978-0470639948 Chapter 5 Solution Manual Part 3

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CHAPTER QUESTION 5: DISCUSS SOME OF THE WARNING SIGNS THAT AN

UNETHICAL DECISION IS APPROACHING.

Review Michael Josephson’s 10 common rationalizations for unethical acts that appear in

EXHIBIT 5.12 as “ethical hazard approaching” signs.

Beware when someone says:

1. It may seem unethical … but it is legal and permissible

2. It may seem unethical … but it is necessary

3. It may seem unethical … but it is just part of the job

4. It may seem unethical … but it is all for a good cause

5. It may seem unethical … but I am just doing it for you

6. It may seem unethical … but I am just fighting fire with fire

7. It may seem unethical … but it doesn’t hurt anyone

8. It may seem unethical … but everyone else is doing it

9. It may seem unethical … but I don’t gain personally

10. It may seem unethical … but I’ve got it coming

Train employees to recognize these rationalizations. When spoken pause for additional

ethical reflection and develop an alternative strategy that meets ethical guidelines.

DISCUSSION ACTIVITY

Have students think about the last time they heard someone state one of the ten “Ethical Hazard

Approaching” comments in Exhibit 5.12. Which of the ten justifications was it? Describe the

situation. What alternative action could the person have taken to generate a more ethical

outcome?

CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER AND ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS SUMMARY

Additional Question 1: Describe James Rest’s ethical decision making model. What is the

relationship between ethical beliefs and ethical actions?

As noted by business ethicist Marvin Brown, “Most people do what they think is right,

considering the world they think they live in.”

James Rest, an educational psychologist, has developed a four component model sequentially

showing that an individual is likely to behave morally if:

In general, ethical beliefs generate ethical intentions and result in ethical behaviors. But there

Many people may agree on what ethical action “should” be done, but fewer people “would”

Research has shown that a large percentage of managers who claim they would report a

FOR DICUSSION: Have each student reflect on a time when he or she observed another student

cheating. Does the student believe cheaters should be stopped? Did the student report the

cheater? If the first answer is “Yes” and the second answer is “No”, what prevented the student

from doing the right thing?

Chapter Question 1: What individual characteristics impact ethical beliefs, sensitivities,

intentions, and behaviors?

Age (mixed results)

Education level (higher education)

FOR DISCUSSION: Do students believe that: (a) older people are more ethical than young

people? (b) educated people more ethical than less educated people? or (c) women are more

ethical than men? Why?

Chapter Question 2: How are ethical intuitions formed? How do the value sets of liberals

and conservatives differ?

 Professor Jonathan Haidt of the University of Virginia concludes that many ethical decisions

are the result of intuitive reactions rather than deep reflection.

According to Haidt, our quick intuitive ethical judgments are the result of habituated

patterns, emotions, and internalized teachings.

FOR DISCUSSION: Present two contentious political issue to students, one that is of concern to

liberals (such wanting to nationalize healthcare) and one that is of concern to conservatives (such

as reducing federal spending for the poor). Ask students to write down why they support or

oppose these policies. Then review Exhibit 5.4 and note which value sets their reasoning

matches. Does the student identify with the political affiliation (liberals or conservatives) the

value set represents?

FOR DISCUSSION: Ask students if they classify themselves as liberals or conservatives, or if

their parents are liberal or conservatives? Which of the value sets in Exhibit 5.4 resonates the

most with students or their parents? How does this political preference impact their views about

government regulation of business activities?

Chapter Question 3: Describe Icek Ajzen’s “Theory of Planned Behavior.”

According to Icek Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior, formulating an intention to act

ethically is a function of a person’s:

oattitudes toward the behavior

The strength of the belief

The evaluation of the outcome

o subjective norms

The strength of the normative belief

The motivation to comply with the referent group

operceived behavioral control

 The strength of the control belief

The perceived power of the control belief

FOR DISCUSSION: Have students think of two injustices they’ve observed or heard about: (1)

an injustice when they took some action to remedy, and (2) an injustice when they did not act to

remedy. Analyze the two situations using the theory of planned behavior factors.

Additional Question 2: What is moral intensity and how does it impact ethical decision

making?

