Ethics are abstract and can be difficult to understand; therefore, it is important that you not limit your learning of ethics to what follows. However, the definitions and overview of an “ethics vocabulary” listed here will help you better comprehend ethical concepts and ideas as you continue to grow and learn. In order to think clearly about ethical issues and develop practical approaches for dealing with ethical problems, it is important to speak a common language.
Ethics refers to standards of conduct, standards that indicate how one should behave based on moral duties and virtues, which themselves are derived from principles of right and wrong. In order to apply this definition to practical decision-making it is necessary to specify the nature of the moral obligations considered intrinsic to ethical behavior.
There are two aspects of ethics. The first involves the ability to discern right from wrong, good from evil, and propriety from impropriety. The second involves the commitment to do what is right, good, and proper. Ethics is an action concept; it is not simply an idea to think and argue about.
“Is” versus “Ought” Ethics: Often times discussions about ethics and what is or isn’t ethical veer off into semantic debates about the nature of ethics. Many will argue that ethics are “relative,” “situational,” or “personal.” Such positions usually reveal a misunderstanding of ethics.
- “Is” (descriptive) ethics describes operational standards of behavior – that is, how an individual or group actually behaves, without reference to what should be. “Is” ethics provide no basis for distinguishing right from wrong.
- “Ought” (prescriptive or normative) ethics is concerned with discernment of and commitment to principles that establish “norms,” or behavior applicable to every person. Such ethics prescribe how people should behave, prescribing standards for what “ought” to be, without reference to how things actually are. The ideal behavior is based on specific values and principles, which define what is right, good, and proper. These principles will always dictate a single ethically acceptable course of action.
Values are core beliefs that guide or motivate attitudes and actions. They also define the things we value and prize the most, and, therefore, provide the basis for ranking the things we want in a way that elevates some values over others. Thus, our values determine how we will behave in certain situations.
Values vs. Ethics: The terms “values” and “ethics” are not interchangeable. Ethics is concerned with how a moral person should behave, whereas values simply concern the various beliefs and attitudes that determine how a person actually behaves. Some values concern ethics when they pertain to beliefs as to what is right and wrong. Most values do not.
Ethical values directly relate to beliefs concerning what is right and proper – as opposed to what is correct, effective, or desirable.
Non-ethical Values: Most of what we value is not concerned with our sense of moral duty but rather with things we like, desire, or find personally important. Wealth, status, happiness, fulfillment, pleasure, personal freedom, being liked, and being respected fall into this category. We call them non-ethical (not unethical) values, for they are ethically neutral. The pursuit of non-ethical objectives is normal and appropriate, so long as ethical values are not sacrificed in the process.
Personal Moral Values: Most people have convictions about what is right and wrong based on religious beliefs, cultural roots, family background, personal experiences, laws, organizational values, professional norms, and political habits. These are not the best values to make ethical decisions by, not because they are unimportant, but because they are not universal.
- In contrast to consensual ethical principles – trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, citizenship – personal and professional beliefs vary substantially over time, among cultures, and even among members of the same society. They are a source of continuous historical disagreement. Although it is proper for individuals with strong personal and professional moral convictions about right and wrong to treat these beliefs with special reverence, they should be careful about imposing these individual, non-consensus moral values on others. This is an area where, as much as possible, the universal ethical value of respect for others dictates tolerance and respect for the dignity and autonomy of each person and cautions against self-righteousness in areas of legitimate controversy.
Personal Moral Systems: Each person has an “operational value system” which reflects how one ranks competing values in deciding how to act. A personal value system encompasses all values – core beliefs and attitudes that guide and motivate behavior – and, therefore, it includes personal convictions about right and wrong, sometimes called “personal moral values.” The fact that everyone has a personal value system that includes opinions and beliefs about what is right and wrong, however, does not mean that ethics is purely a personal matter. Again, ethics – if the term is to have any real meaning – refers to moral norms, how persons should behave according to general moral principles about what is good and right.
Values and Principles: When we speak of values, we are referring to broad, general beliefs or attitudes about something we prize or desire. These beliefs, however, guide and motivate ethical conduct only when they are translated into principles. Ethical principles are the rules of conduct that are derived from ethical values. For example, “honesty” is a value that becomes operative in the form of a series of principles: tell the truth, don’t deceive, be candid, don’t cheat. In this way, values give rise to many principles in the form of specific do’s and don’ts.
