,
absenteeism, and apathy)
• effectiveness results from
communication improvements
throughout the organization
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Ethics & Commitment to
Quality...
• the # 1 breach of ethics was the compromise
in quality, with respect to customers
(EOA, 1998)
• majority of employees (80%) admit to doing
the ‘bare minimum’ with respect to quality
(Kelly, 1987)
• ethical climate has been linked to
improvements in the commitment to
quality=customer satisfaction (Loe, 1996)

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Customer Satisfaction &
Ethics...
• 76% of customers will switch to brands
or stores based on ethics & societal
issues (Cone/Roper, 1997)
• 88% of consumers are more likely to
buy from a socially responsible firm
(Walker Research, 1998)
• the cost of ethics is an investment in
customer loyalty
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Committed Employees &
Ethics...
• creates employee loyalty
• encourages personal sacrifices
• focuses on organizational success
• honors organizational policies & contractual
obligations
• reduces turnover
• satisfies customers

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Ethics & The Bottom Line...

• sales growth, profits, and ROI are

correlated with corporate citizenship
(Maignan, 1997)
• an investment in the 10 most admired
Fortune firms would result in 3 times the
return of the S&P 500
• business ethics = profits!
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Corporate Ethics = Profits...

• top management support

• core values/organizational culture
• code of conduct
• ethics training/program
• reporting and monitoring
• continuous improvement
• …profitability...
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