...Ethical and Moral Issues Gary L. MGT/216 May 26, 2011 Ethical and Moral Issues In this paper the writer will answer what is the relationship between ethical issues and moral issues, what are the differences between personal ethics and business ethics, and provide examples of common ethical problems in business for each of the previous questions. Ethics can be defined as first, “a set of moral principles or values,” and second, the principles, norms, and standards of conduct governing an individual or group. Now, the first definition can be portrayed as highly personal or relative and the second generally focuses on conduct. Morality, on the other hand, consists of rules of human behavior and specifies that certain actions are wrong or immoral and that others are right or moral. The moral point of view can be taken to evaluate human action. Some actions, such as murder, are recognized as being immoral. Others, such as helping one’s neighbor, are generally considered moral. The relationship between ethical and moral issues is essentially considering the difference between ethics and morals, morals define personal character, while ethics stress a social system in which those morals are applied, simply, to be considered ethical or unethical depends on what if any morals are compromised. Ethics can be observed from two different viewpoints, personal ethics (individual) and business ethics (group). Business ethics point to standards or codes of behavior expected by the...
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...Running head: Moral and Ethical Issues Paper Moral and Ethical Issues Barnone MGT/216 February 3, 2011 Prof. Plum with the candlestick moral and ethical issues PAPER The news today is full of sensational reports involving scandals. Stories of abuses of power, bribery, corporate mismanagement, stealing and other disgraceful behavior constantly assault our consciences day after day, leading us to question the place morals and ethics really have in today’s world. For a business to be successful, morals and ethics are paramount (DeGeorge, 2010). All stakeholders in a business must be able to define, maintain, and defend the ethics of their organization. After carefully reading the first five chapters of Managing Business Ethics, I will now take the time to define differences between ethical issues and moral issues, the differences between personal ethics and business ethics, and then provide relevant examples of common ethical problems in business. Morals and Ethics are often used interchangeably, referring to a certain code of acceptable behavior within a social context. However, there are subtle differences. Moral standards are determined by a society as a whole. These are the standards of right and wrong that individuals are born into, perceive growing up, and are defined in adulthood. Ethics are a modified from these same standards, applied to an organization. Simply worded, ethics...
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...Ethical and Moral Issues in Business Steven Colon MGT/216 August 16, 2011 Mike Moreno Abstract In the following paper one will know about what an ethical issue is and a moral issue is, and examples of an ethical and moral issue. One will also learn about personal ethics and business ethics and how they are similar, but different. Ethical and Moral Issues in Business People have always questioned whether ethical issues and moral issues are the same, or if personal ethics, and business ethics are different. In this paper one will be able to see the differences between ethical and moral issues, the differences between personal ethics and business ethics while reading about real-world examples of common ethical problems in businesses for each of the above. Ethical Issues Many people believe that ethical issues and moral issues are the same thing, but in reality they are not. “our definition of ethics—the principles, norms, and standards of conduct governing an individual or group—focuses on conduct” (Trevino, & Nelson, (2007), p. 13). An ethical issue will require an individual or organization to make a decision between alternatives that must be weighed as an ethical or unethical decision. An unethical situation would be someone sacrificing people’s safety to obtain the completion of an assigned objective. Moral Issues “When we speak of morality, we refer to our judgments of right and wrong, and good and bad” (DeGeorge, (2010), p. 24). Moral...
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...Ethical and Moral Issues in Business Barbara Douglass MGT/216 February 5, 2011 Brigitte Culberson-Austin Ethical and Moral Issues in Business Ethical and moral issues have been an issue since the dawn of civilization. It has never been more important than how business deals with these issues. Ethics and moral behavior is essential to any successful business and its environment. Morals and ethics are two separate entities, but depend on each other for successful decision making. Sometimes the line between morals and ethics can become blurred and making the right decision can be difficult and not as clear-cut as one would think. Understanding the differences between ethics and morals and moral and ethical behavior is relevant to decision making. Differences between Ethics and Morals Understanding the differences between ethics and morals may be difficult for some. At times they can be confused for one another. Morals values are standards of right and wrong. Morals are taught over our years of growing up. These could consist of right and wrong behavior when we are children or right and wrong sexual issues as teens and young adults. These are generally instilled on us by our parents or our religious beliefs. Ethics is applying our moral standards to our environment. Our decision to do something that we consider immoral may not be unethical and our decision to do something unethical is not necessarily immoral. Personal Ethics versus Business Ethics ...
