...Running head: THE EVOLUTION OF BUSINESS ETHICS The Evolution of Business Ethics Ebony Thomas Ashford University OMM 640 April 6, 2015 1 THE EVOLUTION OF BUSINESS ETHICS 2 The Evolution of Business Ethics Ethics includes a mixture of one's beliefs and standards in civilization. Every person has their own perspective of ethics because every situation, person, and culture is different. According to Ferrell et al (2013), "business ethics comprises the principles, values, and standards that guide behavior in the world of business" (Ferrell, Fraedrich, & Ferrell, 2013, p. 7). In simpler terms, business ethics are a collaboration of both society's ethics of right and wrong and the people who work for and have any involvement in an organization ethics. Therefore, regardless of an individual definition of ethics, it is equally important in a business environment and practicing good ethical behavior can eliminate the potential of a hostile environment. Ethics has changed tremendously over the years in society as well as the business world. This research will take a deeper look into the evolution of business ethics. A further analysis of the development of business ethics over the past decades and examines how the rise of social issues played an extensive role. Further, a discussion on how these changes impact current business philosophies and reporting practices will be also be reviewed. Development of Business Ethics Business ethics derived from innumerable changes that occurred...
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...Ethical Issues Ethical Issues in Corporate America Larry Goodman Business 610/ Organizational Behavior Prakash Menon April 10, 2011 Ethical Issues 1 The purpose of this paper is to look at the Ethical Issues in Corporate America. This paper will address areas regarding why ethical issues are a major concern in organizations, what influences impact ethical behavior and how organizations can influence ethical behavior in employees. To complete this task outside resources, such as books and articles will be utilized. According to Wise Geek.com, Ethic is defined as, “the behavior that a business adheres to in its daily dealings with the world”. Ethic takes on many different forms with any organization, how ethics impacts employees is very important to the success and failure of the company. Organizations are more likely to achieve ethical success with the employees if the employees are properly trained to complete any desired task. Given the fact that the employees are not trained properly, makes them more likely to make a mistake or incapable of performing job duties, this is a condition that will influence the ethical behavior of the employee. Properly continued training will enable the employees an opportunity achieve better results and it will help the organization produce better products. The employer may utilize other areas to help drive desired ethical behavior. The employer may take steps to help increase the desired ethical behavior. The employer may use...
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...on ethics by the Santa Clara University, a number of years ago sociologist Raymond Baumhart conducted a survey asking people about what they think of ethics. The results showed many people linking ethics to their feelings, their religion and standards set by the society (Manuel et al, para. 2). Manuel Velasquez and other authors of an article published by the Santa Clara University on business ethics pointed out flaws in the responses. They believed that feelings sometimes deviate from ethics because a person may feel to do something that is not right (Manuel et al, para. 4). Moreover, they argued that most religions advocate high ethical standards, yet these standards cannot be identified with religion because if they were, they would have only applied to religious people (Manuel et al, para. 5). Finally, saying that ethics are standards that a society set was proved wrong as the standards of behavior in a society can diverge from ethics, considering Nazi Germany which was a society that became morally corrupt (Manuel et al.). This was what ethics are not. Then, what are ethics? Ethics are the well founded standards that are backed up by consistent and well founded reasons. These standards include rights, obligations, honesty, fairness, benefit to society or specific virtues. For example, the rights may include right to life and right to freedom whereas reasonable obligations may include abstaining from stealing and fraud (Manuel et al, para 7). The application of ethics is not...
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...Morality and Ethics in Corporate World In the business world, both ethics and morals are a requirement in the corporate world. Employees are face with moral and ethical issues each day people behave differently because they have their own special set of morals. This essay will discuss the differences between ethical and moral issues, the differences between personal and business ethics as well as provide examples of common ethical problems in business for each of the abovementioned ethics. An ethical issue when there is a conflict. In addition, a person’s personal ethics deals with he or she personally believes to be right or wrong. For example, a co-worker possing a fair with another co-worker, which against the company’s code of ethics and the spouse raises the question of his or her fidelity. The person believes there is no wrong with fidelity. At times ethical and moral clashes because everyone has different morals, obligations, and views are often ethical issues in the workplace or home. A moral issue is difference between right and wrong. For example, a co-worker has committed a crime by stealing food out of the freezer. The moral issues, do you report to your supervisor or not? In the business world, some co-workers will ignore the situation because not all situations are not easy resolve. As employees, there are guidelines and standards expected to follow if he or she decides to stay employed. Personal and business ethics are differing. Personal ethics depends...
