MGM101H5 Chapter Notes - Chapter 4: Ponzi Scheme, Business Ethics, Whistleblower

• School: UTM
• Department: Management
• Course: MGM101H5
• Professor: Dave Swanston

Document Summary

Ethics and legality are two very different things. Although following the law is an important first step, ethical behaviour requires more than that. It refers to laws we have written to protect ourselves from fraud, theft, and violence. Many immoral and unethical acts fall well within our laws. Ponzi scheme: the fraudsters don"t invest the money. They simply pass money contributed by new investors on to early investors (minus a healthy sum held back for their own personal use, of course), claiming the money as profits from the existing clients" investments. What to ask if faced in an ethical dilemma: Whether you"re thinking about having a drink and driving home, gathering marketing intelligence, designing a product, hiring or firing employees, getting rid of industrial waste, or using a questionable nickname for an employee, think about the legal implications. This is the most basic question in business ethics, but it is only the first.