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...Ethical and Moral Issues in Business Robert Morrison Mgt/216 January 23, 2011 Gail Kelson Ethical and Moral Issues in Business Some people believe that ethical and moral issues are alike, but in all reality they vary in context as well as determined by the situation. Ethical issues can form in companies, organizations, government entities, and in individuals. The difference between ethical and moral issues Ethical issues are problems or a situation, which requires a person or organization to choose between alternatives that must be evaluated as right or wrong. Most ethical issues are not limited to situations just within companies or organizations but can, and often do involve individuals. Morals have a concern with one’s goodness and badness of the human action and character of that person to which it may apply. Everyone develops morals from the time of birth through turning into a young adult. Morals come from achievements and failures and beliefs of family members, friends, coworkers, and anyone else affiliated in the individual’s life. A person’s morals can be formed...
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...Ethical and Moral Issues in Business MGT/216 Ethical and Moral Issues in Business The purpose of this paper is to explain the difference between ethical issues and moral issues. Ethics are standards of behavior, which depending on a person’s profession must be adhered to such as legal, medical, or the workplace. Ethics dictate what socially acceptable behavior within a social system is and sets the standards for what is right and wrong. Examples of ethical issues are discrimination, sexual harassment, and conflicts of interest. Morals refer to the understanding of what is right and wrong as well as what is just and fair and the actions taken. Morals define a person’s character and conform to social beliefs. Moral issues are one’s actions on those set standards. One may know that morally something is wrong but are considered to be ethical if one keeps their word or promise made. On the other hand one may morally feel so strongly on an issue that the ethical code of their profession is set aside and is violated. The difference between personal ethics and professional ethics are the actions one may take in response to different situations. Personal ethics are the set of ethics that an individual personally believes in and holds true. Professional ethics are rules, laws, or codes that professionally must be adhered to. Sometimes personal and professional ethics can conflict with each other forcing individuals to choose between what...
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...Ethical and Moral Issues in Business Michelle Ayuso Wienke MGT 216 August 8, 2011 Ethical and Moral Issues in Business In business today ethical and moral issues are very common. These types of issues are frowned upon and in some cases have extreme consequences but, they are still happening in businesses everywhere. Morals and moral issues can be difficult. Everyone has different morals and values that influence the decisions they make. Ethics are a set of rules and guidelines that are generally accepted and are supposed to be followed by everyone in an organization. Morals and ethics go hand-in-hand for the most part but, there are differences between the two, especially in a business setting. Ethics are more of what the public views as right and wrong. Morals on the other hand are more on the personal level of what is right and wrong. No matter what the setting ethics and morals are connected. When a code of ethics is written for an organization morals play a part in the process. In most cases a code of ethics in what is generally accepted. Ethics are different from one company to another but, there are many similarities. This would not be the case for morals. Since morals are more personal, everyone has a different perspective on what is moral and what is not. Ethics and morals influence decisions people make both in business and personal settings. A good example for showing the difference between morals and ethics in a business situation would with a defense attorney...
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...Running head: Ethical and Moral Issues in Business * Ethical and Moral Issues in Business MGT/216 * Ethical and Moral Issues in Business * In this paper I will address the following topics: the differences between moral and ethical issues, the differences between business ethics and personal ethics and list some examples of ethical issues in today’s business environment. The line between morals and ethics may seem blurred; however, some differences between the two do exist. Morals are defined as one’s personal values or beliefs. These values are typically established by religious beliefs or family influences. Ethics are defined as guidelines for behavioral standards. These guidelines are usually set in place by a specific group or groups of people. For example, businesses usually have a specific code of ethics that may differ from a religious group’s code of ethics. What is acceptable for one group or organization may be unacceptable to others. Business ethics are defined as codes or guidelines used to govern behaviors and practices within any given company. Typically all companies abide by a written code of ethics. These codes are used to ensure that employees understand and practice acceptable behaviors in the workplace. Usually a company’s code of ethics is influenced by the culture surrounding that business. In the business world, personal ethics will sometimes be put aside for the greater gain of the...