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...In the business world, both ethics and morals are a requirement in the corporate world. Employees are face with moral and ethical issues each day people behave differently because they have their own special set of morals. This essay will discuss the differences between ethical and moral issues, the differences between personal and business ethics as well as provide examples of common ethical problems in business for each of the abovementioned ethics. An ethical issue when there is a conflict. In addition, a person’s personal ethics deals with he or she personally believes to be right or wrong. For example, a co-worker possing a fair with another co-worker, which against the company’s code of ethics and the spouse raises the question of his or her fidelity. The person believes there is no wrong with fidelity. At times ethical and moral clashes because everyone has different morals, obligations, and views are often ethical issues in the workplace or home. A moral issue is difference between right and wrong. For example, a co-worker has committed a crime by stealing food out of the freezer. The moral issues, do you report to your supervisor or not? In the business world, some co-workers will ignore the situation because not all situations are not easy resolve. As employees, there are guidelines and standards expected to follow if he or she decides to stay employed. Personal and business ethics are differing. Personal ethics depends highly on personal beliefs and loyalties...
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...the major ethical issues associated with conflict in the contemporary workplace? Option B 9/27/2012 HRMN365 \la In the earlier centuries, contemporary workplaces put all of their focus on making their organization grow; however in the twenty century there have been more and more major ethical issues such as Employee Behavior, Harassment, and Paying Employees Equally associated with conflict in the contemporary workplace. Since the rise of ethical issues in the contemporary workplace, it is no longer in the organization hands to enforce ethic training; Courts have made a decision that ethics training became a legal requirement “federal guidelines and state laws make it essential that you provide your employees with a compliance training program on certain laws and ethics-related topics” (Ethics Training Program & Corporate Compliance Training Programs, n.d.). Researchers haves said (Ferrell, O.C., Fraedrich, John and Ferrell, Linda, 2008) that by having an ethical workplace, your organization will benefit from it; it is the key to building an ethical work environment. “A compliance Training program will save you money by reducing the number of legal claims and the costs of investigating, litigating, and resolving those claims” (Ethics Training Program & Corporate Compliance Training Programs, n.d.). With organizations teaching and communicating their values and principles ensuring that employees know proper policies will also reduce some of the major ethical...
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...Law, Ethics, and Corporate Governance – LEG 500 | 201003 | Prerequisite: None | Quarter | Winter 2010 | Meeting Days/Time | Online course | Instructor | Dr. C. Phil Campos, MBA, JD | Instructor Phone | 214-202-8044 | Instructor E-mail | canuto.campos@strayer.edu | Instructor Office Hours/Location | 6pm – 7pm EST | Academic Office Phone NumberStrayer Online Technical SupportEcollege HelpDesk | 1-877-540-1733“As a student, you should choose 1 then 3 for academic issues from the automated menu.”1-877-642-2999“Used for problems entering the class”1-866-448-6703 or 1-303-873-0005“Used for problems once in the class” | INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIAL | Kubasek, N. K., Brennan, B. A., & Browne, N. (2009). The legal environment of business: A critical thinking approach (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson-Prentice Hall.Ferrell, O. C., Fraedrich, J., & Ferrell, L. (2010). Business ethics: Ethical decision making and cases (7th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company/South-Western/Cengage Learning.PLEASE READ SYLLABUS PART II in the Course Home tab, it contains important University policies.GETTING TECHNICAL HELPTechnical questions regarding eCollege or classroom issues should be referred to helpdesk@strayeronline.net. Or you may phone the helpdesk at 1(866)448-6703.If the question regards a Strayer system, technical support can be reached at 1(877) 642-2999. Any technical inquiries sent to the instructor will, as a matter of course, be forwarded to the Helpdesk...
