BUSINESS
ETHICS
Accountancy, Business and
Management
DIRECTIONS: BASED ON YOUR LIFE’S
EXPERIENCES, CITE
THINGS/PRINCIPLES YOU CONSIDER
IN YOUR DECISION-MAKING IN FIVE
ASPECTS BELOW. WRITE YOUR
ANSWERS ON.
YOUR
1. LoveNOTEBOOK.
_____
2. Education _____
3. Family _____
4. Friends _____
5. Money _____
3
CLASSICAL
PHILOSOPHIES
REFLECTING INTO
BUSINESS
PRACTICES
ACTIVITY 1
DIRECTIONS: DRAW THINGS, PEOPLE, OR ANYTHING THAT
DEFINES YOUR OWN “HAPPINESS”. BELOW THE DRAWING,
WRITE A SHORT DESCRIPTION OR EXPLANATION ABOUT
IT. USE A SEPARATE SHEET OF BOND PAPER.
RUBRICS:
UNITY OF IDEAS 4 POINTS
CLARITY OF EXPLANATION 4 POINTS
MECHANICS 2 POINTS
10 POINTS
5
THE CLASSICAL
PHILOSOPHERS AND
PHILOSOPHIES
AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS
ON BUSINESS
SOCRATES 6
7
1. SOCRATES (469-399 BCE)- “THE GAD-FLY AT THE
MARKETPLACE” IS ONE OF THE FEW INDIVIDUALS
WHOM ONE COULD SAY HAVE SHAPED THE CULTURAL
AND INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE WORLD
FOR WITHOUT HIM, HISTORY WOULD BE PROFOUNDLY
DIFFERENT. THIS IS SOCRATES’S PHILOSOPHICAL IDEA:
“THE UNEXAMINED LIFE IS NOT WORTH LIVING.”
SOCRATES POINTED OUT THAT HUMAN CHOICE WAS
MOTIVATED BY THE DESIRE FOR HAPPINESS.
SOCRATES THOUGHT OF THE ENTREPRENEURS. THE
SOCRATIC METHOD IS A WAY OF THINKING THAT
ALLOWS INDIVIDUALS TO DEFINE THEIR OWN PURPOSE
OF LEARNING AND EXPLORING ITS PURPOSE THROUGH
OPEN-MINDED QUESTIONING OF WHAT THEY HOLD TO
BE TRUE. SOCRATES INSISTED ON A RIGHT TO THINK
Presentation title 8
PLATO
2. PLATO – “THE PHILOSOPHER-KING” IS ONE OF THE 9
WORLD’S BEST KNOWN AND MOST WIDELY READ AND
STUDIED PHILOSOPHERS. HE WAS THE STUDENT OF
SOCRATES AND THE TEACHER OF ARISTOTLE. HE
WROTE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE 4TH CENTURY BCE IN
ANCIENT GREECE. THIS IS PLATO’S PHILOSOPHICAL
IDEA:
“GOOD PEOPLE DO NOT NEED LAWS TO TELL THEM
TO ACT RESPONSIBLY, WHILE BAD PEOPLE WILL FIND
A WAY AROUND THE LAWS.”
PLATO MAINTAINS A VIRTUE-BASED EUDEMONISTIC
CONCEPTION OF ETHICS. THAT IS TO SAY, HAPPINESS
OR WELL-BEING (EUDAIMONIA) IS THE HIGHEST AIM
OF MORAL THOUGHT AND CONDUCT, AND THE
VIRTUES (ARETÊ: EXCELLENCE) ARE THE REQUISITE
SKILLS AND DISPOSITIONS NEEDED TO ATTAIN IT.
ARISTOTLE 10
3. ARISTOTLE – “ALL OR NOTHING” (384-322 BCE) IS A 11
TOWERING FIGURE IN ANCIENT GREEK
PHILOSOPHY, CONTRIBUTING TO LOGIC,
METAPHYSICS, MATHEMATICS, PHYSICS, BIOLOGY,
ETHICS, POLITICS, AGRICULTURE, MEDICINE,
DANCE, AND THEATER. THESE ARE SOME OF
ARISTOTLE’S PHILOSOPHICAL IDEAS:
“HAPPINESS IS THE MEANING AND THE PURPOSE OF
LIFE, THE WHOLE AIM, AND END OF HUMAN
EXISTENCE.”