Moral intensity refers to issue-related factors, rather than individual or organizational

An issue’s moral intensity is likely to vary based on six factors: (1) Magnitude of

Therefore, the most morally intense acts are those with a high likelihood of causing severe

Factors that influence the decision-making of judges and juries include the nature of the harm

(physical, economic, or psychological), the nature of those harmed (person or nonperson),

FOR DICUSSION: Have students evaluate two public issues, one that is high on the political

agenda (national healthcare/reducing spending for the poor) and one that is not (implementing

living wage regulation on the national level) using the six moral intensity factors. Do the six

moral intensity factors differentiate why one issue is high on the national agenda and the other

issue is low?

Additional Question 3: What organizational factors impact ethical decision making?

Researchers have found four organizational characteristics associated with ethical behaviors:

Therefore, employees of organizations with a code of ethics, an ethical climate, and whose

FOR DISCUSSION: Do you believe small businesses behave more ethically than large

corporations? Why?

Additional Question 4: What other obstacles divert people from following through on their

ethical intentions?

An ethical intention is determining mentally to take some action that is morally appropriate.

But even if an intention to act ethically is solidified, an individual still may not follow

FOR DISCUSSION: Have students think of a situation when they were absolutely sure they

were going to take an important ethical action, but then at the last moment decided not to. What

obstacles arose at the last second that prevented the students from taking action? Was it an

individual characteristic previously discussed, a moral intensity factor, an organizational factor,

due to weakness or will or difficulty breaking an old habit, or some other factor? Why was that

factor the deciding factor not to take an ethical action?

Chapter Question 4: What seven questions are the bases for a systematic rational ethical

decision-making framework? Which three questions point the decision making in the

direction of the most moral decision?

The simplest question to ask is: How would my mother (or any person of high integrity you

respect) feel if what I’m planning to do appeared on the front page of a newspaper?

The moral philosophy literature provides a more systematic approach for deriving moral

conclusions.

Strong consensus, though not absolute agreement, exists among philosophers that some

Review EXHIBIT 5.5, which provides a systematic rational ethical decision-making

framework that can help management and nonmanagement employees reveal the ethical

dimension of any decision being made.

FOR DISCUSSION: Have students respond to the bartender ethical dilemma that appears in the

chapter. Would it be ethical to serve the pregnant woman a beer in a crowded bar?

Additional Question 5: Describe the six ethical theories.

The six ethical theories are ordered in Exhibits 5.5 and 5.6 beginning with the most basic

ethical theory and ending with the most important and demanding ones.

Cultural Relativism: How does the action relate to the national culture, particularly its laws?

If the action conforms to the law, then it is right. If it is contrary to the law, then it is wrong.

FOR DISCUSSION: Have students respond to the three scenarios in Exhibit 5.7 “The Trolley

Problem.”

Additional Question 6: How do the ethical theories parallel Kohlberg’s theory of moral

development?

oThe six ethical theories parallel Lawrence Kohlberg’s six levels of moral reasoning discussed

in Chapter 1.

oStage 3 moral reasoning reflects social group relativism

FOR DICUSSION: Have students review some of their answers to the opening “What Would

You Do?” ethical dilemmas, the “Let’s Build a Building” ethical dilemmas, and the Enron ethical

dilemmas. Based on their answers, what Stage of moral reasoning do they most often use when

deriving a moral conclusion? What ethical theory do they most often use when deriving a moral

conclusion?

Additional Question 7: How can the ethical theories be applied to persuade people?

oMost managers are primarily social group relativists (Question 3), wanting to do what a good

oMost people are very comfortable with the ethical theory they intuitively rely on, and may

oTo persuade others, listen carefully to people who disagree, categorize the other person’s

oEach ethical theory is similar to a different foreign language.

FOR DISCUSSION: Choose any ethical dilemma in this chapter and put students in teams of

two based on arriving at different conclusions regarding the right thing to do. Then have the two

students following the 6 steps for achieving ethical consensus. After doing so, did the two

students reach consensus?

