Social Justice and Business Ethics Analysis

Posted on Feb 16, 2026 in Business Statistics

Angela Davis on Prison Abolition

Why Davis argues that we must reevaluate the punishment process: Davis does not believe the increase in prison populations is due to rising crime rates. Instead, she attributes it to the desire for profit and systemic racist ideas.

• Profit motive: Private businesses view prison labor as a “pot of gold.” It offers no strikes, no union organizing, and no benefits. Labor is paid extremely low wages, meaning more prisons lead to more cheap labor and higher profits.
• Falling crime rates: Studies suggest that crime rates are falling, indicating that prison growth serves other purposes, such as containing a “human surplus” no longer needed by the economy due to deindustrialization.
• Systemic racism: Minorities are incarcerated at disproportionately high rates.
• Corporate harm: Corporations involved in the punishment business use prisoners for medical research and profit by destroying human potential.

Alternatives to Prisons

Davis suggests shifting attention away from the Prison Industrial Complex (PIC), a network of relationships that rely on each other to generate profit.

• Abolition: Eliminating prisons and breaking apart these profit-driven relationships. No one should be allowed to profit from punishment, and race or income should not determine incarceration.
• Decarceration: Reducing the number of people in prison by offering community-based alternatives. This includes educational opportunities to combat poverty, revitalizing education at all levels, providing free healthcare and mental health services, and shifting the justice system’s focus from punishment to reparation.

In short, if we invest in creating educated communities, we will not need prisons.

Job Discrimination and Gay Rights

• Immoral because it is unnatural: The concept of “unnatural” is irrelevant to morality. Many human activities, such as flying planes or wearing clothes, are unnatural yet are not immoral.
• Immoral because it is harmful: If harm occurs (such as health risks), it is due to specific behaviors, not orientation. Discrimination causes significant harm to gay individuals through psychological stress.
• Immoral because it is contrary to religion: People of all faiths must be treated equally under the law. Religious freedom does not grant the right to impose beliefs on others.
• Anti-gay discrimination undermines: Self-respect, general prosperity, individual flourishing, and self-sufficiency.

Case 11.2: Hoop Dreams

What if the market itself is discriminatory? Defenders of comparable worth argue that coaches like Stanley cannot negotiate for comparable salaries because women’s basketball is not valued as highly as men’s, and college administrators are to blame. In response, defenders of USC deny responsibility for the fact that men’s sports are larger revenue earners. The central question remains: Shouldn’t universities combat this by paying equivalent salaries to coaches of male and female teams?

Case 11.4: Consenting to Sexual Harassment

Mechelle Vinson alleged that her supervisor, Sidney Taylor, sexually harassed her. She testified that Taylor claimed she “owed” him for the job. She eventually became involved with him, contending she was forced to submit to jeopardize her employment. The Supreme Court upheld that: “The fact that sex-related conduct was ‘voluntary,’ in the sense that the complainant was not forced to participate against her will, is not a defense to sexual harassment.”

Rethinking Sexual Harassment

Vicki argues that the harassment of women at work is linked to job segregation by sex and gender-based expectations.

• Underinclusive: The law focuses too much on sexual behavior, leaving out other forms of gender-based harassment.
• Overinclusive: The law pushes companies toward “zero-tolerance” rules that may ban harmless behaviors that do not constitute harassment.

Refocus on Competence: Harassment is a tool used to force people into gender-traditional jobs and keep them out of roles associated with the opposite gender.

The Case of Coach Tyrone Willingham

This case highlights the imbalance in college football coaching. Tyrone Willingham was Notre Dame’s first Black coach. Despite nearly half of college football players being Black, fewer than 6% of coaches are.

• Economic Fear: Search committees fear losing donations if they hire a Black coach.
• Career Pathing: Black men are often passed over for early decision-making positions.
• The “Old Boys’ Network”: Systematic bias and racial stereotypes, rather than explicit overt bias, often result in job discrimination.

Case 11.5: Facial Discrimination

An intern candidate was rejected for being “too ugly.” While federal law does not prohibit appearance-based discrimination, some local ordinances do. Alice argues that discrimination is only justified if a characteristic is job-relevant. Hiring decisions influenced by arbitrary physical traits represent a conflict between morality and profit.