Project Option #3 – Ethics Case Studies
Objective
To understand how you would act in a situation involving an ethical dilemma.
Steps
- Review the four (4) case studies that follow.
- Answer the case study questions at the end of each case.
- Be prepared to share the basics of each case study and your responses to the questions when you next meet with your Phase III cohort.
Case Study 1 – Work Environment
Bill Church was in a bind. A recent graduate of a prestigious business school, he had taken a job in the accounting division of Greenspan & Co., a fast-growing leader in the accounting industry. Greenspan relocated Bill, his wife, and their one-year old daughter from the Midwest to the East Coast. On arriving, they bought their first home and a second car. Bill was told that the company had big plans for him; therefore, he did not worry about being financially overextended.
Several months into the job, Bill found he was working late into the night to complete his auditing assignments. He realized that the company did not want its clients billed for excessive hours and that he needed to become more efficient if he wanted to move up in the company. He asked one of his friends, Ann, how she managed to be so efficient in auditing client records.
Ann quietly explained, “Bill, there are times when being efficient isn’t enough. You need to do what is required to get ahead. The partners just want results – they don’t care how you get them.”
“I don’t understand,” said Bill.
“Look,” Ann explained, “I had the same problem you have a few years ago, but Mr. Reed (the manager of the Auditing Department) explained that everyone eats time so that the group shows top results and looks good. And, when the group looks good, everyone in it looks good. No one cares if a little time gets lost in the shuffle.”
Bill realized that “eating time” meant not reporting all the hours required to complete a project. He also remembered one of Reed’s classic phrases, “results, results, results.” He thanked Ann for her input and went back to work. Bill thought of going over Reed’s head and asking for advice from the Division Manager, but he had met her only once and did not know anything about her.
Case Study 1 Questions
- Describe the process that Bill will use to attempt to resolve his dilemma.
- If anyone were hurt by his action, it would seem to be young accountants, who are expected to work long hours. Why is this an ethical problem?
- What should Bill do?
From Business Ethics, Second Edition
Case Study 2 – Academic Integrity, Grading, and Cheating
Terri Benson was a senior in the Engineering Program of Andersonville College. She had been a marginal student since she entered Andersonville. She had been on probation twice and had to take one semester off. She was still in danger of not finishing. In addition to her marginal GPA, she still had two required courses to complete in her major. She was not doing well.
Not only that, but she had been accused of cheating on the midterm exam. There seemed to be little doubt that she was guilty. The responses on her answer sheet, even the wrong answers, exactly matched those of the person who was seated directly in front of her. The probability that two students could produce an identical set of wrong answers on ten different items was close to zero. Moreover, given their positions in the room, it was virtually impossible that the other student could have copied from Terri.
Professor Ames, the instructor, prided himself on his firm sense of academic honesty. Thus, he decided to charge Terri with violating the college’s academic integrity code, although he wasn’t required to do so. Because Terri wasn’t exactly a model student, it also seemed important to him to protect the engineering profession from someone who wouldn’t bring credit to it.
Andersonville College had a committee on academic integrity. A student accused of cheating had to be charged before the committee by the instructor of the course in which the alleged cheating took place. The committee would then consider the evidence, make a judgment, and, if the student was found guilty, decide on a penalty. This semester, the academic integrity committee was chaired by Professor Bloom, who had a reputation for fairness unburdened by mercy.
Professor Ames made a persuasive case against Terri. She admitted her guilt and excused herself by saying that she had panicked because she was afraid that if she failed the exam, she wouldn’t be able to complete the program. She still hoped to enter the Master of Engineering program at Andersonville. She was afraid that failing Ames’ course would doom her admission. The committee then sent her out of the room while they discussed the verdict.
The verdict was that Terri was supposed to be suspended for the rest of the academic year, after which she could reapply for admission. In announcing the verdict, Professor Bloom delivered a sermon on the importance of intellectual honesty to the academic community. He explained that the college’s central values included the pursuit of truth and excellence in one’s work, and that absolute honesty was required by these goals. He concluded, “thus you have violated the central moral principle of an academic community, intellectual integrity, and we have no choice but to protect the college against such behavior. However, we have also decided that after you have undergone your punishment and learned your lesson, you may have another chance to complete the program.”
