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MEM5336 MANAGEMENT FOR ENGINEERSMINI PROJECTS 2014/15
N S Senanayake
Business organizations face ethical questions every day concerning all aspects
of the business. Today, the “management of ethics” has become a very
important aspect in the general management of businesses in order tomaintain harmony within the organization and to ensure harmonious
existence in the society.
Selecting one or two organizations in Sri Lanka, investigate how they manage
ethics and social responsibility issues. Based on your finding compile a report
briefly describing the theoretical approaches and how they are practicedaccording your findings.
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Content of this presentation
Defining ethics
Different approaches to ethics
Ethical decision making process
Strategies for managing ethics
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Several ways we can look at ethics
Introduction to ethics
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Ethics
Refers to well-founded standards of right and wrong that
prescribe what humans ought to do, usually in terms of rights,
obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or specific virtues.
These standards
impose reasonable obligations to refrain from wrong doings such as
stealing, murder, assault, slander, and fraud.
tell virtues of honesty, compassion, and loyalty
relate to rights, such as the right to life, the right to freedom from injury,
and the right to privacy. Such standards are adequate standards ofethics because they are supported by consistent and well-founded
reasons.
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Ethics
Ethics also refers to the study and development of one's
ethical standards. As mentioned above, feelings, laws,
and social norms can deviate from what is ethical. So it
is necessary to constantly examine one's standards toensure that they are reasonable and well-founded.
Ethics also means the continuous effort of studying our
own moral beliefs and our moral conduct, and striving
to ensure that we, and the institutions we help to shape,live up to standards that are reasonable and solidly-
based.
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Five approaches
Utilitarian ApproachRights Approach
Fairness or Justice Approach
Common Good Approach
Virtue Approach
Approaches to ethics
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The Utilitarian Approach
Ethical action is the one that provides the most good or
does the least harm, or, to put it another way, produces
the greatest balance of good over harm.
The ethical corporate action, then, is the one thatproduces the greatest good and does the least harm
for all who are affected-customers, employees,
shareholders, the community, and the environment.
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The Rights Approach
Ethical action is the one that best protects and respects themoral rights of those affected. This approach starts from thebelief that humans have a dignity based on their humannature as such or on their ability to choose freely what they
do with their lives. On the basis of such dignity, they have a right to be treated
as ends and not merely as means to other ends. The list ofmoral rights -including the rights to make one's own choicesabout what kind of life to lead, to be told the truth, not to
be injured, to a degree of privacy, and so on-is widelydebated; some now argue that non-humans have rights, too.Also, it is often said that rights imply duties-in particular, theduty to respect others' rights.
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The Fairness or Justice Approach
Aristotle and other Greek philosophers have contributed theidea that all equals should be treated equally. Today weuse this idea to say that ethical actions treat all humanbeings equally-or if unequally, then fairly based on some
standard that is defensible. We pay people more based on their harder work or the
greater amount that they contribute to an organization, andsay that is fair. But there is a debate over CEO salaries thatare hundreds of times larger than the pay of others; many
ask whether the huge disparity is based on a defensiblestandard or whether it is the result of an imbalance ofpower and hence is unfair.
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The Common Good Approach
The Greek philosophers have also contributed to the viewthat life in community is a good in itself and our actionsshould contribute to that life. This approach suggests that the
interlocking relationships of society are the basis of ethicalreasoning and that respect and compassion for all others-especially the vulnerable-are requirements of suchreasoning. This approach also calls attention to the commonconditions that are important to the welfare of everyone.
This may be a system of laws, effective police and firedepartments, health care, a public educational system, oreven public recreational areas.
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The Virtue Approach
A very ancient approach to ethics is that ethical actions
ought to be consistent with certain ideal virtues that
provide for the full development of our humanity.
These virtues are dispositions and habits that enable usto act according to the highest potential of our
character and on behalf of values like truth and
beauty. Honesty, courage, compassion, generosity,
tolerance, love, fidelity, integrity, fairness, self-control,and prudence are all examples of virtues. Virtue ethics
asks of any
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Having a method for ethical decision making is absolutely essential.
When practiced regularly, the method becomes so familiar that wework through it automatically without consulting the specific steps.
The more novel and difficult the ethical choice we face, the more we
need to rely on discussion and dialogue with others about the
dilemma. Only by careful exploration of the problem, aided by the
insights and different perspectives of others, can we make goodethical choices in such situations.
Ethics in decision making
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The following framework for ethical decisionmaking is a useful method for exploring ethicaldilemma and identifying ethical courses ofaction.
Ethics in decision making
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Recognize an Ethical Issue
Could this decision or situation be damaging to
someone or to some group? Does this decision
involve a choice between a good and bad
alternative, or perhaps between two "goods" orbetween two "bads"?
Is this issue about more than what is legal or what is
most efficient? If so, how?
