name
teacher
Phil 322
12/9/16
ethics
There have been many companies in the past that have not been ethical when
conducting business. These companies and individuals, when exposed, are then
criminally charged because the law states that it is their social responsibility to be
ethical and benefit society at large. Business ethics is the “study of proper business
policies and practices regarding potentially controversial issues, such as corporate
governance, insider trading, bribery, discrimination, corporate social responsibility and
fiduciary responsibilities” (“Business Ethics” 1). It involves making ethical decisions in
business that are morally right over controversial issues. This means that an ethical
company would make the decision that is best for their customers and not what is best
for advancing their own interests; even if it means taking a short-term revenue cut to do
so. This is because there are many positives to being an ethical organization that
amount to more than the short-term loss of making the morally right decision. Social
responsibility, as described on Forbes, is the “idea that businesses should balance
profit-making activities with activities that benefit society; it involves developing
businesses with a positive relationship to the society in which they operate” (“Social
Responsibility” 1). Social responsibility and business ethics go hand in hand.
Companies have a responsibility to take care of their consumers and do what is best for
society at large; not advance the interests of the company. And business ethics is the
act of making that morally just decision in the eyes of the public and the government.
The world should be concerned with business ethics because it keeps the consumers
from being taken advantage of and it protects consumers from having to pay the price
for corporate misconduct.
Business ethics has been prevalent in nearly all of the topics we have discussed
in class. One topic we discussed was the Enron scandal. The Enron Scandal is known