Terri didn’t say much, and that seemed to be the end of it. She left, and the committee members started to leave too. However, some of Terri’s friends had waited for her outside the hearing room; they were commiserating with her when the committee was leaving. Unhappily, Professor Bloom overheard Terri say, “I wish the old fart would apply those standards about ‘community integrity’ to his colleagues. Maybe then I wouldn’t have to cheat.”
Professor Bloom was irate. He called the committee back into the room and demanded an explanation and an apology from Terri. He got neither. Instead, though angry tears, Terri gave an indictment of the education she had received. It went something like this:
“You talk about the integrity of the academic community. There has never been a community here for me. When I came here you made me take ‘screening classes’ that felt more like boot camp than education. My faculty ‘advisor’ has never learned my name. When I tried to get involved in research, I was told that research opportunities were only for students who could ‘really contribute.’ Professor Ames barely prepares for his class, and that seems like the norm here, not the exception. So far as I can see, you people stole the tuition money I paid, refused to teach me, refused to treat me as a member of any community, and used my money to pursue your own consulting careers. If I cheated, I did nothing but copy your example. The only moral principle teachers at this college seem to follow is ‘do whatever is necessary to further your career.’ That’s one thing you’ve taught me well.”
Case Study 2 Questions
- Professor Bloom says that intellectual honesty is the central value sustaining a college community. Why might this be? What are some of the other values that might be similarly important?
- If Terri’s description of her education is accurate, has the engineering faculty of Andersonville also failed to show academic integrity? Do you think this is how students are treated at your college or university? What could be done to create a stronger sense of community?
- Some institutions have an honor code in which students promise not to cheat and also promise not to tolerate cheating in others. Would such a code work at your school? Why or why not? Is it possible to create an academic moral climate that would make students not want to cheat? How? What values would be essential?
- Many students often sympathize with those who cheat. Even if they don’ exactly approve of cheating, students rarely turn in, or even criticize, those who cheat. Should they? In many situations, loyalties to friends or solidarity with members of one’s group are important virtues. Are they in cases of cheating? How do you see your responsibilities here?
- Terri’s last reaction to Professor Bloom seems common in real-life ethical discussion. She accused him of inconsistency because he and his colleagues seem to violate the same values they blame her for violating. Is Terri’s claim that she just copied the faculty’s example plausible?
- Another common defense for some kinds of unethical behavior is that they don’t really harm anyone. Does cheating harm anyone? If so, whom and how?
From Ethics and College Student Life by Kenneth Strike and Pamela Moss
Case Study 3 – College Environment
Jerry’s parents divorced bitterly while he was in tenth grade. It was a wrenching experience, not least because his parents used him as the chief prize in their war with each other. Even after the divorce, they constantly pressured him to take sides, and they generally made him miserable without (apparently) meaning to. He survived by retreating from both of them, throwing himself into his schoolwork and his music, and longing for the day he could escape.
Jerry is finally living away from home in a freshman dorm, but his parents’ battles seem to have followed him to college. Their latest fight is over who will pay for his college education. When Jerry was applying to schools, his dad promised to pay Jerry’s tuition if he was accepted to the largest state university. Now that Jerry has made it, his Dad is refusing to pay for another semester. The reason is that Jerry’s mom is planning to remarry, and Jerry’s father sarcastically insists that if she does, his “new dad” can foot the bill for school. Unfortunately, his future stepfather has made it clear the he will not pay for Jerry’s college and his mother can’t pay for the tuition herself.
Jerry is not eligible for financial aid because he has never lived independently, and his parents’ income bracket disqualified him as their dependent. Thus, it seems that Jerry will have to drop out of school. If he can afford college at all on what he can earn from a part-time job, he will have to settle for the local community college and move back in with his mom or dad. That is, unless he can get one of his parents to change their mind.
Case Study 3 Questions
- Should Jerry try to influence his father to pay for his college in spite of his mother’s remarriage?
- Should his mother try to get her new husband to pay? Should she postpone her wedding so that his father will keep paying?
- Does Jerry have an equal duty to both of his parents in this situation? How can he (or anyone) respond ethically to manipulation by loved ones?
- What would you do if you were Jerry?
- How might the principles of relationships, character growth and benefit maximization apply to this case?
