Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences

Business Ethics
and
Corporative Social Responsibility
Asoc.prof., Dr.oec Maira Leevica

Course content
Ethics and moral
Ethics historical development
Business Ethics definitions and concepts. Business Ethics basic
principles
The essence and main features of Business Ethics
Main theories of Business Ethics. Codes of Ethics
Ethical offences in business. Unethical problems.
Discrimination
Behaviour ethics, etiquette
Enterprise culture, climat
Corporative Social Responsibility (CSR), insight and its
development in World, Europe and Latvia
CSR communication practical models in the World and Latvia.
CSR unused possibilities

Whats Going On?

People perhaps dont know or dont care about

business standards or ethics

Put their interests first (?)

People are perhaps greedy

People perhaps go along with unethical behavior

because:

If I dont take their money someone else will.

No one will know

Conclusions
Criminals and other sociopaths typically declare
their behavior with if I dont take their money,
someone else will
A salesperson for a major media company forged
a clients name on a contract, but got caught
when the client got a bill and said, We didnt
sign anything!
The salesperson thought no one will know; I
wont get caught

Three most popular reasons...

There are many reasons for unethical behavior, but
three common ones are:

Strong tendency to bow to authority and follow

orders: just following orders

Strong tendency to do what peer group does

social pressure and conformity: everyone does it

An absence of clearly defined and communicated

standards: nobody told me

Three most popular reasons...

Bow to authority

People give up their individual free will and autonomy and turn
their conscience over to someone else - Nazis at Nuremburg trials said,
just following orders

Cave in to peer pressure in order to conform

People negate their free will and autonomy and hand over their
individuality to the crowd - Individuals have a conscience, the crowd, a
mob, doesnt

There are an absence of standards

Organizations must create and communicate ethical standards to

trump the nobody told me copout - We all know what were supposed
to do

What is Ethics?

Ethics definitions
Ethics from greek language word ethos custom,
origin, tradition, character, culture of behaviour
(introduced by Aristotel 4 gs.p.K)
Ethics philosophy doctrine about norms, which are
used to evaluate people behaviour and reasons for that
People can do everything, even things which are ususally
seen as wrong, and still live according to ethical norms,
untill they acknowledge these ethical considerations as
right and are ready to defend and base own actions
Ethics involves a discipline that examines good or bad
practices within the context of a moral duty
Ethics is philosophical science about morality

Morality
Special characteristics, typical to people behaviour and
will
Ideal model of well-based behaviour condition, when
people established norms are considered or may be
considered

Basic types of Ethics

Descriptive empirical ethics researches existing
What is?
Prescriptive normative ethics produces new
What should be?

Sources of Ethical Norms

Fellow
Workers

Culture

Family

Regions of
Country
Profession

The Individual
Friends

The Law

Conscience

Religious
Beliefs

Employer
Society at
Large

Normative ethics divides

1. Deontological ethics comes from mans

sense, consciousness, Gods commandments

2. Teleological ethics consequences of people

behaviour

Deontological ethics...
Focuses on personal rights and on intentions
connected with behaviour, but not on
consequences

Believes that there are few things, which should

not be done, irrespective to usefulness/ benefit

Teleological ethics...
Operation may be considered as morally correct
or acceptabe, if it creates any preferable result,
e.g. joy, knowledge, career growth, satisfies
personal interests or needs

Assess moral value of behaviour, observing its

consequences

Ethical perceptions
Scientific
Naive

Excercise
Evaluate from ethical perception view .......... behaviours.
From scientific and naive

Morality - (fr. morale morality, lat. moralis moral)

Individual morality
Consumer morality
Civil morality

Milts A. tikas priekmets, 1985

From Morality to Law

Morality life is sainted

Ethics medical ethics
Law estop homicide

Shea, G.F. : Practical Ethics/ AMA Membership Publications Division. New York, 1988

Main elements of Morality

Morality awareness public evaluation and personal selfappraisal
Moral relationships filling of duties in the front of
society
Morality action action from right and evil point of view
Moral norms, principles social norms allowed, not
allowed
Moral ideals image of ideal personality
Moral orientations values value orientation

Exercise
Cognition of philosopher: Clean Conscience is
Invention of Devil
Why such cognition?

Values
Abstract ideals that shape an individuals
thinking and behavior a moral compass
Instrumental values certain way of behaving
is appropriate in all situations means
Terminal values enduring belief in the
attainment of a certain end state ends

A Moral compass
These abstract ideals can result
from
Religion
Philosophy
Family teachings

Instrumental values
As the means to an end they become
the ingrained ways of behavior:
Rituals
Politesse
Good habits

Terminal values
With the end always in sight:
Heaven
Respect
Financial Success
Personal Independence
Power

Main Ethical principles

Humanism
Altruism
Egoism
Individualism
Collectivism
Hedonism
Utilitarism
Amoralism

Ethics philosophically historical development

1. Ancient East philosophies

Chinese daoism, zen budism, confucianism

Indian - budism
Arab - islam

2. Ancient Ethics

3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Ancient Greek philosophy sophists, Sokratus, Platon, Aristotelis

Ancient Roman philosophy stoicism, epicureanism

Middle Ages Ethics scholasticism

Renaissance Ethics humanism
Enlightenment rationalism
19 century philosophy idealism, positivism, materialism
19/20 century philosophy

Existentialism
Fenomenology
Personalism, marxism, intuitivism, absurdism

Ethics model

Origins of
Ethical
suggestions

Leads to

First type
Ehics

Our believe to,

Determine
what is good and
what is bad

Second type
Ethics

Our actions

Legally Ethical matrix

ETHICAL

UNETHICAL