Social Responsibility Maintains that businesses should not function amorally, but should contribute...
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Social Responsibility
Maintains that businesses should not function amorally, but should contribute to the welfare of their communities.
Recognizes multiple objectives: economic, social, and environmental dimensions
from each and all activities Related to:
sustainability, Citizenship
If not “amoral,” then has ethical dimensions
Determinants of Moral Behavior
Characteristics(Moral Intensity) of the
IssueSocial Characteristi
cs
Relationships with “others”
Type of Relationships
Structure of Relationships
IndividualCharacteristic
s
SituationalCharacteristic
sLevel of Cognitive Moral
Development
Cognitive
Dissonance
Recognize
the moralIssue
Make aMoral
Judgment(establis
hIntent)
Engage in
MoralBehavior
Steps towards moral behavior
Individual
Utility
Rights
Justice
Care
Personal Characteristics
Culture
Social Networks
Economic Environment
Foreseeable Consequences
Perceptions&
Behavioral Intentions
Situational Framing
Recognition Analysis &
Evaluation
Action
Ethical Philosophies vs. Reasoning
Teleologyvs
Deontologyvs
Virtues
Utilityvs
Justicevs
Rightsvs
Care
Philosophy Perspective
Question 1: I do not care what motivates other people; I judge them solely on the basis of what they do.
Strongly agreeAgreeNeutral/undecidedDisagreeStrongly disagree
Question 2: When I am trying to decide what the right thing to do is, I look at the consequences of the various alternatives open to me.
Strongly agreeAgreeNeutral/undecidedDisagreeStrongly disagree
Question 3: The right thing to do is whatever is best for everyone.
Strongly agreeAgreeNeutral/undecidedDisagreeStrongly disagree
Question 4: We should look at the overall consequences of our actions in each and every case.
Strongly agreeAgreeNeutral/undecidedDisagreeStrongly disagree
Question 5: If someone tries to do the right thing but it works out badly, they still deserve moral credit for trying.
Strongly agreeAgreeNeutral/undecidedDisagreeStrongly disagree
Question 6: What is the most important thing in life? PleasureHappinessIdeals such as truth and beautyHaving your preferences satisfied
Philosophical Ethics
Teleological (design & purpose) Results oriented Actions have no intrinsic ethical character
(acquire moral status from their consequences) or
Deontological (obligation) Act oriented Actions are inherently right or wrong (e.g.,
lying, cheating, stealing)
Ethical Frameworks
Utilitarianism (Bentham & Mills)
Ethics of consequences Deontology (Kant)
Ethics of Duty [action] (Ethical laws) Principles willed into Universal laws Treat people as ends (not means)
Virtues (Aristotle)
Ethics of Character
Bentham’s Hedonistic Calculus Bentham (not originally called Utilitarianism)
Moral science (vs. ascetic religious) Quantifying pleasure
Pleasure good, pain bad Hedonistic calculus (7 aspects)
1. Intensity (Intrinsic strength of the pleasurable or painful feelings produced.)
2. Duration (how long they last)3. Certainty / Uncertainty (likelihood of sensations
being produced by given action.4. Propinquity / Remoteness (how soon they will be
felt)5. Fecundity (whether actions lead to pleasure)6. Purity (whether actions lead to pain)7. Extent (number of people affected)
Open, public, objective, fair Mill’s types of pleasure (quality vs. quantity)
Basic Insights of Utilitarianism
The purpose of morality is to make the world a better place.
Morality is about producing good consequences, not having good intentions
We should do whatever will bring the most benefit (i.e., intrinsic value) to all of humanity.
The Purpose of Morality
The utilitarian has a very simple answer to the question of why morality exists at all:
The purpose of morality is to guide people’s actions in such a way as to produce a better world.
Consequently, the emphasis in utilitarianism is on consequences, not intentions.
Fundamental Imperative
The fundamental imperative of utilitarianism is:
Always act in the way that will produce the greatest overall amount of good in the world.
The emphasis is clearly on consequences, not intentions.
The Emphasis on the Overall Good
We often speak of “utilitarian” solutions in a disparaging tone, but in fact utilitarianism is a demanding moral position that often asks us to put aside self-interest for the sake of the whole.
Utilitarianism is a morally demanding position for two reasons:
It always asks us to do the most, to maximize utility, not to do the minimum.
It asks us to set aside personal interest.
The Dream of Utilitarianism:Bringing Scientific Certainty to Ethics
Utilitarianism offers us a powerful vision of the moral life, one that promises to reduce or eliminate moral disagreement.
If we can agree that the purpose of morality is to make the world a better place; and
If we can scientifically assess various possible courses of action to determine which will have the greatest positive effect on the world; then
We can provide a scientific answer to the question of what we ought to do.
Intrinsic Value
Many things have instrumental value, that is, they have value as means to an end.
However, there must be some things which are not merely instrumental, but have value in themselves. This is what we call intrinsic value.
What has intrinsic value? Four principal candidates: Pleasure
Jeremy Bentham Happiness
John Stuart Mill Ideals
G. E. Moore Preferences
Kenneth Arrow
Pleasure Definition: The
enjoyable feeling we experience when a state of deprivation is replaced by fulfillment.
