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Exam 1
Weeks 1 - 3
53
Philosophy
Undergraduate 3
03/29/2011

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Cards

Term
Proffessional Codes
Definition
Rules that are supposed to govern the conduct of members of a given proffession.
Term
Administrative Regulations
Definition
Legistlatures often set up boards or agencies whose functions include issuing detailed regulations covering certain kinds of conduct.
Term
Constitutional Law
Definition
Court rulings of the constitution and the constitutionality of legistlation.
Term
Common Law
Definition
Refers to the body of judge-made laws that first developed in the English-speaking world centuries ago when there were few statures.
Term
Statutes
Definition

Laws enforced by legislative bodies.

Example: the law that prohibits theft.

Term
Moral Standards
Definition
Concerns behavior that seriously affects human well being. Take priority over other standards. Soundness of moral standards depends on aqequacy of reasons supporting them.
Term
Business Ethics
Definition
Consits of the application of ethical values and standards to business activities.
Term
Ethics
Definition
A broad field of inquiry that addresses a fundamental query that all of us at least from time to time thing about the question "how should i life life?"
Term
Where do moral standards come from?
Definition
Most if not all people have moral principles they explcitly or inexplicitly accept. Morals come from our upbringing, behavior of peers, and cultural standards.
Term
Religion & Morality
Definition
Every religion provides followers with a world view which involves certain instructions, values, and commitments.
Term
Divine Command Theory
Definition
If something is wrong then the only reason it is wrong is that God commands us not to do it.
Term
Ethical Relations
Definition
The theory that what is right is determind by what a culture or society says is right. What is right in one culture or society may not be right in another.
Term
Why business ethics is important
Definition

1. Business ethics has a positive effect on the general social & political climate in which business operates.

2. Unethical practices are often illegal.

3. Unethical business practices can have signifigant negative effects on the indivudial firm or the individual.

4. Most people already care about being ethical; business ethics just takes that concern to the workplace.

Term
Ethics & the law
Definition

Unethical business practices are generally against the law. A great number of laws exist to regulate businesses.

Term
The cost of being unethical
Definition
There are hidden costs to unethical behavior and there are hiddent benefits to ethical behavior. Companies try to be ethical to avoid legal trouble. Lawsuits can occur from unethical behavior.
Term
Customer Loyalty
Definition
Ethical scandals and a bad reputation can turn off both actual and potential customers. They may not drive a company out of business but they can hurt it greatly.
Term
Investor Confidence
Definition

Reputation problems can affect investor conficdence in 3 distinct ways:

1. The possibility that some customers are likely to bolt is going to hurt profitability.

2. Trust can be lost

3. There is a growing movement for investorts to scan corporate responsibility.

Term
Attractivness to employees
Definition
A bad reputation can scare off potential employees, especially the most talented.
Term
Morale problems can affect bottom line in several ways:
Definition

1. Decreased productivity

2. Increased absenteeism & turnover

3. Increased pilferage

4. Decresed attention to quality.

5. Increased conflict

6. Difficulties in hiring talented employees

Term
Risk Managment
Definition
Ethics are a form of risk managment. Business ethics is like an insurance policy that pays dividends that at least partly and maybe completely offset its cost.
Term
The best reason to care about business ethics
Definition
Most people already care about being ethical. Business ethics simply involved taking that conern in to the workplace. Caring about ethics is the right thing to do.
Term
Balance of profit and morals
Definition
Profit is important but it is not the only value. Ethical and moral values, as well as social values are important too. Integrate the profit values with the ethical and moral values.
Term
Integrity
Definition
Not selling out. A person who is more than just a business person, they also have goals and values. Being true to one's values and goals and not just to one's business and financial goals.
Term
Abstract Greed
Definition
Another way for moral tunnel vision to become semi-permanent is by the more or less permanent crowding out of other values, not just at work, but all the time.
Term
Character
Definition
Tendencies to act in certain ways.
Term
Virtues
Definition
Tendencies or dispositions to act in good ways.
Term
Vices
Definition
Tendencies to act in bad ways.
Term
A rational assessment of a moral argument involves examining it carefully to see whether it...
Definition

1. mis-applies the moral principles to which it appeals.

2. draws the wrong conclusions from the moral principle to which it appeals.

3. neglects to consider on or more other important moral principles that are relevant to the situation.

4. neglects to take all of the relevant facts or affected parties into consideration.

Term
Utilitarians
Definition
Believe that promoting good things like hapiness and discouraging bad things like harm and suffering are among the more obvious functions or purposes of morality.
Term
No Harm Principle
Definition
The fact that an action, policy, or decision would harm someone is a moral reason against it.
Term
The Benefit Principle
Definition
The fact that an action, decision, or policy would produce a benefit for others, or prevent harm to others, is a moral reason against it.
Term
Harm-Benefit Asymmetry
Definition
It is immoral to harm one person in order to benefit someone else unless the benefit greatly outweighs the harm.
Term
The Rights Principle
Definition
The fact that an action, decision, or policy would violate the moral or legal rights on another person is a moral reason against it.
Term
Negative Rights
Definition
prohibit others fomr interfering with certain aspects of a person's life.
Term
Positive Rights
Definition
makes demands on others not only to refrain from interfering, but to actually help in some way.
Term
Natural/Human Rights
Definition
Moral rights that are thought to belong to all human beings simply because they are human.
Term
Legal/Political Rights
Definition
Arise from a political system or because of specific laws or from certain legal actions.
Term
The Principle of Consent
Definition
The fat that an action, decision, or policy would interfere with a person's autonomy is a moral reason against it.
Term
Autonomy
Definition
Ability to make one's own decision about one's own life.
Term
The principle of honesty
Definition
The fact that an action would lead someone to believe something you know to be false is a moral reason against it.
Term
The Reversibility Principle - Golden Rule
Definition
The fact that I would object to a given action, policy, or decision if I were in the place of the person affected by it is a moral reason against that action, decision, or policy.
Term
The like cases principle
Definition
If two situations are relevantly similar, and if a certain action would be morally wrong in the first situation, then there is reason to believe that the same kind of action would be morally wrong in the other situation as well.
Term
The Principle of Fidelity
Definition
The fact that an action, decision, or policy would break a promise or violate a commitment is a moral reason against it.
Term
The Principle of Special Role (Loyalty)
Definition
The fact that an action would violate a special obligation that arises from a specific role or realtionship is a moral reason to avoid it.
Term
The princple of reparation
Definition
The fact that one's previous actions, decisions, or policies harmed or wronged someone else creates a reason to compensate that person.
Term
The principle of Reciprocity
Definition
The fact that someone else's previous actions, decitions or policies have benefited you creates a reason to return the favor.
Term
Aristotle
Definition
Ancient greek philosipher. Belived that morailty was consering mainly with cultivating virtues and character.
Term
Immanuel Kant
Definition
Greek philosopher. Argued that morality can be boiled down to the moral principle of categorical imparitive.
Term
John Suart Mill
Definition
British philosopher. Prominent defender of utilitarianism.
Term
W.D. Rose
Definition
British philospher. Morality can be boiled down to a few simple rules
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