BSB119 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Ethnocentrism, Immanuel Kant, Business Ethics
Document Summary
Ethics is defined as an individual"s personal beliefs about right and wrong behaviour. Ethics is not just the practice of individuals; it is a value shared by society as a whole. Applied to business, ethics attempts to describe how people should act within given business structures. An ethical action should lead to the best possible of good consequences over bad consequences. People should not be treated as means to the ends" (people are not machines - they have dignity and should be respected as such) Problem: no consideration for moral emotions/sentiments (eg. sympathy or caring) The social responsibility of business is to increase profits within the rules of law (responsibility to shareholders should be the priority) Ethics are culturally determined (firm should adopt the ethics of the culture in which it is operating) Problem: what is culturally appropriate may not be ethically justified. Mnc"s home-country standards of ethics are the appropriate ones to follow in foreign markets.
