- Slavery, for years
- Slack fill
- Contracts versus promises
- Adverse employment actions not based on Title VII
Why then do we study it?
v. 1.1.4
Ethics is not the law
In the spirit of “natural law”, can we build a consistent theory of ethics from scratch?
Universally “bad” behavior?
Remember IRAC: do we need a definition of “bad” first?
Universally “good” behavior?
Definition of good, first?
Can we assign these points?
This is utilitarianism
As a utilitarian, I should give everyone in this class an A. To not would be unethical.
Utilitarianism in a nutshell
- Act in a way that delivers the greatest good for society
- But good for whom?
- And can we measure it?
- And over what time horizon?
- And what if there is value in suffering?
- And can we live with the paralyzing consequences?
Would it be easier to just follow a set of rules?
- This is deontology
- We may follow rules from religion, or principles of rights, or philosophy
- E.g., Kant’s “categorical imperative”
Would it be easier to just follow a set of rules?
- This is deontology
- We may follow rules from religion, or principles of rights, or philosophy
- E.g., Kant’s “categorical imperative”
- But this has it’s own set of of problems:
- What if the rules are bad?
- What if they don’t cover a situation?
- What if the rules lead to strange results?
- E.g., is choosing not have children unethical by the categorical imperative?
Would it be easier to just follow a set of rules?
- This is deontology
- We may follow rules from religion, or principles of rights, or philosophy
- E.g., Kant’s “categorical imperative”
- But this has it’s own set of of problems:
- What if the rules are bad?
- What if they don’t cover a situation?
- What if the rules lead to strange results?
- E.g., is choosing not have children unethical by the categorical imperative?
- Should we consider “virtue” alone?
- Which virtues?
- What if they conflict? E.g., liberty and equality?
How does
this apply
to companies?
Stakeholder analysis
- Identify the stakeholders: potential gainers and losers
- For a corporation, we need to consider
Corporate Social Responsibility
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) says companies should consider the needs of all stakeholders (employees, community, customers, environment, etc), rather than just attempting to maximize shareholder profit
- Can corporations legally do this?
- Is it in their long-term, strategic interest?
- What about “benefit corporations”?
- Or “certified B-Corps”?
Practice
- On a sheet of paper, list your favorite brand
- What do you know about their CSR practices?
- What can you find out in five minutes?
- Does this make you more likely to buy from this company?