Ethics: Theory and Practice

Jacques P. Thiroux Keith W. Krasemann

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Chapter Fifteen
Business and Media Ethics

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Introduction
Business and the media are specialized areas in which ethics can be applied Ethics in business has to do with establishing and maintaining good working relationships among employers, employees, businesses, and consumers

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Rights and Obligations in Business

Rights are those things to which human beings are entitled by law, morality, or traditions An obligation is a responsibility or duty that people have toward one another to see that their rights are protected No rights are absolute; conflicts are solved by establishing a priority of rights
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Two Extreme Ways of Approaching Rights and Obligations in Business

The competitive approach, also called free enterprise, survival of the fittest, or the dog-eat-dog approach
The main objective is to make money in any way one can Claims that Laissez-faire is the best approach for a local or national economy to take because eventually it solves all economic problems

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Two Extreme Ways of Approaching Rights and Obligations in Business

The government control approach advocates government control of business
Free enterprise puts power in the hands of a few to the detriment of the many Aggression and competition bring out the worst in human beings The only ethical way to conduct business is to put it in the hands of the government Everyone shares equally in good and bad
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Justice, Truth Telling, and Honesty in Business

There are different types of justice in business:
Exchange justice involves reimbursement for services rendered or products made/sold Distributive justice involves the distribution of profit among owners, managers, employees, and shareholders Social justice is concerned with how businesses and their members treat consumers and members of society in general
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Ethical Approaches to Advertising

Advertising constitutes a large part of any business Two divergent approaches:
Anything goes Truth telling

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Ethical Approaches to Advertising

Two divergent approaches defined
The anything-goes approach argues that advertising does little harm to anyone and is good for business, the economy, and society as a whole The approach based on truth telling decrees businesses have the right to advertise freely but not to lie to the public about their products or services

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Business and the Environment

Business should not take total blame for environmental problems, but it bears a large share of the blame Two extreme positions:
Business should always come first The environment should always come first

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Affirmative Action and Reverse Discrimination

Prejudice means the prejudgment of someone or something from a biased point of view To discriminate means to differentiate among people in a prejudiced way when hiring, promoting, or firing them

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Affirmative Action and Reverse Discrimination

Affirmative action describes the process of trying to avoid present and future discrimination and trying to make up for past discrimination

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Affirmative Action and Reverse Discrimination

Reverse discrimination is discrimination practiced against white males in the course of implementing affirmative action

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Affirmative Action and Reverse Discrimination

Two extreme arguments:
In favor of discrimination:
Private businesses can conduct their affairs however they want

Against discrimination:
Discrimination in business creates lasting harm to individuals and society, and must be stopped

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Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment is defined as unwanted sexual advances, or visual, verbal, or physical conduct of a sexual nature

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The New Global Economy and the International Business Scene

In the 21st-century global economy, the worlds major corporations are multinationals
Multinational corporations are powerful institutions that maintain operations in various host countries

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Media Ethics
Public right to know v. individual right to privacy
This is probably the most significant ethical issue in media ethics Examples: Clinton/Lewinsky affair, Elian Gonzalez events Where should the line be drawn for the media to report but also act ethically?

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Media Ethics
Ethical news values:
Dignity for subjects Reciprocity Sufficiency Accuracy Tenacity Equity and fairness Community Diversity
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