Business Ethics
What is ethics? Ethics can be defined as a set of principles used by an individual to govern his or her decisions in an effort to ensure fairness and equality. Business ethics, as defined by the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is the applied ethics discipline that addresses the moral features of commercial activity. The same source also gives a history of business ethics which states that the concept as an academic principle is relatively young-only about forty years old; but in general is as old as trade itself. In this paper, the following aspects of ethics will be discussed: Ethical issues faced in business; recent trends in business ethics; international considerations in business ethics; quantitative techniques and ethics.
Ethical Issues faced in Business
I think it is safe to say that the majority, if not all, of businesses nowadays, have a code of ethics. Employees and Employers are expected to avoid conflicts of interest, not to accept bribes or gifts that may be misconstrued as a form of bribery and to refrain from the sale and/or purchase of information. There are also environmental policies, as well as those policies put in place to protect employees. According to www.rsrevision.com two of the main issues faced by businesses, in relation to ethics are whistleblowing and espionage. Whistleblowing, as defined by the same source, is when an individual within a particular organization, takes upon himself or herself to inform the authorities when the business behaves unethically. Although the definition makes it sound very cut and dry, unfortunately it is not that simple. The individual usually has many things to consider before he or she ‘blows the whistle.’ Often times, they lose their job, and may or may not be compensated. The business is harmed and the extent cannot be gauged which in turn can affect co-workers.
Espionage is defined as the use of spies by a corporation or the like to acquire the plans, technical knowledge, etc., of a
Ethical Issues faced in Business
I think it is safe to say that the majority, if not all, of businesses nowadays, have a code of ethics. Employees and Employers are expected to avoid conflicts of interest, not to accept bribes or gifts that may be misconstrued as a form of bribery and to refrain from the sale and/or purchase of information. There are also environmental policies, as well as those policies put in place to protect employees. According to www.rsrevision.com two of the main issues faced by businesses, in relation to ethics are whistleblowing and espionage. Whistleblowing, as defined by the same source, is when an individual within a particular organization, takes upon himself or herself to inform the authorities when the business behaves unethically. Although the definition makes it sound very cut and dry, unfortunately it is not that simple. The individual usually has many things to consider before he or she ‘blows the whistle.’ Often times, they lose their job, and may or may not be compensated. The business is harmed and the extent cannot be gauged which in turn can affect co-workers.
Espionage is defined as the use of spies by a corporation or the like to acquire the plans, technical knowledge, etc., of a
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