Business ethics exemplifies all principles and standards that guide our behavior in the business world. Nowadays, business ethics are two major words not taken seriously. [In fact, there has been a]…series of major financial scandals involving Enron, Tyco International, HealthSouth, Adelphia Communications, WorldCom, Global Crossing, Rite Aid (Garrison, Eric, & Brewer, 2008) to include Lehman Brothers, AIG, M[a]doff, [just] to name a few (Bathula & Gaur, 2011) for unethical behavior. My question is how can these executives be so unethical? It is not like anyone of us, at one point or another, has faced ethical decisions on a daily basis. Yet, we do not commit crimes as these individuals have done so. Does it mean business ethics could lead to decision making, as far as, is it on a personal or a group responsibility level and what are the consequences to such unethical behaviors.
Morals tend to be essential as a part of our culture but people separate their personal and business ethics whereas they should be the same. There has been a long-standing debate among philosophers and psychologists (among other scholars) as to what causes people to act the way they do, and how [it influences]…their behavior (Pendse, 2012).
[Many] suggest that the debate can be categorized in terms of those who believe in ‘internal forces’ such as a person’s parental upbringing, education, and personality as the primary causes of their behavior, and others who believe that behavior is primarily affected by ‘external forces’ that operate on the person (Pendse, 2012).
The Term Paper on Business Ethics and Issues
Ethics Ethics is a branch of philosophy which seeks to find answers about the moral concepts like bad, good, evil, right, wrong, etc. According to OEC (2011) ethic is defined as “a moral philosophy which is concerned with what is right or wrong, good or bad, fair or unfair, responsible or irresponsible, obligatory or permissible, praiseworthy or blameworthy”. Many scholars have associated it with ...
There are several individuals that say that personal is personal and work is work but many do not realize that their ethics defines their own characteristics.
On a separate view of business ethics, a persons’ behavior is sometimes defined as a group personality which diminishes an individuals’ good character and changes the situational forces operating on that person. According to the ‘bad barrels’ argument, something in the organizational environment poisons…good apples [which ultimately] attributes ethical behavior In Accounting">unethical behavior in the organization to a few unsavory individuals (Pendse, 2012).
In such cases, people tend to focus on their own personal interest as they have different goals from the company where it leads many to perform unethical choices. Business ethics is then thought to be on a personal responsibility level.
So, how can we avoid unethical behaviors and what would be its consequences? One of the key situational/organizational factors that significantly influence ethical behavior is the reinforcement (or lack of reinforcement) for previous ethical behavior (Pendse, 2012).
Ethic hazards produces opportunity, means and motive which many have found that punishment..was expected..[; however, it] did not reduce unethical behavior (Pendse, 2012).
The reinforcement structure in a situation can be so powerful that if reinforcement is unwittingly given for undesired behavior, such undesirable behavior will occur even if individuals know that they should behave differently (Pendse, 2012).
Due to poor judgments, there is often a connection between unethical and illegal behavior in an organization which leads to corruption, fraud, and other criminal offenses. In conclusion, business ethics is the standard guide to our behavior in both personal and in the business world. We need to take into consideration that business ethics is a personal responsibility because it defines our upbringing as well as how we let the social environment control each one of us. If we don’t follow these standard rules and make unethical choices, there will be serious consequences which will later affect your life. Individuals should apply ethics to both areas in order to be successful because, after all, business ethics is what defines our morals and value characteristics.
The Essay on Global Ethics and Business: A Philosophical Approach
Virtue Ethics Introduction When analyzing business decisions and practices, people tend to employ a particular moral framework. Often, some people do not know whether they are employing an ethical framework. To understand the nature of some decisions and practices, there is a need to consider ethical frameworks such as utilitarianism, justice, ethics of virtue and deontology (Becker 2000). ...
References
Bathula, H., & Gaur, S. S. (2011, December).
Teaching Ethics to International Business Students: Impact, response and directions. Retrieved from Centre for Research in International Education (CRIE): http://www.crie.org.nz/papers.htm Garrison, R., Eric, N., & Brewer, P. (2008).
McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Retrieved from Managerial Accounting: http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0073526703/student_view0/ebook/chapter1/chbody1/the_importance_of_ethics_in_business.html Pendse, S. (2012).
Ethical Hazards: A Motive, Means, and Opportunity Approach to Curbing. Journal of Business Ethics, 265.
