Business & Professional Ethics
for Directors, Executives &
Accountants, 8e
Leonard J. Brooks and Paul Dunn
Cengage Learning, Boston, MA, 2018
Chapter 3 – Ethical Behavior – Philosophers’
Contributions
Chapter Questions and Case Solutions
Chapter Questions…………………………………………………………2
Case Solutions………………………………………………………………5
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Chapter Questions
1. How would you respond when someone makes a decision that adversely affects you while saying,
“it’s nothing personal, it’s just business”? Is business impersonal?
Business is a social activity, conducted by humans, not by autonomous agents. We live in
society, we like to be with other humans, we like to work with other humans, and we like to
2. Is someone who makes an ethical decision based on enlightened self-interest worthy of more or less
praise than someone who makes a similar decision based solely on economic considerations?
Enlightened self-interest implies that a decision maker understands that furthering the interest
of others might also further the decision-maker’s interests. This attitude takes a long-term
3. Since happiness is extremely subjective, how do you objectively measure and assess happiness? Do
you agree with J. S. Mill that arithmetic can be used to calculate happiness? Is money a good proxy
for happiness?
The measurement problem is one of the weaknesses of the utilitarian theory. Happiness,
enjoyment, and pleasure have both qualitative and quantitative aspects. The quantitative
4. Is there any categorical imperative that you can think of that would have universal application? Isn’t
there an exception to every rule?
For Kant there are two categorical imperatives that apply to everyone in all situations: (a) treat
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5. Assume that Firm A is a publicly-traded company that puts its financial statements on the web. This
information can be accessed and read by anyone, even those who do not own shares of Firm A. This
a free-rider situation, where an investor can use Firm A as a means to making an investment
decisions about another company. Is this ethical? Does free-riding treat another as a means and not
also as an end?
Free riding means that one party is receiving a benefit without paying a fair price for that
benefit. Investors use the information produced by one firm to make decisions about another
6. How does a business executive demonstrate virtue when dealing with a disgruntled shareholder at
the annual meeting?
Virtue is demonstrated by exhibiting patience, understanding and sympathy. Attempting to
understand the complaint of the disgruntled shareholder, as seen from the shareholder’s point
7. Commuters who have more than one passenger in the car are permitted to drive in a special lane on
some highways while all the other motorists have to contend with stop-and-go traffic. Does this
have anything to do with ethics? If so, then assess this situation using each of the following ethical
theories: utilitarianism (ignores motivations; looks at consequences), deontology (considers duty,
responsibilities; ethics based on the motivation of the decision maker), justice, fairness and virtue
ethics.
Utilitarianism and fairness: We have limited natural resources, and it is not fair that some over-
consume these resources. The special lane rewards those who conserve those resources.
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Case Solutions
An Illustration of Ethical Decision Making
Cases Involving Improper Behavior
2. Art Forgeries: Is Deceiving Art Experts Unethical? (Chapter 3, pages 176-177)
What this case has to offer
Teaching suggestions
This case shows that laws are not always in place to make it clear whether or not an act is lawful. Even
Discussion of ethical issues
1. Is it ethically acceptable to sell forgeries to art experts who should be able to differentiate a fake
from an authentic work of art?
Selling forgeries to an expert who should be able to tell a forgery from an authentic piece of art,
2. Comment on Hebborn’s personal moral code.
As in the answer for Question 1, to deceive an expert, compared to an amateur, Hebborn’s degree
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3. Was anyone harmed when Landis donated his forged paintings to various art galleries and
museums?
Yes. From a teleological perspective; that is, looking at the consequences or impacts of decisions, we
could say that the reputation of curators, galleries, and museums could suffer. Donors, by
4. Does the fact that Landis did not profit from his donations mean that it was ethically acceptable to
give forgeries to art galleries and museums?
No, it was not ethically acceptable, for the same reasons as in questions 1, 2, and 3. He seemed to
be feeding his own ego at the expense of others’, so he seems to be acting selfishly, rather than with
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Useful Videos, Articles, & Links
Wilkinson, Alec. “The Giveaway: Who was the mysterious man donating all the valuable art?” New
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3. Gender Discrimination at IKEA (Chapter 3, pages 177-178)
What this case has to offer
This case raises the important topic of gender discrimination. Unlike many cases where discrimination
Teaching suggestions
IKEA was/is proud of its culture, and relied upon its reputation to attract customers and staff, so the
charge of gender discrimination was potentially very damaging.
To illustrate IKEA’s problem have a class member provide an overview of the case facts, and then link
this overview to a discussion about organizational culture and hypocrisy using the following suggestions
before discussing the ethical issues noted below.
• Discuss the importance of winning awards such as ‘best place to work’.
Discussion of ethical issues
1. Discuss the pros and cons of altering the catalogue using: (a) deontology, (b) utilitarianism, and (c)
virtue ethics.
Deontology looks at the motivation of decision-making. In this case, altering the catalogue was a
violation of fundamental deontological principals.
• Deleting women from the catalogue treated women as means and not as an end. IKEA
Utilitarianism assesses the ethicality based on the consequences of the decision. That is,
whether the consequences are good for society.
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Virtue ethics focuses on the moral character of the decision maker.
2. Should a company alter its marketing campaign to reflect biases that might be prevalent in various
countries in which the company does business?
There are economic benefits to IKEA from having a standardized catalogue that is distributed
Articles, Links, and Videos
“IKEA accused of gender discrimination by erasing women off Saudi catalogue” Scandinavian Companies
& Market: Companies News, October 1, 2012, accessed at
4. Deciding Who Receives the Swine Flu Vaccine (Chapter 3, page 178)
What this case has to offer
This is an interesting case because it highlights potential trade-offs inherent in deciding what is ethical
Teaching suggestions
I start this case by asking students if it is possible to objectively decide who is important for society.
Following, I ask students whether or not that should be the most important criteria in distributing the
Discussion of ethical issues
1. From a utilitarian point of view, who do you think should be in the priority group?
From a utilitarian point of view, the decision maker must take a broad perceptive concerning
who, in society, might be affected by the decision.
2. From a justice as fairness perspective, who should be in the priority group?
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From a justice or fairness point of view, people should be assessed differently based on
relevant criteria. Overall, the distribution of the vaccine should be perceived as “fair”. Under
distributive justice there are three main criteria for determining the just distribution: need,
arithmetic equality, and merit.
3. Should people who make society flourish through their economic productivity, such as the
employees of Goldman Sachs, be put into the priority group?
Under both the utilitarian view and the justice view, it seems fair to allocate some of the
4. Should people who contribute to making life enjoyable, such as entertainers and athletes, be put
into the priority group?
• For a justice perspective, the student has to explain why those in one group, for
5. If you were the CEO of the company that manufactured the swine flu vaccine, would you ensure
that all your employees were inoculated first, or would you recommend that they too wait in line?