Police Ethics

Chapter 1

Ethics

• Emphasize discussion and inquiry
• Morality- moral judgments, standards, and rules of conduct
• The study and philosophy of human conduct, with an emphasis on right and wrong

Business Ethics

• Influenced by principles
• Influenced by values

Three Dimensions of Ethics

• The actions that people take to achieve their goals (irrespective of the consequences).
• => Deontology: the rightness or wrongness of our actions.
• The agents who act in a given situation.
• => This dimension deals with character
• (e.g., one’s integrity).
• The ends that are outcomes of actions.
• => Consequentialism: the moral importance of the ends we seek.
• => Utilitarianism: creating the most favorable balance of benefits over harm.

Moral Disengagement

• Moral justification
• Euphemistic labeling
• Advantageous comparison
• Distortion of consequences
• Dehumanization
• Displacement of responsibility
• Diffusion of responsibility
• Attribution of blame

Chapter 2

Stakeholders

• Primary stakeholders
• Secondary stakeholders
• Stakeholder orientation

Significance of Business Ethics

• An extension of an individual’s own personal ethics
• The importance of laws

The Development of Business Ethics

• Before 1960- ethical issues discussed within the realm of theology and philosophy
• 1960s- Rise of social issues in business => consumer rights
• 1970s- business ethics as a field of study => corporate social responsibility
• 1980s & 1990s- shift to self-regulation => globalization => new value structures
• 21st century- abuses increased public and political demands to improve ethical standards in business (e.g., Sarbanes-Oxley)

Social Responsibility and Stakeholder Orientation

• Friedman view
• 21st century view of capitalism
• Carroll’s Pyramid of CSR

Corporate Governance

• The stakeholder model of corporate governance
• Boards of directors

Chapter 3

Fiduciary Relationships

• Fiduciary- one who has the power and obligation to act for another
• Fiduciary relationships established when the confidence given by one is accepted by the other
• Attorney & client; broker & principal; trustee & beneficiary; executor & heirs of estate
• Role of the courts => look for undue influence

Accountability of Officers & Employees, Board of Directors, and Shareholders

• Officers & Employees- agents of the business
• Board members- trustees of the organization’s assets
• Shareholders- indirect control

Law and Regulation in National and International Business

• Law provides “rules of the road”
• How much government regulation?

• Some degree of legislation is necessary
• The government has a supervisory role
• The government can encourage ethical behavior (and penalize unethical behavior)
• Business holds ultimate responsibility

Finance 

• Finance as a method: the valuation of decisions
• Finance as an organizational policy: how organizations get funding
• Finance as an industry: the provision of financial services to consumers and organizations
• =>Ethics is central to each of these facets of Finance.

Accounting

• Private Accounting- Accounting within a firm
• *Financial Accounting relays operations, financing, and values to stakeholders outside the firm.
• *Managerial Accounting supports and communicates organizational values by allocating funds, counting revenues streams, and tracking projects.
• Public Accounting- Accounting as an industry
• *Provides tax, auditing, and consulting services to companies and individuals.
• Ethics is central to Accounting.

Systemic Financial Misconduct led directly to the 2008 Recession

• Loopholes in regulations
• Corporate cultures were built on rewards for taking risks rather than rewards for creating value for shareholders
• Ethical decisions were based more on what was legal than what was the right thing to do
• Most stakeholders (regulators, mass media, and the public) didn’t understand the financial products and their associated risk that were taken on by banks and other financial institutions

Chapter 4

Recognizing an Ethical Issue

• Honesty
• Fairness
• Integrity

Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development (1981)

• Stage 1- Punishment & Obedience
• Stage 2- Individual Instrumental Purpose & Exchange
• Stage 3- Mutual Interpersonal Expectations, Relationships, and Conformity
• Stage 4- Law and Order Orientation
• Stage 5- Prior Rights, Social Contract, or Utility
• Stage 6- Universal Ethical Principles

Ethical Issues in Business

• Abusive or Intimidating Behavior
• Lying
• Commission lying
• Noise
• Omission lying
• Conflicts of Interest

• Bribery
• Corporate Intelligence
• Hacking
• Discrimination
• Sexual Harassment

• Environmental Issues
• The Kyoto Protocol
• Fraud
• Accounting fraud
• Marketing fraud
• Consumer Fraud

• Financial Misconduct
• Insider Trading
• Intellectual Property Rights
• Privacy Issues

The Importance of Corporate Culture in Ethical Decision Making

• Compliance vs. Values-based ethical cultures

Chapter 5

Analysis of Organizational Wrongdoing- Part 1

Two Perspectives on Org Wrongdoing

• Organizational wrongdoing as an abnormal phenomenon
• Organizational wrongdoing as a normal phenomenon

Two Approaches to Understanding the Causes of Org Wrongdoing

• The dominant approach
• => wrongdoers decide rationally
• => wrongdoers are a product of their org culture
• The alternative approach
• => bounded rationality

Two Implied Messages

• The optimistic message
• The pessimistic message

Criteria Used to Characterize Wrongful Behavior

• The law
• Ethical principles
• => utilitarian perspective
• => deontological perspective
• Social responsibility doctrines
• => shareholder model
• => stakeholder model

Two Broad Types of Org Wrongdoing

• Wrongful behavior perpetrated by individuals
• Wrongful behavior perpetrated by collectivities

The Rational Choice Explanation 
of Org Wrongdoing

• Agency theory (economic explanation)
• Strain theory (sociological explanation)

The Culture Explanation 
of Org Wrongdoing

Assumes that people will engage in a wrongful course of action when they think that the wrongdoing is consistent with their organization’s norms, values, and beliefs.