Prior knowledge of the aspect of ethics in business is limited the basic ideas of morals, which everyone learn from the society. In that regard, it cannot be said that the issue of ethics was outlined or defined in a certain way, rather than drawing a line of distinction between the right and the wrong. The lecture of ethics and management provided the theoretical foundation to the aspects of ethics and morals, and their practical implementation in the sphere of business.
The main idea of the lecture is providing a particular measure of ethical conduct, based on which it can be assessed. Accordingly, such measurement is provided on the basis of a review of theories associated with morality and ethics. These theories provided the definitions and the purposes of morals, and the way they can be connected to the business aspect. A demonstration of such order can be seen through the provision of the definition of morals, and its subsequent inclusion and explanation as one the business’ social responsibility dimensions.
The lecture goes further giving an overview of the theories associated with determining the right actions, such as the consequentialist theories, deontological theories, and the virtue theories. Additionally, the lecture provides a description of the types of ethical problems a manager might face at the workplace in general, or as an aspect of human resource management. Finally, the lecture provides an essential guide, outlining the steps that should be taken in order to make ethical decision in business, such as gathering the facts, defining ethical issues, affected parties and etc (Trevino & Nelson, 2004).
. The most important thing learned was applying ethical analysis to ethical problems. Although, the variety of the challenges before the management might far exceed the problems listed, such as sexual harassment, discrimination and etc, the outlined approach and the arguments used to measure the situation, give an idea of the types of ethical problems a manager might face. In that regard, it was assessed that the most challenges come from gray areas, rather than distinct black and white, right or wrong situations, and thus the guide provided in the lecture can be seen helpful in establishing a general framework for such situations.
Another important thing learned was the theories and their justification in assessing right actions, where duties theories can personally be considered the closest to determine the right action. Evaluating other theories, it can be said that the focus on the consequences does not approach the action itself, while the dependency on the integrity and the virtue can be seen subjective, based on the surrounding community. In addition, an issue of importance to me can be considered the perspective of HR managers toward the ethics at the workplace. In that sense, the responsibilities of the HRM are directly connected to the people, their rewards, and the punishment, as well as the fact that HR managers are important participants in the cases, where a dispute over an ethical decision reached the court.
The area of knowledge that I would like to expand is connected to the aspects of ethics in the context of multinational companies, specifically related to the kind of disputes that might arise, due to cultural differences, and the way they are solved. The emphasis on the globalization of business in the world makes this issue of vital importance, for both the organizations and the employees.
References
TREVINO, L. K. & NELSON, K. A. (2004) Managing business ethics : straight talk about how to do it right, Wiley.