Introduction to Ethics

Photo: Colleen Hayes / NBC.

If someone is obeying the law, does that mean they also being ethical? Or are the demands of ethics different from those of the law? How exactly are these things related? In this module, we consider some important differences between law and ethics. We will also examine how the Johnson & Johnson corporation responded to major crisis in the 1980s.

We have two main learning outcomes for this module. By the end of it, you will be able to…

Distinguish several ways in which ethics is different from the law, and
Reflect on how you may be expected to go above and beyond what the law requires.

Read This:

If It’s Legal, It’s Ethical… Right?

Tylenol’s Rebound

Context

One common assumption about ethics is that the morally right thing to do is simply whatever the law says it is. This attitude is especially common in business. However, the article by Bruce Weinstein suggests that not only are ethics and the law different, but also that we routinely expect people to go beyond obeying the law when being ethical.

As part of his argument, Weinstein talks about the actions of the Johnson & Johnson corporation during a crisis in the early 1980s. The newspaper article written by Carl Cannon at that time provides greater context about what exactly happened.

Reading Questions

As you read, keep these questions in mind:

Bruce Weinstein claims ethics different from the law. Why?
Why obey the law? Why live according to ethics?
Weinstein presents several examples of practices that are unethical but were once legal. What are these? Can you think of something that is currently legal but also seems unethical?
One possibility that Weinstein does not consider is whether something could be ethical but illegal. Do you think this is possible? If so, can you provide an example? If not, why not?
Weinstein mentions that in 1982, seven people in Chicago died from tainted Tylenol capsules. Carl Cannon reports the details about this. How did Johnson & Johnson, the makers of Tylenol, respond to this crisis? Was this an effective response? How so?
Why does Weinstein believe that the actions of Johnson & Johnson demonstrate how businesses should strive to go beyond merely what the law requires and be ethical?

Although I strongly suggest that you write out brief answers to these questions, you do not have to turn in written responses. You do, however, need to be prepared to answer questions like these on module quizzes and the unit exams.

References

Weinstein, B. (2007, October 15). If it’s legal, it’s ethical… right? Bloomberg Businessweek. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2007-10-15/if-its-legal-its-ethical-right-businessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice

Cannon, C. (1996). Tylenol’s rebound. In T. Donaldson & A. Gini (Eds.), Case studies in business ethics (4th ed., pp. 29–32). Prentice Hall. (Original work from September 25, 1983)