Ethics Ch1
AN INTRODUCTION TO
BUSINESS ETHICS
CHAPTER ONE: WHY STUDY ETHICS?
THIS CHAPTER SEEKS TO
Identify reasons why the study of ethics is important
Explain the nature and meaning of business ethics
Explain the difference between ethical values and other values
Clarify the difference between ethics and the law
Describe the distinction between ethics and ethos
Introduce the distinction between personal morality, virtues and social ethics
1-2
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
DISCUSSION CASE: MADOFF
Madoff
pleads guilty to 11 counts of financial fraud and theft in March 2009
Is sentenced to 150 years in prison
A Ponzi scheme is a fraud that attracts investors with a promise of high returns
The perpetrator benefits either by disappearing with the money or living a wealthy lifestyle by skimming
Many would say this is a complete failure of government regulations
1-3
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Identify what ethical issues and questions are involved in the Madoff case.
Identify all the people you think may have been harmed, and how they were harmed, by the Madoff fraud. Do you think that a scandal such as this is the result mostly of unethical individuals, or are there organizational issues that allowed, encouraged, or were responsible for the harms? To what degree was this case mostly a failure of individuals, or organizational structure, or of government?
Can you imagine anything that would have prevented the Madoff fraud?
1-4
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
WHY STUDY BUSINESS ETHICS?
Is it an oxymoron like “jumbo-shrimp”?
Is it a discipline of sentimentality and personal opinion? Who’s to say what is right and what is wrong?
Is there a place for ethics in business?
1-5
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Copyright © 2011 by
BUSINESS ETHICS
CHAPTER ONE: WHY STUDY ETHICS?
THIS CHAPTER SEEKS TO
Identify reasons why the study of ethics is important
Explain the nature and meaning of business ethics
Explain the difference between ethical values and other values
Clarify the difference between ethics and the law
Describe the distinction between ethics and ethos
Introduce the distinction between personal morality, virtues and social ethics
1-2
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
DISCUSSION CASE: MADOFF
Madoff
pleads guilty to 11 counts of financial fraud and theft in March 2009
Is sentenced to 150 years in prison
A Ponzi scheme is a fraud that attracts investors with a promise of high returns
The perpetrator benefits either by disappearing with the money or living a wealthy lifestyle by skimming
Many would say this is a complete failure of government regulations
1-3
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Identify what ethical issues and questions are involved in the Madoff case.
Identify all the people you think may have been harmed, and how they were harmed, by the Madoff fraud. Do you think that a scandal such as this is the result mostly of unethical individuals, or are there organizational issues that allowed, encouraged, or were responsible for the harms? To what degree was this case mostly a failure of individuals, or organizational structure, or of government?
Can you imagine anything that would have prevented the Madoff fraud?
1-4
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
WHY STUDY BUSINESS ETHICS?
Is it an oxymoron like “jumbo-shrimp”?
Is it a discipline of sentimentality and personal opinion? Who’s to say what is right and what is wrong?
Is there a place for ethics in business?
1-5
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Copyright © 2011 by