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...Ethical and Moral Issues in Business MGT/216 Dr. Linda Rose October 10, 2011 Business Ethics Perspective Ethical conclusions are made about actions or situations that are right or wrong, good or bad. One indication that an action or circumstance needs an ethical rather than simply a business judgment is that the action or situation involves real or potential harm to someone or some thing. Another indication would be that there seems to be a possibility of a violation of guidelines set forth by the company that would generally be considered right or good. This paper will discuss what business ethics is and explain three ethical issues within today’s business environment that impacts the community and an organization. I will differentiate between ethical issues and moral issues, as well as personal ethics and business ethics. Problems involving discrimination, harassment, and conflicts of interest are common occurrences of unethical practices in many organizations. These issues stem from our beliefs on what is ethical and moral; the difference between personal and business ethics. By definition ethics is a term that refers to the principles of right and wrong that individuals use to make choices to guide their behaviors (Rainer & Turban, 2008, p. 96). However, business ethics is not a separate ethics that restrict businesses in a way that other human and social activities are not controlled. Ethics studies...
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...Ethical and Moral Issues in Business Dawn Sandell Robbins MGT/216 February 14, 2011 Carolyn Flynn Ethical and Moral Issues in Business The words ethical and moral are often considered as being one in the same. Although the meaning may be closely related in some aspects, the two have different meanings. While something may be ethical or legal, it may conflict with one’s personal beliefs and morals. It’s hard to imagine that one might not know right from wrong. Honestly, think about it. Are we not molded and nurtured to know what is socially acceptable? Were we not brought up knowing that it is wrong to lie, cheat, and steal? In this paper, I will define the differences between ethical issues and moral issues as well as the difference between personal ethics and business ethics. Ethics can be defined as the principles, norms, and standards of conduct that govern an individual or group in which focus is on conduct (Trevino, Nelson 2007). Ethics is considered to be a science of conduct by many philosophers and is the ground rules by which we live our lives. The rules, code of conduct, policy or handbook is typically a written form of the ethics in which a business expects its employees to follow and behave. Generally these rules are what most would consider normal rights and wrongs, dos and don’ts. An ethical issue might be a situation that concerns right and wrong where values are in conflict (Trevino, Nelson 2007). As mentioned in the opening of this...
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...Discussion Week 1 MGT 216 Nathan Schmidt Discussion Week 1 What is the difference between morals and ethics in the workplace? Might something be ethical but immoral? What about unethical but moral? Which is more important to an organization, to be ethical or moral? Why? Morals and ethics relates to individual character, ethics, and morals but also applied in business world. Ethics stresses a social systems to which application of morals that influences ethical behavior at work whereas morality consists of rules of human behavior and specifies that certain behavior or actions are wrong or immoral and others are right or moral (De George, 2010). The decision’s one makes, whether it is for personal or professional reasons falls into either an ethical or moral decision making category. Morals define personal character. Moral decisions are based upon the beliefs of the individual while ethical decisions are guidelines, standards, and laws that affect the business professional’s decision-making process. In an ethical climate, people are held accountable and decisions are made based on what is in the best interest of the company or its employees and not what nets the greater financial gain for an individual at the expense of the company’s ethical fiber. Issues that arise in business can sometimes be ethical but immoral or vice versa. Business organizations face ethical and moral decisions daily. Ethics in business are central in the organization as it provides standards...
