Business Ethics
Ethics is a branch of philosophy that inquires into the nature of ultimate value and the standards by which human actions can be judged right or wrong (“ethics,” Collegiate). Ethics is not primarily concerned with the description of moral systems in societies. That task, which remains on the level of description, is one for anthropology or sociology. In contrast, ethics deals with the justification of moral principles.
A Brief History of the Study of Ethics
Ethics has been studied since ancient times. In the oldest of the Indian writings, ethics is an integral aspect of philosophical and religious speculation about the nature of reality. These writings date from about 1500 BC. They have been described as “the oldest philosophical literature in the world, and what they say about how people ought to live may therefore be the first philosophical ethics” (Everson 5).
In ancient China, he humane teaching of Confucius and his followers, the peaceful wisdom of Lao-zi, and the universal love of Mo-zi offered alternatives to frequent wars.
Early Greece was the birthplace of Western philosophical ethics. In the poetic literature of the 7th and 6th centuries BC, there were ethical precepts but no real attempts to formulate a coherent overall ethical position. The Greeks were later to refer to the most prominent of these poets and early philosophers as the seven sages, and they are frequently quoted with respect by Plato and Aristotle.
During the Classical Period of Greek ethics, three great philosophers – Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle – flourished in the 5th and 4th centuries BC. Their ideas have served ever since as the cornerstone for the Western ethics.
In the later Greek and Roman periods, the two dominant schools of thought, Stoicism and Epicureanism, represent important approaches to the question of how one ought to live.
The Middle Ages did not give birth to any major new ethical theories. It is worth mentioning that Christian ethics is distinguished from the philosophical discipline of ethics, which relies upon the authority of reason. Christian ethics, also called moral theology, appeals to the authority of revelation, specifically as found in the preaching and activity of Jesus Christ.
The significance of Renaissance for ethics lies in a change of focus. For the first time since the conversion of the Roman Empire to Christianity, ...
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Conclusion
Conflicts of interest are fundamental to the nature of business. Although society wants companies to create many well-paying jobs, those same organizations want to limit compensation costs and raise productivity levels. Customers want to purchase goods and services at low prices, but businesses want to maximize profits. Society wants to reduce pollution levels, but businesses want to minimize the cost that environmental regulations add to their operations.
Managers must continuously and consciously balance the needs of the organization and its stockholders with the needs of other stakeholders, including workers, customers, and the larger community. Managers must also balance their personal needs and desires against those of their organizations.
Works Cited
Ashby, W. Allen, Warren Ashby. A Comprehensive History of Western Ethics: What Do We Believe? Amherst: Prometheus Books, 1997
Becker, Lawrence C., and Charlotte B. Becker, ed. A History of Western Ethics. New York : Routledge, 2003.
“ethics.” Collegiate Encyclopædia. 2005. Collegiate Encyclopædia. 4 June 2005
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Everson, Stephen, ed. Ethics. Cambridge, U.K. ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 1998.
Nye, Howard. PHIL 250 B1, Winter Term 2014 Lecture Notes – Ethics. University of Alberta.
Westermack, Edward A (1906-8): The origins and development of the Moral Ideas, 2 vols., London: MacMillan & Co.
Torres Gregory, Wanda, and Donna Giancola. "Part 1: The European Traditions." World Ethics. Eds. Steve Wainwright, Lee McCracken, and Anna Lustig. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage learning, 2002. 142-147. Print.
Thiroux, J. P., & Krasemann, K. W. (2009). Ethics: Theory and practice (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Shafer-Landau, R. (2013) Ethical Theory: An Anthology (Second Edition). West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Sidgwick, Henry (1907): The Methods of Ethics. 7th ed. London: Macmillan and Co.; reprint: Indianapolis: Hackett, 1981.
The word “Ethics” has its root in the Greek word ‘ethos’, which means character, spirit and attitude of a group of people or culture. Ethics is defined in the Concise Oxford Dictionary as: a system of moral principles, by which human actions may be judged good or bad or right or wrong, and the rules of conduct recognized in respect of a particular class of human actions.
Thiroux, Jacques P., and Keith W. Krasemann. Ethics: Theory and Practice. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2009. Print.
Cahn, Steven M. and Peter Markie, Ethics: History, Theory and Contemporary Issues. 4th Edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.
“Ethics”, in general, is nothing but a principle of conduct. Ethics can also be defined as moral philosophy which is used to answer questions related to morality. The word ‘Ethics’ has been derived from the Greek word ‘Ethos’ which simply meant “the state of being” or “to keep ones soul pure”. The sub divisions of ethics are as follows;
Pinckaers, Servais. The Source of Christian Ethics. Translated by Sr. Mary Thomas Noble. Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 1995.
The word ethics is derived from the Greek word “ethos” which means an ethical person is one who has a character. Ethics is a norm that translates ideals and values into everyday practice. Ethics is not a manual with answers on how to act. It is only a search for the right kind of morality. It is also the standards that define what right conduct is and what is wrong conduct. Ethics is concerned with distinguishing between good and evil in the world, between right and wrong human actions and between virtuous and non-virtuous characteristics of people. Ethics is also a branch of philosophy that involves questions about morality. Thus, ethics is about making choices which signifies how people act in order to make the right choice and predict good
Furrow, Dwight. Ethics- Key Concepts In Philosophy. New York, NY: Continuum, 2005. Print. 20 Oct. 2011
As a branch of philosophy, ethics investigates the questions “What is the best way for people to live?” and “What actions are right or wrong in particular circumstances?” In practice, ethics seeks to resolve questions of human morality, by defining concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime. As a field of intellectual enquiry, moral philosophy
"According to Norman E. Bowie, "Ethics is two things. First, ethics refers to well based standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do, usually In terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or specific virtues. Ethics, for example, refers to those standards that impose the reasonable obligations to refrain from rape, stealing, murder, assault, slander, and fr...