Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
WHAT IS ETHICS
critical analysis of business ethics
Ethical practices in business
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: WHAT IS ETHICS
Business ethics could be categorized as one of the least studied topics, although it has been widely acknowledged to be great significant (Bushe & Gilbertson, 2007). Being in the competitive market, most enterprises have either formal or informal ethical code to assist them in determining whether certain business activity is acceptable or not, especially when managers face dilemmas (Velasquez & Velazquez, 2002). This is because behaviors are justified by theories, orienting from the most basic question “what is the right thing to be done” (Grace, 1998; Takala, 2012). In order to address the mentioned question, it first needs to explore the definition of ethics and specifically, business ethics.
Obviously, the term business ethics is abstracted from the general word ethics. The term ethics origins from an ancient Greek word—ethikos—that refers to the authority of tradition (Grace, 1998; HARTMANN, 1980). While some defined ethics as a systematic framework to guide ways in which acts are conducted and kinds of favored values (De George, 1999), some viewed it as the tool to examine the moral standards of an individual or the society and determine whether it is reasonable (Velasquez & Velazquez, 2002). Business ethics, apparently, targets at ethics applying to activities in the field of business operation, which is relatively more micro and practical (Gendler, Siegel & Cahn, 2007).
Generally speaking, the most common ethical theories utilized to justify business decisions are named teleological and deontological ethics (Gendler, Siegel & Cahn, 2007; Bushe & Gilbertson, 2007). While the former principle focuses on behaviors’ consequences, viewing those that might lead to positive effect as morally right, the latter one pay more atten...
... middle of paper ...
... and limitations. With regard to the most right and effective one, according to a research study that evaluates all five principles (i.e. act utilitarianism, rule utilitarianism, egoism, rule deontology, and act deontology), it is unable to make the judgment. In fact, some participants have no particular theory they believe in and utilize to direct their business activities. This is subscribed to the internal imperfection of each theory as well as the external effect and controls. To conclude, the participants select different philosophy types to rationalize their decision under various situations. However, another study indicated that employees with less than 10 years working experience become the most likely to favor egoism, which might account for their maturity (DeConinck & Lewis, 1997; Trevino & Nelson, 2010; Bowie, 2000; Vadell, 2009; Donaldson & Werhane, 1999)
This paper is an analysis of the ethical business decision matrix developed by The George S. May Company (May), a management-consulting firm. The paper will also compare how these guidelines were used by John D. Beckett (Beckett) in his company and how the author’s firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLC (PwC), uses them. The guidelines are meant to be used by employees. These guidelines are specifically a measure of moral and ethical principles tied to business ethics in acceptability of right and wrong behaviour in the workplace.
Ferrell, O.C., Fraedrich, J., & Ferrell, L. (2009). Business ethics: Ethical decision making and cases (7th ed.). South-Western College Pub;
2.Goodpastor, Kenneth. Nash, Laura. de Bettignies, Henri-Claude. Business Ethics: policies and persons 4th edition. Mcgraw Hill Irwin Publishers. Pages 396-405
[2] Velasquez, M. (6th Edition). Business Ethics Concepts and Cases. Ethical Principles in Business (pp. 230-231). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Business ethics must be understood from a historical perspective to appreciate how the current economic system and regulatory system has evolved over time. (Collins, 2012) The idea of ethics has expanded slowly over time with more and more “stakeholders” being given particular rights when it came to business decisions. The text describes the evolution of ethics into a few key phases such as in pre-capitalist America, Adam’s Capitalism and the industrial revolution. Those moments give an ideal breakdown on how business ethics evolved into what they are today.
Business ethics is described by means of studying how terms are connected with ethics used in relation to business. So business ethics invites us to take into consideration what right and wrong consist of in relation to business activity; about your goodness and badness associated with specific business situations; concerning the rights, responsibilities, obligations and duties that have to govern business relationships; in what a fair distribution from the benefits and burdens associated with business activity might contain; and about what takes its virtuous business or a virtuous business person (Fryer, 2015).
For people in the business world ethics are a huge parts as it is for every other occupation in the world too. For business though ethics are the obligations a company has to their employees, venders, and customers. The individuals themselves to the organization as a whole can apply business ethics to all parts of the business. No matter where a person may go if they work for themselves or for fortune 500 companies, you will be working for a business and it is always good to have moral ethics and be able to see the importance in them. (Moral) For example when a person takes action on behalf of a business, that person exemplifies the business ethics to community and
Ethics in business is a highly important concept, as it can affect a company’s profits, salaries paid to employees and CEOs, and public opinion, among many other aspects of a business. Ethics can be enforced by company policies and guidelines, set a precedent when a company is faced with an important decision, and are also evolving thanks to new technology and situations that arise due to technology usage. Businesses have a duty to maintain their ethical responsibilities and also to help their employees enforce these responsibilities in and out of the workplace. However, ethics and the foundation for them are not always black and white. There are many different ethical theories, however Utilitarianism, Kant’s Deontological ethics, and Virtue ethics are three of the most well known theories in existence. Each theory is distinct in that it has a different quality used to determine ethicality and allows for a person to choose which system of ethics works best with both the situation and his or her personal ethical preferences.
Ferrell, O. C., Fraedrich, J., & Ferrell, L. (2011). Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases. Mason, Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning.
Velazquez, M. G. (2006). Business Ethics. Concepts and Cases 6th Edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Ethics are the driving force behind good business. Every ethical choice made by a professional can and will have a much different outcome than any unethical choice. Bad ethics can ruin many aspects of a business and as (Gaye-Anderson, 2007) states how quite easily the lives and professional reputation of the employees can even be severally damaged (para. 3). Everything from morale to motivation can be severely affected by poor ethical choices. Customers will take their business elsewhere. Employees will abandon ship. Other, competing businesses reap the benefits of the bad moral choices. Ultimately, the entire business can be brought down by one poor ethical choice.
In the business world there are many fundamental aspects and situations that can lead to several issues. In order to find an optimal and professional solution, business decision makers need to apply moral and ethical standards. And it is at that moment in which business ethics perform its role. Business ethics, which is in charge of examine how companies and individuals should act in business situations, is very essential in order to reach a common agreement and to work within the laws of business and solve an arisen dilemma. Working of the hand of ethical business companies, employees, investors, directors, and even individual officers can be beneficiated and obtain most favorable outcomes.
Treviño, L. K., & Nelson, K. A. (2007). Managing business ethics: Straight talk about how to do it right Fourth ed., Retrieved on July 30, 2010 from www.ecampus.phoenix.edu
Ethics is the study of right or wrong and the morality of the choices that individuals make. That basicly means the set of morals or responsibility that a person, group, or field have. Ethics can also be classified as code of morals. In business there are ethics that portray to business. These are called business ethics, business ethics just happen to be the application of ethics, morals, into the business field. Some examples of business ethics are obeying all rules and regulations even when nobody 's looking, which is pretty self explanatory, you shouldn’t be breaking rules. Even if it is as simple as washing your hands after you use the restroom or straight up lying to your customers, they are the ones making you money so if they find out
Business ethics are a set of moral rules that govern how a business operates, how people should be treated within an organization, and how business decisions are made. They are a crucial part of employment and in managing a sustainable business, mainly because of the serious consequences that can result from decisions made with a lack of regard to ethics. Even if you don’t believe that good ethics don’t contribute to profit levels, you should realize those poor ethics have a negative effect on your bottom line in the long-run. Every business in every industry has certain guidelines to which its employees must stick to, and regularly outline such aspects in employee handbooks.