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EthicsPrepared for Assumption University
April 22, 20099am-4pm
By Scott Michael Smith
*Mind Mapping
In the afternoon we will have a Mind mapping activity….It would be best if you start by taking brief notes of key words
4 Ethical theories we will discuss
The Greatest Good Virtues
Treating others fairly Duties and Rights
The Golden Rule
The Utilitarian Principle
Kantanian Ethics
The Principle of Justice
Ethics and equity and the principles of justice do not change with the calendar.
David Herbert Lawrence
Actions speak louder than words
Knowing what should be done and doing itKnowing what should be done and doing it-by SMS-by SMS
What is your definition?
It takes two people to lie.
One to lie, and one to listen.
Homer Simpson
Two components in Ethics
Ideological (What we believe)
Operational ( How we behave)
Action indeed is the sole medium of expression for ethics.
Jane Addams
The Triple Bottom Line ofSustainable Tourism
Five-Step Test for EthicsFive-Step Test for Ethics
1. Is the decision legal?2. Is the decision fair?3. Does the decision hurt anyone?4. Have I been honest with those
affected?5. Can I live with my decision
Is the decision legal?
As a human resources manager, you know it's illegal to ask
whether a candidate for a position at your company is
planning on starting a family, but during the course of the
interview a woman reveals that she intends to do that. Can
you decide whether to hire her based on the knowledge
she might leave the company sooner or take maternity
leave?
a) Yes, since she revealed it, it's fair game in deciding hires.
b) No, it would be discriminatory to avoid picking her for
that reason.
c) If another candidate seems just as good and that's the
only difference, it can become a factor to break the tie.
Is the decision fair?An employee casually reveals to you that
he cheats on his wife. You're a manager
in a different department. Another manager is writing up a positive performance evaluation for this employee. Do you tell your co-manager
what you learned?a) No, what's personal is personal. b)b) Yes, this behavior could eventually
affect the company. c) c) I hint at it but avoid making any definite claim
Does the decision Hurt anyone?You're a candidate for hire at a great company, but you plan to move across the country in a year. Do you reveal that during the interview?
a) No, they have no right to know I have relocation plans. b) Yes, I would feel obligated to tell. c) If the interviewer asks my long-term intentions, I'll admit to my plan.
Have I been Honest with those affected?
A coworker who is also a friend tells you that he has major concerns about a large project and plans to tell the vice president. You just learned the vice president has been known to fire people who have been too vocal against this project. Do you encourage your friend to be honest anyway?
a) Yes, honesty is always the best policy. b) No, I reveal the dangers of the decision and encourage the friend to protect his job. c) I explain what I know but try to avoid encouraging my friend one way or another.
Can I live with my decision?
Missing Drinks.
Late one night while you're out on the
town, you stop by the bar where your
friend works. After a couple of rounds
you're ready to leave, so she slips you
your tab.
Several drinks are missing from the bill
—what would you do?
The problem is
not that we aim too high and fail, but that we aim too low and succeed.
Ethics is knowing the difference between what you have a right to do and what is right to do.
Potter Stewart
A friend has just been fired from your company. You are an up-and-coming executive and your boss warns that if you're seen with this person, you could lose the respect of those who might promote you. Before leaving, the friend is upset and asks you to meet him in the conference room, something coworkers will likely see. Do you agree to go comfort your friend?
a) Yes, human friendships matter more than any promotion. b) Yes, but you ask if you can meet at a different location. c) No, and you cut off all ties with the shunned employee.
Four Theories• Utilitarianism(Jeremy Betham, John S. Mill)
looking at the social benefits and costs• Kantian ethics (Immanuel Kant):
rights and duties• Fairness and Justice ethics (John Rawls):
giving to each other what is his or her due
• Aristotelian ethics (Aristotle): virtues and vices
What are the issues?
How to apply to How to apply to the four theories the four theories
covered in the covered in the textbook?textbook?
Utilitarianism
• Most influential consequentialist theory• Takes name from “utility”• States that an action is morally justified if it
maximizes benefits and minimizes harm• Tries to achieve greatest net benefit• “The greatest good for the greatest number
of people”
What is “Good”?
• One utilitarian definition: greatest good means greatest happiness
• Support statement: Everyone wants to be happy
• Therefore, it is moral to maximize happiness and minimize unhappiness
All Count Equally
• Utilitarianism states that an action is moral if it maximizes the benefits and happiness of all – each person counts equally
• All consequences must be counted – both short and long term
Jeremy BenthamPleasures and Pains
• Philosopher credited with founding utilitarianism
• Argues that happiness and unhappiness are identical to amount of pleasure and pain experienced
• Determines morality by measuring pleasure or pain of an action
Jeremy Bentham:Jeremy Bentham:
“ “The morally relevant question The morally relevant question about animals is not, Can about animals is not, Can they they reasonreason? or Can they ? or Can they talktalk? But can they ? But can they suffersuffer?”?”