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...Ethic Issues in Business Barbara Condoluci University of Phoenix MGT/216 Organizational Ethics and Social Responsibility Group MU10BSB06 James Walker Jr., BSCS, MBA_TM January 10, 2011 Ethical and Moral Issues in Business What is business ethics? For owners and upper management business ethics is treating the consumer and the employees fairly. They must make sure the customer receives quality merchandise or service for a fair price and the employee receives fair pay for an honest day’s work. There is also laws concerning lunches and breaks, reasonable accommodations for lunch and break areas, and working conditions. The employees also have a responsibility to act ethically on the job. This is where their personal morals and standards show. Lying, steeling, cheating all can be temping if there are no personal morals present. Many employees do not realize that showing up late for work and lunch break is stealing hours and do not believe that they are doing anything wrong. This is relatively small in comparison to all the millions that have been stolen in various other ways, but nonetheless, it is still wrong and unethical. Such as selling defective merchandise or sloppy service. A business owner or manager with moral values could not with good conscience, let the customer walk away with a bad experience. Ethical issues and Moral issues Ethics are a result of applying moral values to our lives and our business practices. Ethical issues...
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...Ethics Issues Kimberly Crockran MGT/216 May 10, 2010 Kenneth Popp “What is business ethics”? According to BNET Business Dictionary (2009), business ethics is a system of moral principles applied in the commercial world. Business ethics provide guidelines for acceptable behavior by organizations in both their strategy formulation and day-to-day operations. An ethical approach is becoming necessary both for corporate success and a positive corporate image. Following pressure from consumers for moral ethical and responsible business practices, many organizations are choosing to make a public commitment to ethical business by formulating codes of conduct and operating principles. In doing so, they must translate into action the concepts of personal and corporate accountability, corporate giving, corporate governance, and whistleblowing. There are numerous ethical issues that affect our community and organization. In the remainder of this paper, we will discuss three ethical issues within today’s business environment that affect our community and organization. The first ethical issue that affects our community and organization is discrimination. Discrimination occurs when an employee suffers unfavorable or unfair treatment because of race, religion, national origin, disabled or veteran’s status, or other legally protected characteristics. According to Trevino and Nelson (2007) racial, ethnic, religious, or sexual stereotypes can creep into the behavior or even the most sophisticated...
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...Ethical and Moral Issues in Business MGT-216 10-23-2010 Ethical and Moral Issues in Business Businesses and individuals face ethical dilemmas on a daily basis. We all have to have some level of concern for the decisions that we make in life because our decisions affect others in many ways. Businesses definitely have to care about ethics because their employees depend on them to help define the boundaries of acceptable and unacceptable behavior (Managing Business Ethics, 2007). Individuals face moral issues as well as ethical issues. People are motivated by economic and moral concerns. We, as individuals, have to care enough about each other to make ethical and moral decisions throughout our lives. Most times, the decisions that individuals make will affect others in one way or another, so it would be wise to think things through before making any unethical or immoral choices. Some individuals believe that there is no huge difference between morals and ethics, but there is. Morals define personal character, while ethics stress a social system in which those morals are applied. This means, ethics point to standards or codes of behavior expected by the group to which the individual belongs (www.wisegeek.com, 2010). An example of an ethics would be if the CFO of an organization allowed the accounting clerk to record payments received from clients, write checks and perform bank reconciliations every month. In the accounting world, this would be deemed unethical because...
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...Ethical Issues Cari Bentsen MGT/216 July 5, 2010 Chandra Arthur Abstract In this report I will address some of the ethical issues of business that people face in their everyday lives at home, work, and school. Three ethical issues that people face in their everyday lives will be addressed in this paper. The three ethical issued are discrimination, employee layoffs, and sexual harassment. These three ethical issues are only some that people face in today’s workplace and in the environment on a day-to-day basis. Business 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 business organizations (Wikepedia, 2010). Ethical issues such as layoffs, discrimination, and sexual harassment are just a few of the issues companies are facing each day. Employee layoffs are ethical issues that companies are facing with today in this struggling economy. An employer may lay off an employee because he or she is not being productive or loyal to the company or the business isn’t doing well because of this struggling economy. Companies are finding themselves acquiring to cut costs and the easiest way to reduce costs is through employee layoffs. Sexual Harassment in the workplace is another ethical issue that should not be tolerated at any business. According...
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