Possible Exam Questions for the first Business Ethics Exam -- on March 15
Note: I will transform several questions from this list into multiple choice questions. Two or three will be presented as essay questions. The essay questions may ask you to explain and justify your own views on these issues. You will be able to consult your textbooks but not any notes or handouts or other papers.
Suppose that life in large corporations in the U.S. is much as Robert Jackall describes it in the first four chapters of Moral Mazes. What ethical issues does this raise in your mind? Should the world he describes be seen as having its own (acceptable) ethical rules? Or should it be seen as un-ethical?
According to Milton Freidman, managers should try to maximize profits for shareholders (within the limits of the law). He claims that it would be wrong for managers to pursue any other goals (like protecting the environment or reducing poverty) unless doing so produces some sort of ‘bottom line’ benefit to the owners of the firm. Why?
Kenneth Arrow argued that free markets do not always produce results that are optimal. (See also my handout from the first night of class.) How might one argue that the presence of market defects (like ‘externalities’ and ‘informational asymmetries’) show that Friedman is wrong? How might he reply?
R. Edward Freeman advocates a view that he calls “managing for stakeholders.” Why does he think that his view is ethically superior to Freidman’s?
Consider case 12.2, about “Diller’s Dilemma” (the company’s adhesives are being used by street children to get high). What would Freidman and Freeman recommend and why?
Why does Rawls think that we should imagine that people are choosing principles of justice behind a ‘veil of ignorance’? Do you think he is right to argue that a decision made ‘behind the veil’ is more fair than one made with full knowledge?
Why does Rawls think that people choosing principles of justice behind a ‘veil of ignorance’ would choose his principles and not libertarian (free market) principles or a principle requiring perfect equality?
According to Hayek, “justice ruins the market.” Kristol also says that ‘social justice’ is a concept that is dangerous to a capitalist society. Why do they think that these (non-capitalist or anti-capitalist) conceptions of justice are defective? What is their conception of justice?
Albert Carr claims that business, like poker, is a game in which bluffing is allowed (even required). How does he defend this claim? How has his claim been criticized?
Do you think that employees are generally entitled (ethically speaking) to any sort of job security? Why or why not?
Thomas Donaldson claims that US companies operating abroad ought to honor their core values, even when these come into conflict with local customs and values. What are some examples of behavior that would be ruled out by this requirement?
Do you think that there is anything wrong with U.S.-based multinationals using so-called sweatshop labor abroad (or purchasing from subcontractors who operate such facilities)? (Explain your reasoning.)
What are some reasons for thinking that so-called ‘intellectual property’ is quite different from other sorts of property (especially when it is in digital form), and that therefore it should be governed by different rules. Why, that is, do some people think there is nothing wrong with what others call ‘digital piracy’?