1. Lecture 2
The Ethics of
Business
Ethics

2. Apart from this business ethics module, would you say your
education at Cardiff University business school has helped you be
more ethically sensitive?
1. No it has not
made me more
ethically sensitive
2. Yes it has helped
me be more
ethically sensitive

3. What is Ethics?
From Kyle to Kant – 4000 Years of Ethics

4. Ethics: a [tentative]
definition]
Anthony FlewAnthony Flew
(Prominent British Philosopher)(Prominent British Philosopher)
…… standards by which astandards by which a
particular group orparticular group or
community decides tocommunity decides to
regulate its behaviourregulate its behaviour
– to distinguish what– to distinguish what
is acceptable from whatis acceptable from what
is not in pursuit ofis not in pursuit of
their aimstheir aims

5. Morality and Morning TV

6. Ancient Athenian City State – 594 B.C.Ancient Athenian City State – 594 B.C.
Ancient Athenian PolityAncient Athenian Polity
30%+ of the population =30%+ of the population =
slavesslaves

7. THINKING
PHILOSOPHICALLY
IS A REFUSAL TO
TAKE TRADITIONAL
ANSWERS FOR
GRANTED
THAT’S WHAT
THEY DO ON
THE JEREMY
KYLE SHOW

8. The Life and Times of Socrates

9. Socrates
(469 BC–399 )

10. Socrates’ Ideas Radical and Fresh – Why?
Critic of allCritic of all
injusticesinjustices
Knowledge caresKnowledge cares
for the soulfor the soul
I am the wisest man
alive, for I know one
thing, and that is that I
know nothing …
unexamined life is not
worth living
I am not an
Athenian or a
Greek, but a citizen
of the world

11. AristotleAristotle AristophanesPlatoPlato
How do should we live our lives?
René Descartes
(1596 – 1650)
Gottfried Leibniz
(1646-1716)
Benedict de Spinoza
(1632-1677)
How do we understand our existence?

12. Immanuel Kant
(1724 – 1804)
‘Normative ethics’
‘applied ethics’

13. What is business
ethics?

14. Emerging Interest in Modern Business Ethics
Socio-economic crisis –
1960s/early 70s
Corporate Power

15. Avoiding harmAvoiding harm
Positive social actionPositive social action
Being transparentBeing transparent
Begins where the law endsBegins where the law ends

17. Is Business
Fundamentally
Unethical (or Evil
Even)?

18. A father is explaining ethics to his son, who is about to
open a shop with his friend and business partner.
"Suppose a woman comes in and orders £50 worth of
material. You wrap it up, and hand over the purchased
material. She pays you with a £50 note. But as she
goes out the door you realize she’s given you two £50
notes.
Reader, suppose you are a business man. Now suppose
you are of greedy and ruthless character. Apologies, I
repeat myself.
Now, here’s where business ethics come in: should
you or should you not tell your partner?"

19. "The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil"
(1 Timothy 6:10)
“Money is the root of all kinds of evil" (1 Timothy 6:10)

20. The money dilemma: Choose one of the
following two options:
1. The £10 note should not be
kept and should be put
through the shredding
machine as a public
demonstration against money
2. The £10 note should be kept
and be given away to a
student in the lecture who
answers a question correctly

21. Can Business Ethics Make
you a Better
Manager/Executive/Human
Being?

22. In the future, when you enter the world of work/business which
of the following scenarios involving your personal morality do
you envisage?
1. I will have to compromise my
personal morals in the real
business world
2. I will not have to compromise
my personal morals
3. I would quite happily become
a whistleblower if I witness
unethical activities, even if it
costs me my job

23. Stark, A. (1994),
‘What’s the matter
with business
ethics?’
WoodWood et alet al (1988) –(1988) –
business schoolbusiness school
students expectedstudents expected
to compromise ownto compromise own
ethical standardsethical standards

25. "... the only specific characteristic one
could detect in his past as well as in his
behavior during the trial … was something
entirely negative: it was not stupidity but
a curious, quite authentic inability to
think."

27. What percentage of participant ‘teachers’ in Milgram’s obedience
experiment administered the final massive 450-volt electric shock,
which would guarantee to kill a human being?
1. 85%
2. 20%
3. 65%
4. 5%

28. •Lecture this Friday
at 2pm in L03