Objections to Bentham
• Difficult to quantify units of pleasure and pain• Pleasure and pain are wrong measures of
happiness and unhappiness
John Stuart MillThe Quality of Happiness
• Added to Bentham• Incorporated qualitative differences between
pleasures. Mill states:It is better to be a human being
dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied. And if the fool, or the pig, are of different opinion, it is because they only know their own side of the question. The other party to the comparison knows both sides.
KantDeontological Ethical Theory
• “deon” – Greek word meaning duty• Deontological ethical theory states that
actions are moral or immoral based on their nature, not on their consequences
• It’s the motive that counts. We must act out of a sense of duty.
What is our duty?
• How do we determine our duty?• Only human beings are rational and only
human beings can reason.• Reason requires us to be logical and
consistent. We must make consistent rules that can be universally applied.
The Categorical Imperative
• The categorical imperative is Kant’s basic rule of morality – a universal rule
• It is a rule that must be followed regardless of the consequences
• Therefore, the categorical imperative is the rule that must be followed at all times in all places under all circumstances if we wish to be acting morally
The first formulation ofthe categorical imperative
• Act in such a way that you would want the rule you are following to be a universal one that everyone should follow
• For example: if you can cheat, then everyone else should be allowed to cheat
The Golden Rule
• Kant’s categorical imperative is very similar to the Golden Rule:– Do unto others as you would have others do unto
you
• It is not identical because the Golden Rule depends on consequences
The second formulation ofthe categorical imperative
• Treat each person as an end unto himself• Do not treat people as things; do not use
people• You must never use a person just for your
own purpose; treat each person as someone of independent moral worth
• If you use another person, you have degraded them from a person to a thing
Strengths of Kant’s system
• It upholds the sanctity of human life• Impartiality• Duty to treat people as people and not as
things
The Concept of Rights
• If I have a duty to you, you have a right to demand that I fulfill that duty
• A right is something one is entitled to; rights are individual entitlements
Justice Ethics
• States that we should treat each other fairly• Rawls’ Veil of Ignorance
What would you decide is acceptable if you did not know whether you were to be the front desk manager
who earns a bonus based on profit and daily occupancy rate – or if you were to be the weary traveler who discovers the guaranteed room is not guaranteed?
John RawlsJustice as Fairness
• John Rawls (1921-2002)• Developed a comprehensive
theory on justice that tries to cover all situations
• He said that what is fair can only be determined by what would be accepted as fair by rational people who would consider all points of view
Where will you be?• Rawls wants you to decide what is
fair by making the decision not knowing where you will be in society
• Will you be the hotel general manager or the cashier or the chambermaid?
• If you can take this viewpoint, you will make a fair and just decision
Rawls’ Positions
• Original Position – this is the position of people who do not know where they will end up in the society (behind the veil of ignorance)
• Veil of Ignorance – means that people do not know whether they will end up male or female, black or white, etc.
• If people operate from behind the Veil of Ignorance, they will set up fair rules and social arrangements
Rawls’ AssumptionsPeople operating behind the Veil of Ignorance are:– Rational– Self-interested– Knowledgeable about society and social
arrangements
Strengths of Rawls’ System• Fair way to set up rules• Provides important addition to
utilitarianism – provides for distribution of benefits (utilitarianism only spoke of maximizing benefits)
• Provides important addition to Kant – adds to discussion on fairness in distribution (Kant spoke of individual rights but not how to distribute them fairly)
Virtue Ethics• The hotel is a human community• How does the hotel contribute to the
development of the character traits of its employees?
• Traits/virtues include: honesty, integrity, tolerance, fairness, and cooperation
• Virtue ethics requires businesses to foster values that relate to the way they interact with their community
Aristotle• Most famous proponent of virtue ethics• He stated that
– a morally virtuous person always acted the way a human being should act
– Moral virtue is the tendency to do the right thing
– A good character is an achievement, it is not a natural endowment
Virtue Ethics
• Judges a person’s character• Helps us to define what a good person is• We look at the type of person someone is
and compare it to what kind of person we believe they should be
• Examines character rather than action
What is a moral virtue?“The Golden Mean”
• Virtues are the traits that enable us to act according to reason
• We are acting reasonably when our actions are neither excessive nor deficient
• Virtue lies in the middle ground – the “golden mean”
• A person who lives a life of moderation will live a happy life
Examples of VirtuesThe four fundamental moral virtues:Courage - being brave enough to do the right thingTemperance – showing moderation in action,
thought, or feeling as well as moderation in the indulgence of the appetites or passions
Justice – the ability to give other people exactly what they deserve, neither more nor less
Prudence (wisdom) – gives us the ability to know what is reasonable in different situations
Identify 10 virtues that important to you
1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.
