BUSINESS ETHICS

-Is the study of what is right and wrong human

behavior and conduct in business.
- it is a study the perceptions of people about
morality, moral norms, moral rules, and ethical
principles as they apply to people and institutions in
business.
BUSINESS ETHICS as an applied branch of general Ethics
must be studied from the perspective of philosophy.
This is because Ethics is part of philosophy, and it is
unthinkable to discuss ethical concepts and moral
principles without being philosophical. Secondly, the
process of moral reasoning involves the use of
metaphysical terminologies that are best understood
only in the light of philosophical abstractions.
What is PHILOSOPHY?
PHILOSOPHY , etymologically came from two
Greek words, Philos, which means love, and Sophia,
which means wisdom. Basically philosophy means love
of wisdom.
What is ETHICS?
ETHICS is a philosophical science that studies
the morality of human act. As a science, Ethics is
concerned with the analysis of nature of the human
conduct from the point of view of morality.

Ethics is a branch of philosophy and is

considered a normative science because it is
concerned with the systematic study of the
norms or human conduct, as distinguished from
formal sciences such as mathematics, physical
science such as chemistry and physics, and
empirical sciences such as economics and
psychology.

ETHICS AS METAETHICS
-

Is concerned with analysis or meaning of words

and the logic of moral reasoning. E.g. it analyzes
moral terms, like good, bad, moral.
immoral, and others. Metaethics does not
describe moral beliefs of people, does not
evaluate the process of moral reasoning, but
simply analyze the usage and meaning of
words.

THE PROBLEM OF
SITUATION ETHICS

ETHICAL

RELATIVISM

AND

ETHICAL RELATIVISM claims that when any two

cultures or any people hold different moral values of an
action, both can be right. An action may be right for one
person or society and the same action taken in the
same way may be wrong for another reason, yet both
persons are equally correct.
APPROACHES TO MORAL DIFFERENCES

It is the practical science of the morality of

human act.

There are four approaches in dealing with moral

differences, which can be found in the following
diagram:

The study of human conduct from the

standpoint of morality.

APPROACHES TO MOAL DIFFERENCES:

Ethics- is derived from the Greek work Ethos which

means characteristic way of acting, which is proper to
man as a rational being. The latin word for ethos is
mos (or mores). Hence, we understand why Ethics is
sometimes called a Moral Science or Moral Philosophy.
Morality- refers to the quality of goodness or badness
in a human act. Good is described as moral and bad as
immoral. It means conformity to the rules of right
conduct. It implies judgment and refers to what we
would call moral standards and moral conduct.
THREE CATEGORIES OF GENERAL ETHICS:
ETHICS AS GENERAL ETHICS
-draws upon ethical theory in order to ask what
a person is obligated to do in some very specific
situation, or within some particular domain of action
(such as business)
ETHICS AS A NORMATIVE SCIENCE

a. There is no Moral Truth

b. There is no Universal Truth
c. Deep Down, We can Find Basic
Moral Truth
d. There is One Universal Moral Truth

a. There is no Moral Truth

- There is no ultimate right or wrong. This view is
called moral nihilism. Moral nihilism is akin
to moral skepticism which holds that we
cannot know whether or not there are moral
truths. Moral subjectivism on the other
hand, holds that moral views differ from one
person to another. This results to a subjective
morality, in which case, what is good for one
person may be bad for another.
b. There is no Universal Moral Truth
- Each culture has its own set of rules that are
valid for that culture, and we have no right to
interfere, just as they have no right to interfere

with our rules. This view is known as ethical

relativism. This ethical paradigm maintains that
there are moral truths that exist but these
truths are relative and dependent on cultures
and beliefs of people.
c. Deep down, we can Find Basic Moral Truths.
- Despite differences, people of different cultures
can still agree on certain moral basics. We find
some common ground on basic moral
principles. This is called soft universalism.
d. There is One Universal Moral Truth
- This view is also known as hard universalism or
moral absolutism.
This moral paradigm
maintains that there is only one universal
moral code that everybody must follow.
Because this moral code is universal and
objective, moral problems, and moral conflicts
can be solved through proper moral reasoning.

DEONTOLOGICAL ETHICS OR DEONTOLOGY is the

normative ethical position that judges the morality of
an action based on the action's adherence to a rule or
rules.[1] It is sometimes described as "duty" or
"obligation" or "rule"-based ethics, because rules "bind
you to your duty."[2] Deontological ethics is commonly
contrasted to consequentialism,[3] virtue ethics, and
pragmatic ethics. In this terminology action is more
important than the consequences.
A teleology (from Ancient Greek telos, meaning roughly
"end" or "purpose",[1] and -logia, meaning "study of,
discourse") is an account of a given thing's end or
purpose. For instance, we might give a teleological
account of why forks have prongs by showing their
purposehow the design helps humans to eat certain
foods. Stabbing food and helping humans eat is what
forks are for.
EXAMPLES OF TELEOLOGICAL ETHICS:
1. HEDONISM or the view that pleasure
(regardless if the pleasure is mental or physical,
but mostly sensual) is the only good as an end.

For instance, drinking till the last drop, eating

till you can swallow are some examples of a
good that should be pursued.
2. Utilitarianism is another example of
consequentialist theory. This school of thought
maintains that the greatest good is the greatest
happiness or pleasure of the greatest number.
This means that if the action can provided the
greatest happiness to the greatest number of
people then the action is morally good. For
instance, if stealing will enable me to help many
poor people, then stealing becomes good.