Read the summary and the most important questions on Behaviors and Ethics - Week 2 EFB MCM

• 1 Crane & Matten, 2019

• Where we looked into normative considerations, how we should behave, we will now look into descriptive empirical findings, how we actually behave. What definition is given for descriptive ethical theories?

  Theory that describes how ethical decisions are actually made in business, and explains what factors influence the process and outcomes of those decisions.

• In addition to telling us what business people actually do, descriptive ethical theory will also help to explain something else, what?

  They will help to explain why they do those things.

• 1.1 Assigning moral status

• What 3 aspects will objectively decide whether a situation should be assigned moral status, and thus whether a situation consists of an ethical decision?

  1. The decision is likely to have significant effect on others
     
  2. The deicison is likely to be characterized by choice, in that alternative courses of action are open (ethical dilemma)
  3. The decision is perceived as ethically relevant by one or more parties

• 1.1.1 Models of ethical decision making

• Models of ethical decision making primarily seek to represent two things, the different stages in decision-making that people go through in responding to an ethics problem in a business context and different influences on that process. What are two further broad perspectives on ethical decision making?

  1. Rationalist: logical reasoning approach is followed prior to arriving at an ethical judgement
     
  2. Intuititionist/sentimentalist: emotion-based mechanisms or sentiments drive the decision-making.

• 1.1.1.1 Rationalist Perspective

• What are four distinct process components of ethical decision-making from the rationalist perspective?

  1. Awareness: becoming aware that there is a moral issue at stake. 
     
  2. Judgement: the decision-making itself.
  3. Intent: moral intent is established.
  4. Behavior: acting on these intentions through one's behavior can be referred to as action or implementation.

• What is the relationship between the normative theory and the ethical decision making? List the 4 points in which this relationship comes forward

  1. Role of normative theory in the stages of decision-making is primarily in relation to moral judgement
     
  2. Much of economic and business theory is largely established somewhat narrowly upon consequentialism
  3. Cost-benefit analysis is extremely prevalent in orgnaisational decision-making
  4. Issue of whether and how normative theory is  used by an individual decision-maker depends on a range of different factors that influence the decision-making process

• 1.1.1.1.1 Lecture: economic decision-making

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• What does such economic decision-making look like in practice? List the 6 points mentioned in the lecture.

  1. People care about their economic interest
     
  2. People consider the interests of people close to them
  3. People will sacrifice their own economic interest to help those wo are friendly and punish unfriendly people
  4. People consider the welfare of strangers when making decision
  5. People are interested in their reputation
  6. People care about the self-image

• 1.1.1.1.1.1.1 Lecture: ethical challenges

• List 5 examples of ethical challenges that have been given in the lecture.

  1. Standing up to power 
     
  2. Made a promise (and the world has changed)
  3. Intervention
  4. Conflicts of interest 
  5. Suspicions without enough evidence

• 1.1.1.1.2 Influences on ethical decision-making

• What are the two influences on ethical decision making?

  1. Individual factors: unique characteristics of the individual making the decision; including factors given by birth (e.g., age & gender) and those acquired by experience and socialization (e.g., education, personality, attitutudes)
     
  2. Situational factors: particular features of the context that influence whether the individual will make an ethical or an unethical decision; includes factors associated with the work context and the issue itself

• 1.1.1.1.2.1 Understandng ethical decision-making

• What does the decision-making process look like when visualised?

  At the top and bottom you find the individual and situation factors. In the middel you find the stages in the ethical-decision making process.