Examples of other virtues
• Trustworthiness• Honesty• Generosity• Reliability• Warmth• Tact• Kindness• Tolerance
• Civility• Sincerity• Gentleness• Dependability• Cooperativeness• Empathy• Benevolence
The Relationship of Virtues to Moral Principles
• Virtue ethics can be closely related to the other ethical theories
• Examples:– If someone is generous and kind, he will probably
try to maximize benefits for others (utilitarianism)– If someone is honest, trustworthy and sincere, he
will not treat other people as things (Kant)
The Relationship of Virtuesto Human Nature
• A person’s idea of what a virtue is depends on his idea of human nature and on what he sees as the purpose of life
• Example:If you think humility is a virtue, then you will think that someone who is not humble (is prideful) is not virtuous
Chapter 10Chapter 10Ethics and the
Human Resources ManagementFunction
Four Theories• Utilitarianism:
looking at the social benefits and costs• Kantian ethics:
rights and duties• Fairness and Justice ethics:
giving to each other what is his or her due
• Aristotelian ethics: virtues and vices
Ethics and HR
• The administration and supervision of the people in the workplace
• Four topic areas for discussion:– Compensation, diversity, employee treatment,
and working conditions
Human Resources Managers
• Balance efficiency with equity• Strive for loyalty – ensures fewer turnovers• Theorists on equitable treatment
– Utilitarians: balancing greatest good for greatest number of people
– Kant: respect for rights of human beings– Rawls: fair and just treatment– Aristotle: moral character when dealing
with others
Case: Salary Disclosure (read it fast if you have not read it)
• The Players– Dan Maloney, Jensen Hotel Front Desk Manager– George, front desk agent– Barbara, front desk agent– Mr. Grey, Jensen Hotel Manager
The Facts
• Jensen Hotel policy states that employees are forbidden to discuss salary information with other employees
• Two front desk agents, George and Barbara, discussed their salaries
• Barbara claims that, even though she is doing the same job as George, she is being paid less
The Issues
• Possible discriminatory compensation• Principal human resources issue: fairness
Is it fair to pay two people different salaries for doing the same work?
• Both a legal and ethical issue
Utilitarianism• An action is moral if it maximizes benefits
and minimizes harm• Potential benefit to hotel: budgetary
savings• However, violating fairness principle
usually leads to negative consequences (for example, a demoralized workforce which could lead to turnover, low productivity, etc.)
In addition . . .
• Prohibiting employees from salary discussion is illegal
• Any dialogue among employees about wages or other conditions of employment cannot be barred as long as it does not interfere with their work
Kant• Could the principle being used to
determine compensation be turned into a universal principle without being contradictory?
• Is the rule prohibiting employees from speaking to each other about salaries violating the equal liberty of all to live as autonomous, rational human beings?
Kant on Hiding Salaries• Would consider it degrading• The categorical imperative states that human
beings have an interest in being free from fraud and being free to think and speak as they choose
• Rights can be prohibited only if it is agreed that they are prohibited for all
Rawls
• Would ask all the players to step behind the Veil of Ignorance
• What would the salary arrangements be if no one knew who was to be the front desk agent and who was to be the manager?
• Rawls said that economic inequality is only acceptable if it is to the greatest benefit for the least advantaged person (Barbara)
Does Barbara Benefit?
• Could management prove that Barbara was receiving a higher salary because of this inequality?
• Is it a higher salary than she would be paid if she were paid the same as George?
Freedom of Speech• Rawls’ principle of equal liberty also
includes the right to freedom of speech• Management can restrict certain types of
speech (for example, slander)• However, restrictions have to be equally
allocated among employees• Any restrictions must be carefully
justified according to Rawls
Virtue Ethics• Scrutinizes the character of the persons
involved in a situation• Of Aristotle’s four cardinal virtues (courage,
temperance, justice and prudence), justice is the most relevant in this case
• Salaries should be based on merit and requirements; if an employee is paid a just rate, he or she willreceive exactly what he or shedeserves
Case Studies (groups of 3)
1. Discriminating forces2. The come on3. Is this sexual harassment?4. Taking Credit5. Stars are difficult to come by6. Blue Vest Pizza and customer satisfaction7. But can she do the job?
Read assigned case study and prepare a 3-5 minute presentation
Summarize the caseAnswer the questions provided
Apply your favorite ethical theory
Presentations after lunch-Enjoy