be300 lecture 6

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Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University of Technology

CRICOS Provider Code 00301J

Lecturer: Dr Theodora Issa

Welcome to

Business Ethics 300 (BE300)

Lecture 6

When should managers speak out?

The Seeing-Talking Practitioner

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YOUR BE-300FIRST ASSESSMENT

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Update on the first assessment marking

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We are going to discuss

When should managersspeak out?

The Seeing-TalkingPractitioner

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First

TRIED to build upon in the workshops?

and

What did we do in the last FIVE weeks in thelectures

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WEEK 1

Introduction to Business EthicsWhatis Business Ethics?

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WEEK 2

What is Business for? (Telos ofBusiness, Dirty hands, Teleopathy )

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Non-Consequentialis

Consequentialism

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WEEK 3

How do we reconcile competing valuesand priorities?

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This has so far covered

The S in the S-T-A-Rframework

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WEEK 4we commenced our discussion on

the second part of the S-T-A-R framework

talking about the ethical issue

The Ethics of the Free Market

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WEEK 5continued with our discussion on

the second part of the S-T-A-R framework

talking about the ethical issue

Moral Relativism

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BE-300THIS WEEKS LECTURE

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This weeks objectives

Define and critique moral muteness andmoral myopia

Connect moral muteness and moralmyopia to ethical perspective

Recognise the value of being a seeing-talking practitioner

Practice the skill of being a seeing-talking

practitioner

Apply main concepts to practice situations

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This lectures objectives

Define and critique moralmuteness and moralmyopia

Connect moral mutenessand moral myopia toethical perspective

Recognise the value ofbeing a seeing-talking

practitioner

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Introduction

Speaking-out over ethical issues is a complex and sensitiveissue.

In the last seminar we examined moral relativism.

This alerts us to the idea that different attitudes to speaking

out about ethics in business depend on the way in whichvalues are prioritised, particularly towards the telos ofbusiness and how the free market should operate.

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A question for you

Can you recall theethical basis for an

unlimited free marketand what the alternative

is?

Go back over

your notesand check.

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Yes please

Remember that justification foran unlimited free market is

flawed in many ways as wediscovered in the previous

seminars.

With regard to speaking outabout ethics, the

libertarian/utilitarian perspectivesfocus on two things: freedom

and costs/benefits.

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Thus

Drawing onDrumwright andMurphy (2004),

it can be argued that when faced with an ethicaldilemma, the libertarian will argue that interferingwith a persons choices would be limiting their

freedoms as a law-abiding consumerifconsumers demand something, then it is up to

business to supply it.

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Further

Indeed, as long as thegoods and services

provided are legal thenbusinesses and

consumers have theright to sell and buy

them.

The libertarian would alsoargue that we have no

right to pass judgmenton another persons

action providing it is notinterfering with anybody

elses rights and

freedoms.

We are obliged to look theother way.

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While The Utilitarian will argue

That ethics is something thatcomplicates business

decisions unnecessarily

adding cost and time to doing businesswhich would mean that other businesses thatdo not do this would be more competitive

and have an advantage in the market.

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Utilitarian argument (Contd)

This could mean thedifference between

staying in businessand going bust.

For the utilitarian weshould leave our

ethics at the officedoor for the sake of

the business.

We should keepquiet about ethics.

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According to Bird and Waters (1989)

Ethical issues often do notenter discussion at either

individual or business level.Managers tend not to

recognizablycommunicate their

moral concerns insettings where it is

fitting.

When it might beexpected they voice no

moral sentiments or

communicate in waysthat obscure their moral

beliefs and commitments.

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These appear as:

Negativeexpressionseg

not blowing thewhistle on illegal

practices.

Positiveexpressionsnot

speaking up forideals

Not holding otherssufficiently

accountablenotproviding adequate

feedback tosubordinates.

Drumwright and Murphy (2004) use two

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Drumwright and Murphy (2004) use two

terms:

Moral Myopia todescribe notseeing the ethical

dimension and

Moral Muteness

to describe notspeaking aboutethics.

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How Advertising Practitioners view Ethics

Drumwright and Murphy,

Journal of Advertising, Summer 2004, 33, 2

Pages 7-23

DR Theodora Issa

Business Ethics

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Abstract

This is

anempirical

paper

In-depth, eliteinterviews

withadvertisingpractitionersat all levels in

29 agencies Eight cities

2/11/2014

TI - BE - CBS - Curtin 3

3

I f t t d f thi l

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Informants reported few ethical concerns

RESPONDENTS EXHIBITED

Moral myopiaadistortion of moralvision that preventsmoral issues fromcoming into focus

Moral mutenesstheyrarely talk aboutethical issues

2/11/2014


4

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There were however,

Seeing/talking advertising practitionerswho demonstrated moral imaginationwhen responding to ethical problems

Findings

Agency context in which advertising

practitioners work is important in termsof ethical sensitivity

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5

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Advertising ethics

What is right in the conduct of the advertising function.

It is concerned with questions of what ought to bedone, not just with what legally must be done.

(Cunningham, 1999 p. 500)

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6

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Moral Myopiais argued through

Consumers aresmart

Passing the buck

What is legal is

moral

The firstamendment

misunderstanding(reference to USA)

Going native

(which distortsmoral vision)

The Ostrichsyndrome

2/11/2014


7

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Moral Muteness

Compartmentalization(Public morality vs.

private morality)

Client isalwaysright

Ethics is bad forbusiness

Pandorasbox

syndrome

2/11/2014


8

S i T lki d ti i titi

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Seeing, Talking advertising practitioners

Recognition

Communication

Saying No

Beyond NormalVision: MoralImagination

2/11/2014


9

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A question

Describe an example of moralmuteness and moral myopia thatyou have seen at work or in the

news media.

Whil b i l d t d

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While many business people adopt and can

justify these behaviours, this can lead to

long-term problems such as:

habituallying,

whistleblowing,

loss ofreputation

, and

evencriminal

prosecution.

Avoiding these problems:

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Avoiding these problems:

One way of avoiding theproblems we have just discussedis to adopt the perspective of

the seeing-talking practitioner(Drumwright and Murphy,

2004).

This perspective is based on theideas of duty and virtue.

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The seeing talking practitioner has three main

characteristics:

Readily recogniseethical issueswhen

they arise, being able toidentify the ethical

context and backgroundand understand it.

An ability tocommunicatein anovert and direct way,often with an ethical

dimension

Display moralimaginationan ability

to think outside thebox, seeing

alternatives that othersdo not

Therefore

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Therefore

Businesses that encourage seeing-talkingpractitioners are more likely to avoid ethical

problems as they are discussed andresolved before a decision is taken.

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Conclusion

Being a seeing-talkingpractitioner is not an

easy option.

It requires thought andpractice.

It means you mustfocus on both process

and outcomes of

decisionsand

be aware of your ownways of thinking andbeing able to see and

understandalternatives.

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Conclusion

Now that youunderstand about

Talking (the T in S-

T-A-R).

Next lecture we begin

exploring acting (A) that is how to decideand do the right thing.

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Next weeks lecture

How todecide?

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Tuition Free weeks

No lectures and no workshops for thenext two weeksthose are tuition free

weeks

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Acknowledgements

These slides were derivedfrom material provided by

the previous unitcoordinator, the publishers

of the Grace and Cohenbook, the material on theblackboard, and other

sources derived from theweb, including some

images relevant to theconcepts under

discussion.

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CRICOS P id C d 00301J

Thank you! And Happy Easter

be300 lecture 6

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