The pursuit of strategic advantage is often met with ethical challenges. Critically discuss any two (2) philosophical approaches to ethics that may be used to manage these challenges in a strategic environment. Use any relevant organizational examples to justify your argument.

Reference:

The School of Ethical Universalism

•Ethical universalism: Holds that common understandings across multiple cultures and countries about what constitutes right and wrong give rise to universal ethical standards that apply to all societies, all firms, and all businesspeople.

•Effect on business ethics: Whether a business-related action is right or wrong is judged by universal standards.

 

The School of Ethical Relativism

Ethical relativism:

Holds that differing beliefs, customs, and behavioural norms across countries and cultures give rise to multiple sets of standards of what is ethically right or wrong.

Effect on business ethics:

Whether business-related actions are right or wrong depends on local ethical standards.

 

Ethics and Integrative Social Contracts Theory

•Provides a middle-ground balance between universalism and relativism

•Posits that the collective views of multiple societies form universal (first-order) ethical principles that all persons have a contractual duty to observe in all situations

•Within the contract, cultures or groups can specify locally ethical (second-order) actions

Effects on ethical standards

•Adherence to universal ethical norms takes precedence over local norms.

•A local custom is not ethical if it violates universal ethical norms.

•Application of codes of ethics should first follow universal standards with allowance for local ethical diversity and influence.

 

How and Why Ethical Standards Impact the Tasks of Crafting and Executing Strategy

•The ethics code litmus test•Areas of ambiguity: Is what we are proposing to do fully compliant with our code of ethics?

•Conflict or potential problem: Is this action in harmony with our core values?

•Ethically objectionable action: Will our stakeholders, our competitors, the SEC under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, or the news and social media view this action as ethically objectionable?