Problems with Contractual Relations

Held argues that the “economic man” model—independent and self-interested—is only applicable in narrow contexts. The mother-child relation, emphasizing unconditional care, should be the primary model for society.

• Law and Politics: If built only on contracts and self-interest, these domains fail to provide a foundation for collective concern.
• The Market: The market is a deficient model for human existence, which is mostly defined by social ties of care.

Six Key Points of Utilitarianism

1. Consider both pain and happiness.
2. Add up all pleasures and pains to find the greatest net happiness.
3. Almost anything might be morally right in a specific situation depending on consequences.
4. Maximize happiness in the long run, including indirect ramifications.
5. Act based on the most likely expected happiness when the future is uncertain.
6. One’s own pleasure must be weighed equally with the pleasure of others.

Justifying Whistle-Blowing

Whistle-blowing is justified when:

• It stems from an appropriate moral motive.
• Internal channels have been exhausted.
• There is compelling evidence of wrongful actions.
• The danger has been carefully analyzed.
• There is a likelihood of success.

John Rawls and the Principles of Justice

Rawls proposes the Original Position and the Veil of Ignorance. Under these conditions, people would follow the Maximin Rule (maximizing the minimum) and agree to two principles:

1. Equal right to the most extensive basic liberties.
2. Social and economic inequalities must be attached to offices open to all and benefit the least-advantaged members of society.

Nozick’s Libertarian Theory

• Lockean Rights: Negative and natural rights that exist independently of institutions.
• Entitlement Theory: You are entitled to holdings acquired without violating others’ rights.
• Wilt Chamberlain Case: Preserving distribution patterns requires forbidding “capitalist acts between consenting adults.”
• Property Rights: Commitment to entitlement over moral desert.

Understanding Anthropocentric Ethics

Anthropocentric ethics posits that only humans hold intrinsic value. Nature has only instrumental value based on its usefulness to humanity. In contrast, naturalistic ethics suggests nature has value independent of human interests.

Narrow View of Corporate Social Responsibility

Defended by Milton Friedman, this view asserts that a business’s only responsibility is to maximize shareholder profit.

• Managers have a fiduciary duty to shareholders.
• Businesses must follow the “rules of the game” (legal and ethical competition).
• Social policy is a government function, not a corporate one.
• Profit maximization leads to economic efficiency via the “invisible hand.”

Defining Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment includes unwelcome sexual advances or conduct when:

1. Submission is a condition of employment.
2. Submission or rejection is used as a basis for employment decisions.
3. The conduct creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment.

Two Types of Harassment

• Quid Pro Quo: Giving something in return for something else.
• Hostile Work Environment: Conduct that interferes with job performance, such as sexist remarks or explicit emails.

Definition of Job Discrimination

Job discrimination occurs when an employment decision harms an applicant based on their membership in a protected class (race, sex, age, etc.) rather than merit. It can be individual or institutional, intentional or unwitting.

Two Senses of Discrimination

• Value-neutral: Sorting candidates to find the best fit.
• Value-negative: Treating people differently for unjust reasons.

The Intrinsic Value of Caring Work

Held argues that market values should not dominate education, childcare, or healthcare. Caring work has enormous value in expressing social connectedness and enabling social cohesion. Compensation should reflect its evaluated worth rather than just its market exchange value.

The Affirmative Action Debate

Arguments For

• Compensatory Justice: Redressing past injuries.
• Fairer Competition: Neutralizing undeserved competitive edges.
• Breaking the Cycle: Preventing women and minorities from being locked in low-prestige jobs.

Arguments Against

• Injury to White Men: Violates the right to be treated as an individual.
• Principle of Equality: Using the same discriminatory principles to fix past discrimination.
• Nondiscrimination is Sufficient: Rigorous enforcement of existing laws like the 1964 Civil Rights Act is enough.

The Debate Over Comparable Worth

• Advocates: Claim men and women should be paid the same for jobs involving equal skill and responsibility. They point to the “pink collar” ghetto of low-paying jobs as a matter of social justice.
• Opponents: Argue that women freely choose lower-paying fields and that only the free market should determine job value.

