Business Ethics Now 6e Andrew
Ghillyer (Instructor's Manual All
Chapters, 100% Original Verified, A+
Grade)
Chapter 01 - Understanding Ethics
CHAPTER 1
Understanding Ethics
Table of Contents
Chapter Summary and Learning Outcomes 1-2
Learning Outcomes 1-2
Frontline Focus: “Doing the Right Thing” Questions 1-2
Learning Outcome 1 1-3
Learning Outcome 2 1-3
Learning Outcome 3 1-5
Learning Outcome 4 1-6
Learning Outcome 5 1-6
Life Skills 1-9
Progress ✓Questions 1-9
Ethical Dilemma 1-12
Frontline Focus: “Doing the Right Thing—Megan Makes a Decision” Questions 1-14
Key Terms 1-15
Review Questions 1-16
Review Exercises 1-17
Team Exercises 1-19
Thinking Critically 1-21
,Chapter 01 - Understanding Ethics
Chapter Summary
This chapter begins by defining ethics and how people decipher between “right” and “wrong” or
“good” and “bad” behavior. It explores how people live their lives according to a standard of
“right” or “wrong” behavior and how their personal set of morals are formed. Society plays a
role in the traditions and customs that shape the standards or moral set that people adopt.
Common standards shared among individuals can be called values or a values system. Some
people have different definitions of ethics such as, personal integrity, rules of appropriate
individual behavior, rules of appropriate behavior for a community or society, and some define
ethics as simply “doing the right thing.” The Golden Rule—do unto others as you would have
them do unto you—is also a goal of living an ethical life by some. There are also some ethical
theories discussed, which are divided into three categories—virtue ethics, ethics for the greater
good, and universal ethics. The chapter concludes with a discussion on ethical relativism, applied
ethics, ethical dilemmas, and how to resolve these situations.
Learning Outcomes
After studying this chapter, the student should be able to:
1. Define ethics.
2. Explain the role of values in ethical decision making.
3. Understand opposing ethical theories and their limitations.
4. Discuss ethical relativism.
5. Explain an ethical dilemma and apply a process to resolve it.
Extended Chapter Outline
Frontline Focus
“Doing the Right Thing” Questions
1. What would be “the right thing” to do here? How would the “Golden Rule” relate to
Megan’s decision?
The “right thing” to do here would be to run the Wilson’s application through the standard
procedure and approve their application, pending everything in the background check
returns as acceptable. The Golden Rule—do unto others as you would have them do unto
you—applies to Megan’s decision because she wouldn’t want someone to deny or purposely
delay her application because of her ethnicity.
1-2
Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill
Education.
,Chapter 01 - Understanding Ethics
2. How would you resolve this ethical dilemma? Review the three-step process in ‘Resolving
Ethical Dilemmas’ for more details.
First, Megan needs to analyze the consequences. If she listens to Kate, she will hinder the
Wilson’s chances of getting an apartment. If she goes against Kate, she will jeopardize her
job, but will do the “right thing” with respect to the Golden Rule by not discriminating.
Second, Megan should analyze possible actions. Listening to Kate would be unethical,
whereas disobeying Kate would be the honest, fair, and “right thing” to do. Finally, Megan
must make a decision.
3. What should Megan do now?
Megan needs to make a decision. She needs to approach Kate in a professional manner and
have a discussion on her ethical point of view. The ethical decision would be to follow
through with the Wilson’s application in the standard procedure just the same as any other
family.
Learning Outcome 1: Define Ethics.
• Ethics is the manner by which we try to live our lives according to a standard of “right” or
“wrong” behavior—in both how we think and behave toward others and how we would
like them to think and behave toward us.
o How people arrive at the definition of what’s right and wrong is a result of many
factors, including how they were raised, their religion, and the traditions and beliefs
of their society.
➢ Society is a structured community of people bound together by similar
traditions and customs.
Learning Outcome 2: Explain the Role of Values in Ethical Decision Making.
• Moral standards are principles based on religious, cultural, or philosophical beliefs by
which judgments are made about good or bad behavior.
o Culture is a particular set of attitudes, beliefs, and practices that characterize a group
of individuals.
