Business Ethics and Social Responsibility

Chapter 4 Section 1

 Explain business ethics  Give reasons why ethical behavior is good for businesses, utilizing skits

 Conducting yourself by a set of moral principles.  Personally, socially, or professionally.

 Business ethics – rules outlining how a business and their employees should conduct themselves.

 The rules employees and businesses follow  Set of guidelines for maintaining ethics in the workplace.  Textbook Page 56 Figure 4.1

 Sweatshop  Factories that have unsafe working conditions  Employed for long hours at low wages  Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)  Sets and enforces work-related health and safety rules

 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire  March 25, 1911  NYC  146 workers died  Inadequate exit doors and fire escapes, overcrowded factory

 A conflict between self-interest and professional obligation.  When making an ethical decision, employees have an ethical obligation to act in the best interest of the company.

 Three questions to think about when asking an ethical decision in the workplace:  Is it against the law?  What if everyone did this?  Am I sacrificing long-term benefits for short-term gains?

 Five steps to follow in an ethical dilemma: 1. Identify the ethical dilemma 2. Discover alternative actions 3. Decide who might be affected 4. List the possible effects of the alternatives 5. Select the best alternative