Business Ethics and Social Responsibility
Posted on July 2, 2008
Business ethics is a form of applied ethics that examines just rules and principles within a commercial context; the various moral or ethical problems that can arise in a business setting; and any special duties or obligations that apply to persons who are engaged in commerce. Generally speaking, business ethics is a normative discipline, whereby particular ethical standards are advocated and then applied.
It makes specific judgments about what is right or wrong, which is to say, it makes claims about what ought to be done or what ought not to be done. While there are some exceptions, business ethicists are usually less concerned with the foundations of ethics (meta-ethics), or with justifying the most basic ethical principles, and are more concerned with practical problems and applications, and any specific duties that might apply to business relationships.
Business ethics can be examined from various perspectives, including the perspective of the employee, the commercial enterprise, and society as a whole. Very often, situations arise in which there is conflict between one and more of the parties, such that serving the interest of one party is a detriment to the other(s). For example, a particular outcome might be good for the employee, whereas, it would be bad for the company, society, or vice versa. Some ethicists see the principal role of ethics as the harmonization and reconciliation of conflicting interests.
Ethical issues can arise when companies must comply with multiple and sometimes conflicting legal or cultural standards, as in the case of multinational companies that operate in countries with varying practices. The question arises, for example, ought a company obey the laws of its home country, or should it follow the less stringent laws of the developing country in which it does business?
To illustrate, United States law forbids companies from paying bribes either domestically or overseas; however, in other parts of the world, bribery is a customary, accepted way of doing business. Similar problems can occur with regard to child labor, employee safety, work hours, wages, discrimination, and environmental protection laws.
Business ethics should be distinguished from the philosophy of business, the branch of philosophy that deals with the philosophical, political, and ethical underpinnings of business and economics. Business ethics operates on the premise, for example, that the ethical operation of a private business is possible -- those who dispute that premise, such as libertarian socialists, (who contend that "business ethics" is an oxymoron) do so by definition outside of the domain of business ethics proper.
The philosophy of business also deals with questions such as what, if any, are the social responsibilities of a business; business management theory; theories of individualism vs. collectivism; free will among participants in the marketplace; the role of self interest; invisible hand theories; the requirements of social justice; and natural rights, especially property rights, in relation to the business enterprise.
Business ethics is also related to political economy, which is economic analysis from political and historical perspectives. Political economy deals with the distributive consequences of economic actions. It asks who gains and who loses from economic activity, and is the resultant distribution fair or just, which are central ethical issues.
Ismael D. Tabije is the Publisher-Editor of http://www.BestManagementArticles.com, a unique niche-topic article directory that features exclusively business and management topics. For a large dose of business ethics and social responsibility tips, ideas and strategies, see http://business-ethics.bestmanagementarticles.com
Business Ethics & Social Responsibility
The purpose of business is to generate maximum returns for its owners and shareholders. So therefore should the business pursue all activities that en...
Business Ethics - Inside and Outside the Box
There are all kinds of companies out there that claim to have the best-trained individuals on the planet, like those individuals with their Masters De...
Translator Ethics: A Real Responsibility
Ethics? Translators dont need to worry about ethics, do they? When most people think of ethics and professionals, they tend to focus on people like ac...
Are Your Business Ethics a Quart Low?
One definition of Business Ethics is conformance to accepted professional high standards of conduct.Most businesses have prepared, documented, and pub...
Two Views of Social Responsibility
Government regulation and public awareness are external forces that have increased the social responsibility of business. But business decisions are m...
Business Ethics Training - Why Important?
Many people wonder if business ethics is just a buzzword that has been tossed around lately, due to some of the aggressive tactics we have seen them a...
Business - Ethics - And The Law
The primary objective of a business is to make money. Why would an individual or group of people start a business if he did not want to make money? An...
What is Business Ethics?
The word ethics comes from the Greek word ethos meaning conduct, customs or character. Ethics addresses the implementation of concepts such as respons...
Business Ethics and Unethical Practices
The study of business ethics and its implications for different stakeholders have seen tremendous growth in the past few decades. There has also been ...
Handling Ethics With Employees
How do small business owners deal with the real world situation when employees suddenly up and quit their posts? It frequently happens with little or ...
Putting Ethics Before Business
Some people believe that ethics is of little concern to business people. Ethics is ethics and business is business. When faced with an ethical dilemma...
Ethics And Business - What About Civic Responsibility?
The question whether business and ethics are mutually inclusive remains to be one of the most controversial yet rational, reasonable and relevant topi...
How Poor Business Ethics Led To The Collape Of Enron Ethics
The Enron Corporation was one of the largest companies which sold electricity and natural gas, distributed energy and other services like bandwidth in...
When Ethics and Morality Are Separated in Business We All Lose
I recently heard a friend of mine had lost alot of money and was turning into a nightmare. He had run to an affair, he began to hit every transaction ...
8 Steps to Prevent Common Ethical Lapses in Organizations
A review of case studies of ethical problems various organizations have encountered show that many common ethical problems that organizations find the...
» Filed Under
Business Ethics Courses