Civil Liberties in the Workplace

• The rise of large corporations led to “the system comes first.”
• Traditionally, employers had a free hand in hiring and firing.
• Employment at Will: Unless a contract exists, either side can terminate employment at any time without notice or reason.

The Legal Doctrine of Strict Liability

A manufacturer is liable for injuries caused by a defective product even without negligence. Utilitarian arguments include:

1. Encouraging firms to guarantee product safety.
2. Manufacturers are best positioned to bear and spread the cost of injuries.

Moral Standards and Ethical Theory Quiz

• Moral standards vs. others: Moral standards take priority over self-interest.
• Law as a guide: False; the law is not a completely adequate guide to morality.
• Ethical Relativism: The theory that what is right is determined by society.
• Concerns with Relativism: It implies we cannot call slavery wrong if a society accepts it.
• Religious instructions: Often general and imprecise.
• Philosophical focus: Justifying principles is more important than their origin.
• Motivation: Doing the right thing only for profit is not a moral motivation.
• Paradox of Hedonism: People are often happier when not focusing solely on their own happiness.
• Morality and Self-interest: These can sometimes conflict.
• Business Assessment: Business is subject to moral assessment like any other activity.

Review: Angela Davis and Prison Abolition

Davis argues for a reevaluation of punishment due to the profit motive and systemic racism. Evidence includes the use of prison labor as a “pot of gold” for private business and the containment of “human surplus” caused by deindustrialization. Alternatives include abolition (breaking profit relationships) and decarceration (investing in education and healthcare).

Review: Job Discrimination and Gay Rights

Discrimination is often defended as being based on “unnatural” acts or religious beliefs, but these do not justify moral exclusion. Discrimination causes psychological harm and undermines individual flourishing.

Review: Case Studies and Harassment

Hoop Dreams questions market-based pay in sports. Vinson v. Taylor established that “voluntary” participation is not a defense against harassment. Vicki argues that harassment is a tool for maintaining gender-based job segregation.

Review: Coaching and Appearance

The case of Tyrone Willingham shows systemic bias in athletic hiring. Case 11.5 on facial discrimination highlights that while often legal, hiring based on looks rather than merit is morally questionable.

Review: Contractual Relations and Utilitarianism

Held critiques the “economic man” model in favor of a care-based model. Utilitarianism requires a calculus of happiness and pain, considering long-term consequences and equal weight for all involved.

Review: Whistle-Blowing and Justice

Whistle-blowing requires moral motive and evidence. Rawls’ justice theory uses the veil of ignorance to ensure fairness, while Nozick’s libertarianism focuses on property rights and entitlement.

Review: Ethics and Corporate Responsibility

Anthropocentric ethics values nature only for its human utility. Friedman’s narrow view of CSR argues that a corporation’s only duty is profit maximization within the law.

Review: Harassment and Discrimination Definitions

Sexual harassment includes quid pro quo and hostile environments. Job discrimination involves harming applicants based on protected class status rather than merit. Corvino distinguishes between value-neutral and value-negative discrimination.

Review: Caring Work and Affirmative Action

Caring work has intrinsic value beyond the market. Affirmative action is debated as either a necessary tool for compensatory justice or a violation of individual rights. Comparable worth advocates for equal pay for jobs of equal skill.

Review: Workplace Liberties and Liability

Employment at will remains the standard for most workers. Strict liability in manufacturing is justified by the need for safety and the ability of firms to spread the cost of injury risks.

Review: Whistle-Blowing Motivation

Bowie compares whistle-blowing to civil disobedience, suggesting public interest can outweigh organizational loyalty.

Review: Comparable Worth and Workplace Rights

Advocates see comparable worth as social justice; opponents see it as an interference with the free market. Workplace civil liberties have evolved with professional management, yet the “system” often overrides the individual.

Review: Strict Liability and Whistle-Blowing

Strict liability ensures manufacturers prioritize safety. Whistle-blowing remains a critical ethical tool when internal dissent fails and the public interest is at stake.