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...Ethical Issues Ethical Issues - Why are ethical issues a major concern in organizations? What individual influences impact ethical behavior? How can organizations influence ethical behavior in employees? Use a recent article from the Wall Street Journal, or other reputable publication, for an example of ethical issues being addressed by a corporation today. Ethics is a major concern and plays a significant part of the US society it is a crucial part in the world of business. The Unique characterization of ethics all though it is part of law ethical behavior comes down to what is right and what is wrong ethically. This paper will look at ethical behavior within an organization. It will look at what is right and what is wrong ethically and moreover how it affects society within an organization. It will reflect on some history of ethics to describe and discuss ethical behavior. Ethical behavior can have an enormous impact either positive or negative, ethically, financially, and emotionally to the people who make up the organization. We will look at why is ethical behavior a major concern within an organization. It will look at the individual influences impact of ethical behavior. Finally, how an organization influences ethical behavior in employees. Ethics is a term that has existed in years before (BC) and continues to exist today. Ethics is philosophical moral treatment of the moral order. According to Socrates the ultimate object of human activity is happiness and...
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...The success of modern business is apparent, but recently there is much concern in the business-and-society literature and in the general press on whether business fulfils its social role responsibly. Business ethics, corporate social responsibility and corporate governance movements have been developed in recent decades as responses to a growing sense of corporate wrongdoing. This paper attempts to explain why the three movements seem yet to have generated little in the form of widely accepted prescriptions for improvement of business behaviour to the satisfaction of the “constituents” of business, i.e. the major stakeholders. Without denying the usefulness of any of the three movements, the paper suggests that there are weaknesses in all three, especially concerning the way they conceive modern business operation. To this end business pluralism, responsive codes of practice and re-examination of the assumptions (conditions) of business operation could be helpful. In the business literature there is a major strand that celebrates business strength and seeks formulae for success. This strand was manifested in the Scientific Management tradition dating from Frederic Taylor’s work in the early twentieth century (Taylor, 1911) and continued through the Human Relations studies of Elton Mayo that sought to find growth through taking care of the “people dimension” (Roethlisberger and Dickson, 1939). The tradition was further developed following the publication by Peters and Waterman...
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...TOPIC: identify a situation that may be objectionable on ethical grounds in an organizational perspective Business ethics (also corporate ethics) is a form of applied ethics or professional ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that arise in a business environment. It applies to all aspects of business conduct and is relevant to the conduct of individuals and entire organizations. Business ethics has both normative and descriptive dimensions. As a corporate practice and a career specialization, the field is primarily normative. Academics attempting to understand business behavior employ descriptive methods. The range and quantity of business ethical issues reflects the interaction of profit-maximizing behavior with non-economic concerns. Interest in business ethics accelerated dramatically during the 1980s and 1990s, both within major corporations and within academia. For example, today most major corporations promote their commitment to non-economic values under headings such as ethics codes and social responsibility charters. Adam Smith said, "People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices." Governments use laws and regulations to point business behavior in what they perceive to be beneficial directions. Ethics implicitly regulates areas and details of behavior that lie beyond governmental control. The emergence...
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...Legal and Ethical Issue The growth and development of internet use has influenced considerable innovations globally. More than a few organizations rely on internet use to operate and to enhance their productivity among other aspects. However, organizational planning in most organizations has recognized that malicious attacks, threats, and vulnerabilities are the major factors affecting organizations. Over the years, Amazon organization has been leading in terms of online business for many years. As a result, there are a number of factors that have influenced its growth and development. One of the major factors that has influenced the growth and development of the organization is effective strategic management. However, despite the growth and development of the company, research shows that the company has faced legal and ethical issues. The two major legal and ethical issues related to Amazon Company include contempt to intellectual property and confidentiality. This paper will describe legal and ethical issue faced by Amazon Inc. Com. Company Description Amazon is one of the major online retailer and other computing services that are normally used in businesses for the benefit of clients. One of the contributing factors of Amazon performance is its globalization. The impact of globalization has effectively enhanced the growth and development of more than a few factors within and outside the organization. The effect or impact of globalization has influenced...