Chapter Question 5: Discuss some of the warning signs that an unethical decision is

approaching.

oReview Michael Josephson’s 10 common rationalizations for unethical acts that appear in

EXHIBIT 5.12 as “ethical hazard approaching” signs.

oIt may seem unethical … but I am just fighting fire with fire

oIt may seem unethical … but it doesn’t hurt anyone

FOR DISCUSSION: Have students think about the last time they heard someone state one of the

ten “Ethical Hazard Approaching” comments in Exhibit 5.12. Which of the ten justifications was

it? Describe the situation. What alternative action could the person have taken to generate a more

ethical outcome?

CHAPTER 5 KEY WORDS

Belief (p. 119): a mental state that guides behaviors.

Categorical imperative (p. 131): a rule that applies to all situations.

Cultural Relativism (p. 127): How does the action relate to the national culture, particularly its

laws? If the action conforms to the law, then it is right. If it is contrary to the law, then it is

wrong.

Deontology (p. 127): Does the action treat every stakeholder with respect and dignity in all

situations? Is the action something that everyone should do? If yes, then it is right. If no, then it

is wrong.

Egoism (p. 127): How does the action relate to me? If the action furthers my interests, then it is

right. If it conflicts with my interests, then it is wrong.

Ethical intuition (p. 120): a quick insight independent of any reasoning process about right and

wrong.

Ethical intention (p. 123): determining mentally to take some action that is morally appropriate.

Ethical sensitivity (p. 119): an individual’s awareness that a particular situation raises ethical

concerns.

Moral intensity (p. 122): six issue-related factors that are likely to determine the magnitude of a

person’s moral approval or disapproval.

Social Group Relativism (p. 127): How does the action relate to my social group (peers, friends,

etc.)? If the action conforms to the social group’s norms, then it is right. If it is contrary to the

social group’s norms, then it is wrong.

Theory of Planned Behavior (p. 121): A theory developed by Icek Ajzen where formulating an

intention to act ethically is a function of a person’s attitudes toward the behavior, subjective

norms, and perceived behavioral control.

Utilitarianism (p. 127): How does the action relate to everyone who is affected by it? If the

action is beneficial to the greatest number of people affected by it, then it is right. If it is

detrimental to the greatest number, then it is wrong.

Virtue Ethics (p. 127): How would a virtuous person act in this situation? If the act strengthens

moral character, then it is right. If it is contrary to moral character building, then it is wrong.

CHAPTER 5 ANCILLARY MATERIALS

Websites to Explore

oEthical dilemmas reported in newspapers, available at:

http://deniscollins.tumblr.com/.

oExamples of Ethical Decision Making models, available at:

http://www.ethicsweb.ca/resources/decision-making/index.htm

oJosephson Institute, available at:

http://josephsoninstitute.org/MED/index.html.

oAyn Rand Institute, available at: http://www.aynrand.org/.

Best Place to Work Video

Best Place to Work – Stew Leonard’s, available at:

http://money.cnn.com/video/fortune/2010/01/20/f_bctwf_stew_leonards.for

tune/.

Business Ethics Issue Video

“Black Money,” Frontline, about international bribery; April 7, 2009, 57 minutes,

available at: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/blackmoney/view/?

utm_campaign=viewpage&utm_medium=grid&utm_source=grid.

TEDTalks Videos

Moral Roots of Liberals and Conservatives: Psychologist Jonathan Haidt explains the

five moral values that form the basis of our political choices, whether we’re left, right or

center, and pinpoints the moral values that liberals and conservatives tend to honor most;

March 2008, 19 minutes, available at:

http://www.ted.com/talks/jonathan_haidt_on_the_moral_mind.h

tml.

Justice and Ethical Decision-Making: Harvard professor Michael Sandel probes: Is

torture ever justified? Would you steal a drug that your child needs to survive? Is it

sometimes wrong to tell the truth? How much is one human life worth?; September 2005,

55 minutes, available at:

http://www.ted.com/talks/michael_sandel_what_s_the_right_th

ing_to_do.html.

Conversations with Charlie Rose

A conversation with David Brooks, New York Times columnist and author, about the

unconscious mind, emotions, decision-making, and social behaviors; September 16,

2010, 60 minutes, available at:

http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/11206.

A conversation with Jeff Bezos, founder, president, chief executive officer and chairman

of the board of Amazon.com; February 26, 2009, 60 minutes, available at:

http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/10105.