• Beliefs can come from many different sources:
o Friends
o Family
o Ethnic background
o Religion
1-3
Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill
Education.
, Chapter 01 - Understanding Ethics
o School
o The media—television, radio, newspapers, magazines, or the Internet
o Personal role models and mentors
• One’s personal set of morals—morality—represents a collection of all these influences as
they build up over one’s lifetime.
• Standards of ethical behavior are absorbed by osmosis as an individual observes the
examples (both positive and negative) set by everyone around the individual—parents,
family members, friends, peers, and neighbors.
o When individuals share similar standards in a community, the terms values and value
system are used.
o The terms morals and values are often used to mean the same thing—a set of
personal principles by which you aim to live your life.
➢ A value system is a set of personal principles formalized into a code of
behavior.
• A person’s values can be said to have a specific “worth” for them. That worth can be
expressed in two ways:
o An intrinsic value—the quality by which a value is a good thing in itself and is
pursued for its own sake, whether anything comes from that pursuit or not. For
example, happiness, health, and self-respect.
o An instrumental value—the quality by which the pursuit of one value is a good way
to reach another value. For example, money is valued for what it can buy rather than
for itself.
• The impact of a person’s or a group’s value system can be seen in the extent to which his
or her daily lives are influenced by those values.
o The greatest test of any personal value system comes when an individual is presented
with a situation that places those values in direct conflict with an action. For
example:
➢ Lying is wrong—but what if you were lying to protect the life of a loved one?
➢ Stealing is wrong—but what if you were stealing food for a starving child?
➢ Killing is wrong—but what if you had to kill someone in self-defense to protect
your own life?
o It is this grey area that makes the study of ethics so complex.
• If individuals asked their friends and family what ethics means to them, they would
probably arrive at a list of four basic categories:
o Simple truth—right and wrong or good and bad.
o A question of someone’s personal character—his or her integrity.
o Rules of appropriate individual behavior.
o Rules of appropriate behavior for a community or society
• The first category—a simple truth—also may be be expressed as simply doing the right
thing.
1-4
Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill
Education.
Ghillyer (Instructor's Manual All
Chapters, 100% Original Verified, A+
Grade)
Chapter 01 - Understanding Ethics
CHAPTER 1
Understanding Ethics
Table of Contents
Chapter Summary and Learning Outcomes 1-2
Learning Outcomes 1-2
Frontline Focus: “Doing the Right Thing” Questions 1-2
Learning Outcome 1 1-3
Learning Outcome 2 1-3
Learning Outcome 3 1-5
Learning Outcome 4 1-6
Learning Outcome 5 1-6
Life Skills 1-9
Progress ✓Questions 1-9
Ethical Dilemma 1-12
Frontline Focus: “Doing the Right Thing—Megan Makes a Decision” Questions 1-14
Key Terms 1-15
Review Questions 1-16
Review Exercises 1-17
Team Exercises 1-19
Thinking Critically 1-21
,Chapter 01 - Understanding Ethics
Chapter Summary
This chapter begins by defining ethics and how people decipher between “right” and “wrong” or
“good” and “bad” behavior. It explores how people live their lives according to a standard of
“right” or “wrong” behavior and how their personal set of morals are formed. Society plays a
role in the traditions and customs that shape the standards or moral set that people adopt.
Common standards shared among individuals can be called values or a values system. Some
people have different definitions of ethics such as, personal integrity, rules of appropriate
individual behavior, rules of appropriate behavior for a community or society, and some define
ethics as simply “doing the right thing.” The Golden Rule—do unto others as you would have
them do unto you—is also a goal of living an ethical life by some. There are also some ethical
theories discussed, which are divided into three categories—virtue ethics, ethics for the greater
good, and universal ethics. The chapter concludes with a discussion on ethical relativism, applied
ethics, ethical dilemmas, and how to resolve these situations.
Learning Outcomes
After studying this chapter, the student should be able to:
1. Define ethics.
2. Explain the role of values in ethical decision making.
3. Understand opposing ethical theories and their limitations.
4. Discuss ethical relativism.
5. Explain an ethical dilemma and apply a process to resolve it.
Extended Chapter Outline
Frontline Focus
“Doing the Right Thing” Questions
1. What would be “the right thing” to do here? How would the “Golden Rule” relate to
Megan’s decision?
