Business Ethics: Reflexive Journal

Running Head: Business Ethics
Business Ethics
Reflexive Journal

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Table of Content
Task 1.....................................................................................................................................................2
1.1 What was discussed in class? Do you agree with the ethical principle(s) discussed? Why or why
not? Justify your stand on this as an ethical business professional.......................................................2
1.2 How would you define your own implicit theory of morality? What fundamental assumptions do
you make?.............................................................................................................................................4
Task 2: Write about the various theories of ethics which we have discussed in class. Which aspect of
ethics seems most definitive to you? Why? Draw on various aspects of your life to discuss your
ethical perspectives...............................................................................................................................5
Task 3: Compile a coherent account of your reflections to demonstrate the journey you have
undertaken throughout this course, particularly relating to your (changed?) ethical perspectives......8
References...........................................................................................................................................10

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Task 1
1.1 What was discussed in class? Do you agree with the ethical
principle(s) discussed? Why or why not? Justify your stand on this as
an ethical business professional
In order to give an overview to the readers, the module of organizational ethics
covered sections such as ethical perspectives, business ethics, ethical decision making and
action, exercising ethical influence and improving group ethical performance. Besides this a
good light was thrown upon the contemporary subjects like corporate social responsibility,
introduction to ethics, theory of ethics, ethical interpersonal communication, leadership
ethics, followership ethics and combative destructive behaviour. All in all, the entire course
was highly engaging and covered concepts which were of significant importance.
I learnt about different theories in ethical perspective such as Utilitarianism which
states to do the greatest good for the great number of people. It stated that ethical choices just
like other decision should be made on the basis of their ramifications. The greatest strength of
the theory was its greatest weakness which states the concern for collective human welfare.
The second theory which I learnt was based on the work of Kant, also called as Kant’s
categorical imperative, which states to do what’s right despite the consequences. The
critiques of Kant’s theory mentioned that there have to be universal principles which have to
be followed in every situation (Goodrich & Meng, 2015).
I also studied at length about the Rawl’s theory of Justice as fairness which was based
on the concept of balancing freedom and equality. Rawl’s theory honoured individual
freedom which was also the foundation for the democratic culture, at the same time
encouraged more equitable distribution of societal benefits (Edson et. al., 2017). The biggest
weakness of Rawl’s theory was its abstractness, which limited the theory to a greater extent.
Another theory which is my personal favourite was the theory of Confucianism which was
based on building healthy relationships (Martinez & Wueste, 2016). He mentioned that the
ideal society is created and based on a series of hierarchical and harmonious relationship
which starts from the family and is extended to the outer world (Zhang, 2018). The best part
about the theory of Confucianism was that it was practical in nature, it was stated on the

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fundamental truth that economies, societies and organizations are built on relationship. The
theory also stated that it’s the leaders who shape up the ethical climate of the organization
(Ewest, 2015).
I then learnt about business ethics and different components mentioned as part of its
learning exercise. The first component facing the shadow side of personality was important
and mentioned that the shadow of the person is more likely to surface in a stressful condition.
The second component of business ethics was finding or discovering vocation, it was
important to understand what really excites an individual in order to understand the direction
of the life (Choondassery, 2017).The third and one of the most important components was
identifying the personal values, it is important to identify the personal values based on one’s
moral which would dictate the life of an individual. My personal values for example are
honesty, integrity, discipline and passion towards everything I do. The next important
component was developing character; character plays an important role in the ethical and
decision making behaviour of an individual. My personal character is based on my strength
which is love, courage, wisdom and knowledge. Another component which is important is
creating a moral identity, it is used to describe one powerful motivating force behind the
ethical behaviour of the individual .Drawing upon spiritual resources is gaining a significant
leverage in the present times, as people have started caring more for their soul, which makes
it prevalent both in the society and the organization (Hammersley, 2015).
Another important concept which I learnt in the module of ethics was to understand
how to exercise ethical influence in professional business surroundings. I learnt that the
power in business organization is classified into five categories such as coercive, referent,
legitimate, reward and expert power, and it is advised to pick the power which helps in
achieving the said goals of the organization (Lucas, VanWee & Maat, 2016). It can be seen
that legitimate, coercive and reward power reduced the task satisfaction and trust in the
longer term, thus it is advised to select the power appropriately. Politics also plays an
important role in the business organization; employees in the organization accumulate and
use informal power to achieve personal and organizational objectives (Fainstein &
DeFilippis, 2015). Two kinds of politics exist here, one kind is the negative politics which is
self-centred in nature, and the other type of politics is positive politics, wherein power is no
longer used to exercise control, on the contrary it is used to serve other individuals in the
organization (Denzin & Gairdina, 2016).