Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility
Homework Assignment #1
Please use single-spaced, Times New Roman, 12 pt. font. Please keep it to more than one page and less than four pages. The more detailed and insightful your takeaways, the better your grade.
Do you think ethics education can make people more ethical? Is it harder to be ethical in business than in other areas of life? Why do you believe what you do about ethics education and business ethics?
Watch the following videos. What are the main takeaways? Is any of this information relevant to Business Ethics, and, if so, in what way(s)?
Born Good Babies Help Unlock the origins of morality, by Leslie Stahl and the Yale Baby Lab’s Karen Wynn (13:32 minutes)
Are We Hard-Wired for Greed or Empathy, by Paul Bloom (2:10 minutes)
We Are Built To Be Kind, by Dacher Keltner (4:36 minutes)
Are People Born Good, by Dennis Prager (5:12 minutes)
Why Good People Do Bad Things, by Einar Øverenget (12:13 minutes)
Is Evil Rational, by Dennis Prager (5:23 minutes)
What Matters Most in Life, by Dennis Prager (5:27 minutes)
Look over the pdf article entitled “Unethical Rationalizations and Misconceptions.” (You don’t have to read the whole thing.) Have you ever encountered unethical behavior in which people justify their actions using some of the rationalizations described in the article? What, if anything, can be done to reduce people from using these rationalizations?
Think of the most memorable personal encounters you have ever had with unethical behavior (preferably in the workplace, but anywhere it happens is fine to report if it is interesting), and provide a very brief description of what occurred without any names or identities attached in any way. Why do you believe these unethical actions occurred? Who were the stakeholders that were affected by the unethical behavior?