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...Business Ethics across the World Have you ever measured that how different countries become closer to one another and it has produced alike views for countries that do business together due to globalization? Through the growth of globalization several ethical issues are getting exposure according to management teams. You can imagine if ethic is dilemma within the country then how about the issues that occur due to foreign language, diverse cultures and number of people involved grows to a global scale. This paper will identify ethical perspectives of two countries, India and China, and how these two articles contribute to understanding global ethics. It will also explain how china’s and India’s business ethics compare to the United States. In journal of business ethics (2009), article “A Chinese perspective: Business Ethics in China Now and in the Future”, describes that China has been at the forefront of growing concern, not only about its products and enterprises, but also about its business ethics. This article analyzes the state of ethics in business in China. China now manufactures or assembles over 50% of the world’s products. However, the world has been reeling from daily accounts of defective “Made in China” products. China has been at the forefront of growing concern, not only about its products and enterprises, but also about its business ethics. This article analyzes recent events connected with the Made in China label from the perspective of evolving Chinese business...
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...Business ethics can be defined as 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 are often guided by law, while other times provide a basic framework that businesses may choose to follow in order to gain public acceptance. Business ethics are implemented in order to ensure that a certain required level of trust exists between consumers and various forms of market participants with businesses. Business ethics are moral principles that guide the way a business behaves. The same principles that determine an individual’s actions also apply to business. A business should also follow relevant codes of ethics and codes of practice that cover its sector. Many companies have created voluntary codes of ethics and codes of practice that regulate practices in their industrial sector. These are often drawn up in consultation with governments, employees, local communities and other stakeholders. Acting in an ethical way involves distinguishing between “right” and “wrong” and then making the “right” choice. It is relatively easy to identify unethical business practices. Good business ethics should be a part of every business. The term business ethics came into common use in the United States in the early 1970s. By the mid-1980s at least 500 courses in business ethics reached 40,000 students...
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...Huddleston Human Resource Management 522 Ethics and Advocacy for HR Pro March 13, 2012 Discern how a more effective ethics programs and a more viable code of conduct could have mitigated the ethical issues faced by Nike Nike leads the world in the manufacturing and distributing of its athletic footwear and accessories. Nike is the brain child of Phil Knight and his former track coach, Bill Bowerman. The duo formed a company that would eventually become the leader in the athletic industry with the sales and manufacturing of athletic wear. The Nike brand is widely recognized by its catch phrase and its logo. Their marketing campaigns specially “just do it” helped it revive its brand image. The swoosh sign is recognizable across most of the world. This alone attributes for Nike's worldwide success. Overall, Nike keeps improving its product which helps to keep the population engaged with its brand. If Nike had a more effective ethics program and viable code of conduct, ethical issues could have been avoided by Nike. In the early 1990s, sports shoe giant Nike became the target of arguably the most intensive and widely publicized of these anticorporate campaigns up to that time (Conaway, 2011). According to Ferrell, ethics programs that provide guidelines outlining board responsibilities encourage compliance encourage compliance at the highest levels of the organization. Some of the minimum requirements for ethics and compliance programs are standards and...
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...Hotel Management Business Ethics HM 04/28 Module Handbook 2011-2012 Module Leader: Rakesh Katyayani Email: rakesh.katyayani@tajhotels.com rakesh.katyayani @ihma.ac.in HM 04 / 28 Business Ethics Introduction: This module examines the values and value conflicts inherent in the modern practices of the business world, investigates the major philosophical issues that challenge the conduct of ethics as a rational enterprise, exposes students to major traditions in philosophical normative ethics and applies those traditions to specific value conflicts in the business world. A critical thinking component is included in the course. Specific problems relating to topics such as corporate responsibility, employee rights, and the nature of the free enterprise system, environmental concern and ethical business practices. In deciding how to act, managers reveal their inner values, test their commitment to those values, and ultimately shape their characters. In general, Ethics is both an academic “subject” and a thoughtful way of doing things. Theoretical Ethics is that branch of Philosophy concerned with determining what is right (with regard to principles and actions) and what is good (what ends or ideals are worth pursuing and what values are worth holding). Practical Ethics is the art or techne (know-how) of figuring out how to make things better rather than worse with regard to concrete or actual situations. Business Ethics is a type of applied ethics. As such, it is...
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