1980s Business Ethics

Today’s society has transformed the term “business ethics” into an oxymoron. The field of business bears an unfavorable connotation; the profession is surrounded by such unpalatable ideas as fraudulence, corruption, and trickery, and such names as Donald Trump. On the other hand, ethics is often paired with unpolluted ideals such as morality, righteous conduct, and pure conscience. Although “business ethics” is widely viewed as an oxymoron, the phrase did not originate as so. Prior to the 1980s, to most people, business was a noble profession; business management was generally regarded as “a stewardship and expect[ed] to operate the economy as a public trust for the benefit of all the people” (J.D. Zellerbach, 1956). However, in the 1980s businesses

In this sense of business ethics, there is little regard for the health, security, and wellbeing of any individual involved. Through the corporate lens, the ethical action in any case is to maximize profit and gain leverage because the ultimate goal of a business is to gain leverage through acquiring more monetary value. Therefore, any action that enables the satisfaction of that goal is seen as the right action. However, there are others who ascribe to a very different sense of ethics that focuses on self-improvement and wholesome virtue. The practice of this purer ethical standard refrains one from engaging in the unbridled greed that pervades the consciences of many businessmen and women. I argue that the degree of difficulty one experiences in making ethical decisions in business depends on the kind of ethics to which one ascribes: corporate business ethics or personal

According to the corporate ethical standards, the right thing to do is to make as much money as possible. Whereas personal ethics that concern morality and self-improvement dictate that the right thing to do does not involve hurting others for the sake of propelling an individual’s self-interest. Although it might be more difficult for a person with pure values to succeed in a business environment, it is the more rewarding path to take. Those with right inspiration and solid integrity understand the mental and emotional wealth that can come from awareness and moderation. In the case of Kathryn McNeil, Sayer Foley should dispel his fear of being seen as a weak manager and erase any faults that others have placed on her for being a mother because ultimately, the distress McNeil will experience will not be worth the greed and dissatisfaction that Sayer MicroWorld will continue to