Justice

We use justice to evaluate not only the actions of individuals but also the social, legal, political and economic practices and institutions. Just / right /good =closer to fairness / equality /desert /rights Fairness –fair treatments of members of groups of people or looks backward to the fair compensation of prior injuries Justice? When there is something to distribute. Shortage of organ donors : what is the just or fair way of deciding who gets a transplant? Equality- our treatment of people reflect their fundamental moral equality. Burden? Taxes want to make sure that everyone bears a fair share

Desert-justice requires that people get what they deserve Treat people justly is to give them what they deserve. Rights- One is treated unjustly when one’s moral rights are violated. Justice concern with righting the wrongs.

Relevant to business ethics primarily in distribution of benefits & burdens. Economic transformations often involve overall improvement of welfare that is unevenly distributed, so some groups pay a price while others reap the rewards. Justice requires also something to be done to compensate the victims of discrimination or defective products or industrial accidents.

Justice of process Justice of outcome Example: Restaurant bands dogs, exception of seeing-eye dogs. Same process-not attained, some allowed, some not Same outcome-both sighted and blind people enjoy the restaurant

Four forms of justice: compensatory distributive, retributive and procedural Compensatory and retributive justice are concern with correcting wrongs.

Compensatory Justice Unfair to leave a harm uncorrected. X does harm to Y. Take from X to compensate Y so as to address the imbalance. Basis of law of torts (haksız fiil). Fairness lies in putting people back in the position they would have been in had the harm not been done

Distributive Justice Fairness in distributions of benefits and burdens Questions arise mostly in evaluation of social, political and economic institutions, where benefits & burdens of engaging in cooperative activities must be spread over a group. Principle of distribution. Graduated income Tax system. (Artan oranlı gelir vergisi sistemi) Comparative each person’s amount relative to that of others. Based on evaluation of the outcome or results of the business relations Evaluates benefits derived and equity

Retributive Justice Involves the punishment of wrongdoers. Balance severity of punishment with severity of harm for which punishment imposed Severe punishment for severe wrongs, light for slight Workplace discipline should be fair in such a balanced fashion.

Procedural Justice Based on the processes and activities that produce results or outcomes Evaluates decision making processes and level of access, openness and participation

Justice Involves “balancing”, “weighing” and conforming to a standard Moral psychology: people have a “sense of justice” Treat like cases alike Equal and unequal treatment could both be “fair” “Rewarding” and “punishing” can both be “fair”

Justice in the Workplace Fair compensation for services Equal treatment in process Unfair competitive practices Appropriate (fair) discipline Hearing both sides in a dispute No bias re grounds of discrimination

Personal vs. Corporate Morality A company cannot be a moral agent Legal authority is diminished As a pseudo (pretended) moral agent they should however be held to the same standard as individuals A corporation cannot do whatever it pleases Must respect right of others Demonstrate same virtues that we expect of individuals

Making Decisions Making good ethical decisions requires a trained sensitivity to ethical issues and a practiced method for exploring the ethical aspects of a decision and weighing the considerations that should impact our choice of a course of action. Having a method for ethical decision making is absolutely essential. When practiced regularly, the method becomes so familiar that we work through it automatically without consulting the specific steps. The more novel and difficult the ethical choice we face, the more we need to rely on discussion and dialogue with others about the dilemma. Only by careful exploration of the problem, aided by the insights and different perspectives of others, can we make good ethical choices in such situations.

What benefits and what harms will each course of action produce, and which alternative will lead to the best overall consequences? What moral rights do the affected parties have, and which course of action best respects those rights? What are the related duties defined previously? Which course of action develops moral virtues? Which course of action treats everyone the same, except where there is a morally justifiable reason not to, and does not show favoritism or discrimination?