Advantages Easy to quantify Short duration Bodily
Criticisms Came to be known
as “the pig’s philosophy”
Ignores higher values
Could justify living on a pleasure machine
Happiness Advantages
A higher standard, more specific to humans
About realization of goals
Disadvantages More difficult to
measure Competing
conceptions of happiness
The Utilitarian Calculus
Math and ethics finally merge: all consequences must be measured and weighed.
Units of measurement: Hedons: positive Dolors: negative
What do we calculate?
Hedons/dolors may be defined in terms of Pleasure Happiness Ideals Preferences
For any given action, we must calculate: How many people will be affected, negatively
(dolors) as well as positively (hedons) How intensely they will be affected Similar calculations for all available alternatives Choose the action that produces the greatest overall
amount of utility (hedons minus dolors)
Business Systems Economic systems (underlying ideologies)
“normative” beliefs Motivation? Basic purpose(s)? Function of society
Market Free-Market
John Locke’s (rights) All are free and equal Rights of freedom, property, and protection
Negative / positive rights? Rights versus justice? Individualistic assumption?
Adam Smith’s (utilitarian) Market competition serves society better than
government Unrealistic assumptions of perfect competition
Business Systems
Keynesian Free-markets alone are not enough
Not the most efficient Social Darwinism
Survival of the fittest Penalties for incompetence and ignorance
Naturalistic fallacy
Free-Trade Benefits of specialization and trade
Comparative (rather than absolute) advantage Production costs are not constant Means of production is portable.
Business Systems
Command Marx’s economic substructure / social
superstructure Exploitation of workers “surplus” Separation (alienation) of workers from product Subordination of government to ruling class’
interests State control is victimized by individuals
Mixed Economy Retains Market and Private Property system Relies on governmental policies
Cell X
Cell 1
Cell2Cell 3
EthicalResponsibility
LegalResponsibility
Economic Responsibility
Business Ethics
EthicalResponsibility
LegalResponsibility
Economic Responsibility
Business Ethics
Cell “X”
Profitable, Legal and Ethical
Proceed with enthusiasm!
Cell X
Cell 1EthicalResponsibility
LegalResponsibility
Economic Responsibility
Business Ethics
Cell 1
Legal and Ethical
Not Profitable:
Seek Profitable alternatives
Cell2
EthicalResponsibility
LegalResponsibility
Economic Responsibility
Business Ethics
Cell 2
Profitable and Legal
Proceed cautiously
Cell 3
EthicalResponsibility
LegalResponsibility
Economic Responsibility
Business Ethics
Cell 3
Profitable and ethical
Likely, also legal;
Proceed cautiously
Bremer’s “big picture” perspective
Question1 2 3 4
Level What is? What ought to be? Getting from 1 - 2? Motivation?
Personal
Organizational
Industry or Professional
Societal
Three Models of Managerial Ethics
Moral Management
ImmoralManagement
AmoralManagement
IntentionalUnintentional
Ethical Standards?
1. Integrity• Possessing and adhering to high principles
2. Honesty• Fair, just, truthful and morally upright
3. Fidelity• Loyalty, allegiance, accuracy
4. Charity• Voluntarily helping those in need
5. Tolerance• Ability to endure hardship, accepting different views
6. Responsibility• Accountable, willing to take a stand
7. Self-Discipline• Ability to motivate or restrain oneself
Ethical CriteriaFocus of Individual
PersonEthical Company Societal Concern
Egoism (Self-Centered approach)
Self Interest Company Interest Economic efficiency
Benevolence (Concern for others approach)
Friendship Team interest Social responsibility
Principle (Integrity Approach)
Personal morality Company rules and procedures
Laws and professional codes
Components of Ethical Climates
MethodCritical Determing
FactorAn Action is Ethical
when….Limitations
Utilitarian Comparing benefits and costs
Net benefits exceed costs
Difficult to measure some human and
social costs; majority may disregard the
rights of the minorityRights Respecting
entitlementsBasic human rights
are respectedDifficult to balance conflicting rights
Justice Distributing fair shares Benefits and costs are fairly distributed
Difficult to measure benefits and costs;
lack of agreement on fair shares (fair may
not be equal)Care Honoring relationships The involved party is
given due consideration
Requires situational ethics; Difficult to
justify under any of the other frameworks
Methods of Reasoning
Alternative
Feasibility Test Check time, money, technical, and social
factors
Reversibility Test Apply reversibility test
to alternatives
Harm Test Apply harm test to
alternatives
Publicity Test Apply publicity test to
alternatives
1
2
3
4
5
Simplified Ethics Justification Test
right to read
right to write
right to learn
right to com-
municate
right to filter
development, self-determ-
inationparticipation,open access
development,information competence
deliberative democracy
privacy,data
protection
autonomy
inclusive-ness
justice
sustain-ability
information for all
participation education for all
collaboration knowledge
sharingself-determi-
nation
free access knowledge sharing
education for all
inter-generational
accessno censorship
open access responsibility life-long learning
information ecology
information control
right to commu-nicate
rights
values
Rainer Kuhlen – Computer and Information Science – University of Konstanz, GermanyTransborder Library Forum – Chihuahua, Mexico – March 2005
The information ethics matrix values and rights in electronic environments
This PP file is made publicly available under the following Creative-Commons-License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/de/