“LET PEOPLE SEEK FULFILLMENT.”
THE WORD HAPPINESS IN ETHICS IS A TRANSLATION
OF THE GREEK TERM “EUDAIMONIA” WHICH
CONNOTES SUCCESS AND FULFILLMENT. FOR
ARISTOTLE, THIS HAPPINESS IS OUR HIGHEST
GOAL. IN RELATION TO BUSINESS, ARISTOTLE
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IMMANUEL KANT
13
4. IMMANUEL KANT (1724–1804). “DUTY BASED ETHICS”.
HE IS ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL
PHILOSOPHERS IN THE HISTORY OF WESTERN
PHILOSOPHY. HE WAS NOT CONCERNED WITH THE
CONSEQUENCES OF ONE’S ACTIONS OR THE HARM
CAUSED TO ONE’S INDIVIDUAL INTERESTS. INSTEAD,
HE IS FOCUSED ON MOTIVES AND THE WILLINGNESS
OF INDIVIDUALS TO ACT FOR THE GOOD OF OTHERS,
EVEN IF THE ACTION MIGHT RESULT TO PERSONAL
LOSS. DOING SOMETHING FOR THE RIGHT REASON
WAS MORE IMPORTANT TO KANT THAN ANY
PARTICULAR OUTCOME.
FOR EXAMPLE, BUSINESS ETHICS IS LITTERED WITH
CASES OF COMPANIES THAT HAVE SUFFERED
DAMAGING CRISES DUE TO THEIR LEADERS’ LACK OF
JEREMY BENTHAM 14
15
5. JEREMY BENTHAM AND JOHN STUART MILL-
“UTILITARIANISM” REVOLVES AROUND THE CONCEPT
OF “THE END JUSTIFIES THE MEANS”. IT BELIEVES
THAT OUTCOMES, AS A RESULT OF AN ACTION HAVE
A GREATER VALUE COMPARED TO THE LATTER.
UTILITARIANISM IS A PHILOSOPHY OR BELIEF
SUGGESTING THAT AN ACTION IS MORALLY RIGHT
WHEN THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE BENEFIT FROM IT.
ALSO, THE DOCTRINE THAT AN ACTION IS RIGHT AS
IT PROMOTES HAPPINESS, AND THAT THE GREATEST
HAPPINESS OF THE GREATEST NUMBER SHOULD BE
THE GUIDING PRINCIPLE OF CONDUCT.
UTILITARIANISM IS A MORAL THEORY THAT
ADVOCATES ACTIONS THAT PROMOTE OVERALL
HAPPINESS OR PLEASURE AND REJECT ACTIONS
DIRECTIONS: GIVE A SITUATION THAT SHOWS 16
THE IMPLICATION OF EACH PHILOSOPHY IN
BUSINESS. WRITE YOUR ANSWERS ON YOUR
NOTEBOOK.
1. ARISTOTLE’S PHILOSOPHY
2. PLATO’S PHILOSOPHY
3. SOCRATES’ PHILOSOPHY
4. IMMANUEL KANT’S PHILOSOPHY
5. JEREMY BENTHAM AND JOHN STUART
MILL’S PHILOSOPHY
RUBRICS:
CORRECTNESS OF ANSWER 4 POINTS
CLARITY OF EXPLANATION 4 POINTS
MECHANICS 2 POINTS
A. Directions: Write the business philosophies of
each philosopher in the table below with brief
explanation. Write your answer in your notebook.
Directions: Based on the philosophies that you
search from the previous activity. Give a
situation that shows the implication of each
philosophy in business. Write your answers on a
your Notebook.
1. Aristotle’s philosophy
2. Plato’s philosophy
3. Socrates’ philosophy
4. Immanuel Kant’s philosophy
5. Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill’s
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SUMMARY
THANK YOU