From Ethics and College Student Life by Kenneth Strike and Pamela Moss
Case Study 4 – Work Environment
After three years with the company, Sandy was promoted to assistant plant manager. This was a big step for Unity Welding and Construction, as well as for the industry. Sandy was one of only a handful of women who had broken through the “glass ceiling” and made her way into management. She had proved to the men around her that she deserved the job and was now being toasted by assistant managers from other plants across the country. John, her boss, had been her advocate with the company. He had personally lobbied upper management on her behalf.
Unity Welding and Construction is a national firm with twenty fabrication plants, primarily in the South. The company does contract work for other companies that require welding or fabrication of metals into items used in the construction of aircraft, ships, bridges and component parts for consumer durables. Each plant caters to specific industries. Sandy’s plant produces parts primarily for the automotive industry and is located in Arizona. Arizona is perfect for Sandy because of her acute asthma problems. As a teenager, she once visited relatives in Atlanta and had to be hospitalized because of her reactions to different plants and foliage. Sandy’s doctor told her at the time that she would have fewer problems with her asthma if she resided in one of the arid regions of the United States.
Six months had passed since Sandy’s promotion, and her first performance rating from John was excellent. John told her that if she continued this type of performance, she would probably be plant manager in three to six years. Sandy developed some innovative ways to increase productivity on the job. For example, she successfully implemented a “team concept” that gave responsibility for certain projects to the workers on the plant floor. She offered incentives if they could decrease job times and increases profitability. John gave Sandy his full support, and the program was working well. Worker salaries on these special projects jumped from an average of $15 per hour to $24 per hour, yet the company’s bottom line continued to improve. Workers in the plant began competing to get on special projects.
With the increasing competition, Sandy noticed that the workers were starting to cut corners. Minor worker injuries began to increase, and Sandy was concerned about how some of the workers were disposing of toxic wastes. She informed John about her concerns, and he said he would write the following memo:
Attention Workers on Special Projects
It has come to management’s attention that minor injuries are on the rise. Please review the Occupational Safety and Health Administration guidelines to make sure you are in compliance. In addition, there are rumors of improper disposal of wastes. Please read again the statement from the EPA. Finally, congrats to Special Project Team Wolf. Profitability on your job increased 8 percent with an increase of $4.50 an hour for each member of the group. Great job!
Shortly after John sent out his memo, the recession started to hit the automobile industry. Some of Sandy’s workers were to be laid off. Sandy went through the records and found that her most productive workers had been selected for termination. She went to John with the problem and he said he would take care of it. By calling in some favors, John was able to save the workers’ jobs and no pink slips were issued at the plant. Within a week, the workers knew John and Sandy had saved them.
Two months later, in November, the special project teams were working especially hard. Sandy noticed that the teams with the highest hourly wages were also the ones that were cutting corners the most. Sandy ran a spot inspection and found major quality problems with the products, as well as pollution problems. Additionally, she learned that several teams had “procured” software from the competition to reduce their production times. Sandy realized that something needed to be done quickly, so she went to John.
“John, we’ve got some major problems,” she told him. “Quality has decreased below our contract’s specifications. I’ve got workers cutting so many corners that it’s just a matter of time before someone really gets hurt. And, to top it off, some of the special project teams have gotten a hold of our competitor’s software. What are we going to do?”
John looked at Sandy and said, “Nothing.” “What do you mean, nothing?” asked Sandy. “Let me explain something to you,” John said calmly. “We’re in a recession. The only reason 20 percent of our workers still have jobs is that our costs are down and our production is way up. I know quality is down; I’ve doctored some of the quality report forms myself. I also know about the software. Sandy, the only reason that we’re still working is because of the special projects concept you implemented. And, I’ve got news for you – production orders are going down in December. If we lay off the productive workers, we cut out the lean and save only the lazy workers we can’t fire because of their seniority. Plus, have you ever fired someone around Christmas time?”
“So, I’ll tell you what you’re going to do. Sandy, you’re going to forget about OSHA, the EPA, and the software and you’re going to ‘doctor up’ the quality control reports. If you don’t, we’re both out of jobs. Have you ever tried getting a job in a recession? When the recession is over, we’ll straighten things out,” said John.
Case Study 4 Questions
- What are the ethical issues?
- Discuss Sandy’s options relative to the situation.
- What factors are affecting Sandy’s options?
- Discuss John’s behavior relative to the situation.
- What information is missing that could help your decision?
From Business Ethics, Second Edition