BA CC6- SG 6

Lapuz, Dhavevohrah Zam M./ BSBA 3B

Learning Activity 1:
a. Explain the different straw men approach to business ethics
Business ethics academics use these methods as fig leaves to show that they
provide unsuitable rules for moral judgment in a multinational corporation. These
viewpoints can be divided into four categories: the Friedman doctrine, cultural
relativism, the upright moralist, and the gullible immoralist. Friedman's primary stance is
that, as long as the corporation complies with the law, its main social obligation is to
boost profits. He vehemently disagrees with the notion that companies should make
social contributions beyond those required by law and necessary for effective
commercial operation. For instance, his ideas imply that enhancing working conditions
above what is required by law and what is necessary to increase employee productivity
will result in lower earnings and are therefore inappropriate.
The idea that all morality is influenced by culture, that morality is merely a mirror
of culture, and that morality is a cultural construct is known as cultural relativism. A
company should, therefore, adopt the morals of the society in which it operates. When
examined more closely, cultural relativism falls apart. At its most extreme, cultural
relativism contends that if a culture endorses slavery, then using slave labor within a
nation is acceptable. It isn't, of course! The assumption that universal moral principles
can exist beyond cultural boundaries is implicitly rejected by cultural relativism, yet as
we will demonstrate later in the chapter, some universal moral principles do exist.
A righteous moralist contends that a multinational's home country's ethical
standards are the ones that businesses should adhere to abroad. Managers from
industrialized nations are frequently thought to use this strategy. At first glance, this
appears reasonable, however the method has drawbacks. A naive immoralist claims
that if a manager of a global company notices that businesses from other countries are
not abiding by ethical standards in a host country, then that manager should not either.
b. What is utilitarian?
According to utilitarian perspectives on ethics, the moral value of deeds or
behaviors is decided by their repercussions. A deed is evaluated it results in the best
possible ratio of positive outcomes to negative repercussions, it is desirable. The
maximum of good and the minimization of harm are core principles of utilitarianism.
Utilitarianism acknowledges that decisions can have a variety of effects, some of which
are beneficial to society and others which are detrimental. It emphasizes the need to
thoroughly consider all of the societal benefits and costs of a company action and to
pursue only those acts where the benefits outweigh the costs as a business ethics
theory. According to a utilitarian viewpoint, the best decisions are those that result in the
greatest good for the largest number of people.
 c. What is Kantian Ethics?
According to Kantian ethics, humans should never be considered solely as
means to another person's objectives. Unlike a machine, people are not tools. People
should be valued for their dignity. According to Kantian philosophy, employing people in
sweatshops and forcing them to work long hours for little compensation in appalling
conditions is unethical because it treats them like inanimate objects rather than
conscious moral beings with dignity. The idea that people should be respected and
treated with dignity still resonates in the modern world, despite the fact that modern
moral philosophers tend to view Kant's ethical philosophy as incomplete, for instance,
his system has no place for moral emotions or sentiments such as sympathy or caring.
d. What are the roles of ethic officers?
Many businesses now employ ethics officers to ensure that they conduct
themselves ethically. These people are in charge of making sure that the company's
code of ethics is upheld, that all employees are trained to be ethically conscious, and
that ethical issues are factored into business decision-making. In order to ensure that
choices follow this code, ethics officers may also be in charge of auditing them. In many
companies, ethics officers serve as an internal ombudsperson who is in charge of
answering employees' private questions, looking into complaints made by them or
others, disclosing their findings, and suggesting changes.