The “right thing” to do here would be to run the Wilson’s application through the standard
procedure and approve their application, pending everything in the background check
returns as acceptable. The Golden Rule—do unto others as you would have them do unto
you—applies to Megan’s decision because she wouldn’t want someone to deny or purposely
delay her application because of her ethnicity.
1-2
Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill
Education.
,Chapter 01 - Understanding Ethics
2. How would you resolve this ethical dilemma? Review the three-step process in ‘Resolving
Ethical Dilemmas’ for more details.
First, Megan needs to analyze the consequences. If she listens to Kate, she will hinder the
Wilson’s chances of getting an apartment. If she goes against Kate, she will jeopardize her
job, but will do the “right thing” with respect to the Golden Rule by not discriminating.
Second, Megan should analyze possible actions. Listening to Kate would be unethical,
whereas disobeying Kate would be the honest, fair, and “right thing” to do. Finally, Megan
must make a decision.
3. What should Megan do now?
Megan needs to make a decision. She needs to approach Kate in a professional manner and
have a discussion on her ethical point of view. The ethical decision would be to follow
through with the Wilson’s application in the standard procedure just the same as any other
family.
Learning Outcome 1: Define Ethics.
• Ethics is the manner by which we try to live our lives according to a standard of “right” or
“wrong” behavior—in both how we think and behave toward others and how we would
like them to think and behave toward us.
o How people arrive at the definition of what’s right and wrong is a result of many
factors, including how they were raised, their religion, and the traditions and beliefs
of their society.
➢ Society is a structured community of people bound together by similar
traditions and customs.
Learning Outcome 2: Explain the Role of Values in Ethical Decision Making.
• Moral standards are principles based on religious, cultural, or philosophical beliefs by
which judgments are made about good or bad behavior.
o Culture is a particular set of attitudes, beliefs, and practices that characterize a group
of individuals.
• Beliefs can come from many different sources:
o Friends
o Family
o Ethnic background
o Religion
1-3
Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill
Education.
, Chapter 01 - Understanding Ethics
o School
o The media—television, radio, newspapers, magazines, or the Internet
o Personal role models and mentors
• One’s personal set of morals—morality—represents a collection of all these influences as
they build up over one’s lifetime.
• Standards of ethical behavior are absorbed by osmosis as an individual observes the
examples (both positive and negative) set by everyone around the individual—parents,
family members, friends, peers, and neighbors.
o When individuals share similar standards in a community, the terms values and value
system are used.
o The terms morals and values are often used to mean the same thing—a set of
personal principles by which you aim to live your life.
➢ A value system is a set of personal principles formalized into a code of
behavior.
• A person’s values can be said to have a specific “worth” for them. That worth can be
expressed in two ways:
o An intrinsic value—the quality by which a value is a good thing in itself and is
pursued for its own sake, whether anything comes from that pursuit or not. For
example, happiness, health, and self-respect.
o An instrumental value—the quality by which the pursuit of one value is a good way
to reach another value. For example, money is valued for what it can buy rather than
for itself.
• The impact of a person’s or a group’s value system can be seen in the extent to which his
or her daily lives are influenced by those values.
o The greatest test of any personal value system comes when an individual is presented
with a situation that places those values in direct conflict with an action. For
example:
➢ Lying is wrong—but what if you were lying to protect the life of a loved one?
➢ Stealing is wrong—but what if you were stealing food for a starving child?
➢ Killing is wrong—but what if you had to kill someone in self-defense to protect
your own life?
o It is this grey area that makes the study of ethics so complex.
• If individuals asked their friends and family what ethics means to them, they would
probably arrive at a list of four basic categories:
o Simple truth—right and wrong or good and bad.
o A question of someone’s personal character—his or her integrity.
o Rules of appropriate individual behavior.
o Rules of appropriate behavior for a community or society
• The first category—a simple truth—also may be be expressed as simply doing the right
thing.
1-4
Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill
Education.
