Key Terms

business ethics

The area of applied ethics that focuses on real-world situations and the context and environment in which transactions occur.

corporate culture

The beliefs and behaviors that determine how a company’s employees and management interact inside an organization and also handle outside business transactions. Corporate culture develops organically over time from the cumulative traits of the leaders and the people that the company hires.

ethical dilemma

A situation in which a difficult choice has to be made between two courses of action with ethical consequences.

ethical relativism

Holds that people set their own moral standards for judging their actions, based on self-interest.

ethics

The code of moral principles and values that governs the behaviors of a person or group with respect to what is right or wrong.

instrumental values

The preferred means of behavior used to obtain desired goals.

justice

Four major tenets: (1) All individuals should be treated equally; (2) Justice is served when all persons have equal opportunities and advantages; (3) Fair decision practices, procedures, and agreements among parties should be practiced; (4) Punishment is served to someone who inflicts harm.

moral entrepreneur

Someone who creates a new ethical norm.

normative ethics

The field of ethics concerned with our asking how should and ought we live and act.

rights

Legal rights are entitlements that are limited to a particular legal system and jurisdiction, while moral rights are universal and based on norms in every society.

servant leadership

Involves selflessly working with followers to achieve shared goals that improve collective, rather than individual, welfare.

stakeholder

Any group or individual who can affect or is affected by the achievement of an organization’s objectives. The use of the term stakeholder has become commonplace in organizations.

stakeholder management

The systematic identification, analysis, planning, and implementation of actions designed to engage with stakeholders

stewardship

Concerned with empowering followers to make decisions and gain control over their work.

terminal values

Desired goals, objectives, or end states that individuals wish to pursue.

virtue ethics

Grounded in one’s character, focusing on what type of person one ought to be.

Source contents: Principles of Management and Organizational Behavior. Please visit OpenStax for more details: https://openstax.org/subjects/view-all