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Get the Facts
What are the relevant facts of the case? What
facts are not known? Can I learn more about the
situation? Do I know enough to make a decision?
What individuals and groups have an importantstake in the outcome? Are some concerns more
important? Why?
What are the options for acting? Have all therelevant persons and groups been consulted? Have I
identified creative options?
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Evaluate alternative actions
Evaluate the options by asking the following questions:
Which option will produce the most good and do the leastharm? (The Utilitarian Approach)
Which option best respects the rights of all who have a
stake? (The Rights Approach) Which option treats people equally or proportionately?
(The Justice Approach)
Which option best serves the community
as a whole, not just some members?(The Common Good Approach)
Which option leads me to act as the sort of person I want tobe? (The Virtue Approach)
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Make a Decision and Test It
Considering all these approaches, which option best
addresses the situation?
If I told someone I respect-which option I have
chosen, what would he/she say?
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Act and Reflect on the Outcome
How can my decision be implemented with the
greatest care and attention to the concerns of all
stakeholders?
How did my decision turn out and what have Ilearned from this specific situation?
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Organizational business ethics is the application
of the morality related choices as influenced
and guided by values, standards, rules,
principles, and strategies associated with
organizational activities and business situations.
Organizational/Business Ethics
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The “Ethical Dilemma”
The „ethical dilemma‟ involves all associates in anorganization and a multitude of issues:
Individual morality and integrity.
Daily choices by every organizational participant. The use of power and authority.
Interpretations of rules and standards from one individual tothe next.
Anything from inconsequential to organizationally andsocially significant scenarios.
Social influences.
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The “Ethical Dilemma”….
Laws don‟t cover everything.
Free market and regulated market mechanismsdon‟t describe how to respond to complex issues
that have far reaching ethical consequences.
Complex problems often require an intuitive orlearned understanding and concern for fairness,
justice, due process to people, groups, andcommunities.
Consequences.
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Role of leaders
Code of Ethics Policy Guidelines
Standards of Ethical
Performance
Training Punishment/Consequences/
Discipline
Peer Reporting
Moral Development Appearance of the Act
Intensity of the Choice
Ethical Climate
Culture
Management and
Leadership
Objective Subjective
Develop Ethical Behavioral Influences:
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Code of ethics
Businesses face ethical questions every day concerning the products
or services they sell and the way they deal with people inside and
outside the company. Many companies choose to operate according
to a code of ethics — a document that explains specifically how
employees should respond in different situations Instead of referring to a written guideline, you can ask yourself, “If I
take this action, will anyone suffer as a result?” For example, if a
salesperson knowingly sells an item that does not have a return
guarantee without informing the customer, the customer (and the
business) could suffer. You don‟t need a code of ethics to decide if it
is wrong.
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Four strategies
Relying on employee valuesCompliance
Ethics exhortation
Managing values
Strategies for managing ethics
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Relying on employee values
Assumes
Everyone is ethical and honorable
Expect ethical behavior and you will get it
Risks Not everyone is ethically strong
Not everyone shares the same ethical values
Not everyone is sophisticated enough to see andresolve ethical issues which may arise
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Compliance
Features
Establish standards of minimum behavior, usually based on
law
Write detailed standards stating explicit rules Establish sever penalties for violating the minimum standards
Risks
May give the idea that company wants only minimum
standard of behavior May imply lower level employees are targeted
Give no guidance for most difficult value choices
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Ethics exhortation
Features
Exhort employees to act ethically
Train employees to identify ethical dilemma and ask
good questions about possible ethical standards Risk
No help in identifying correct ethical standards
No guidance on complex ethical choicesMay imply employees are to pay short term costs
acting ethically
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Managing value
Features
Define corporate values or aspirations and minimumethical standards
Require each level of the company to identify howvalues apply
Educate, model, reward to these values and standards
Maintain audit/discipline system for min. standard
Renew the values frequently Risks
More management effort
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Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility
Businesses exhibit corporate social responsibility
(CSR) through their values, their ethics, and the
contributions that they make to their communities. In
other words, CSR has to do with “What you do, howyou do it, and when and what you say.” A socially
responsible business provides goods and services in
line with society‟s values. Socially responsible
businesses are concerned about how they protectcustomers and treat employees and shareholders.
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For example, a business may discover that it can
make a higher profit by closing a plant in one town
and opening a new plant one hundred miles away.
What should the people who run the business consider
as they decide whether or not to open the new plant?
What obligations do they have to their employees, to
their shareholders, or to the community where their
old plant is located? Will the new plant result in harm
or benefit to people in the community where it is
going to be built?
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What you need to do?
Select a few institutions
Gather information related ethics (and socialresponsibility)
Through questionnaire Interviews with mangers and workers
Literature (annual reports, corporate plans, othercompany related publications)
Analyze collected information Give your judgment as to what extent the ethics are
properly managed
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Questions