3. Applied Ethics: Business Ethics

The application of ethical theory, including religious ethical perspectives, to an issue of importance.

3.1 Content

• Key ideas, including:
– corporate social responsibility
– whistle-blowing
– good ethics is good business
– globalisation

3.2 Knowledge

• what corporate social responsibility is (that a business has responsibility towards the community and environment) and its application to stakeholders, such as employees, customers, the local community, the country as whole and governments
• what whistle-blowing is (that an employee discloses wrongdoing to the employer or the public) and its application to the contract between employee and employer
• what ‘good ethics is good business’ is (that good business decisions are good ethical decisions) and its application to shareholders and profit-making
• what globalisation is (that around the world economies, industries, markets, cultures and policy-making is integrated) and its impact on stakeholders

3.3 Issues as the basis of exam questions

Learners should have the opportunity to discuss issues raised by these areas of business ethics, including:
• the application of Kantian ethics and utilitarianism to business ethics
• whether or not the concept of corporate social responsibility is nothing more than ‘hypocritical window-dressing’ covering the greed of a business intent on making profits
• whether or not human beings can flourish in the context of capitalism and consumerism
• whether globalisation encourages or discourages the pursuit of good ethics as the foundation of good business

3.4 Suggested scholarly views, academic approaches and sources of wisdom and authority

Learners will be given credit for referring to any appropriate scholarly views, academic approaches and sources of wisdom and authority, however the following examples may prove useful:
• Friedmann, M. (September 13, 1970) ‘The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits’, in The New York Times Magazine, The New York Times Company
• Crane, A. & Matten, D. (2003) Business Ethics, Oxford: OUP
• FTSE4Good [http://www.ftse.com/products/downloads/F4G-Index-Inclusion-
Rules.pdf]