...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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...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 group to which the individual belongs. This could be national ethics, social ethics, company ethics, professional ethics, or even family ethics. Personal ethics are determined by what an individual...
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...Creating an Effective Code of Ethics for Widget Tech Inc. 11/23/2009 David G. Montague | Summary Widget Tech Inc. is in need of update the company’s current code of ethics due to growth of the company and the changing workforce. Research has been conducted to revise the current policy and address topics that were previously overlooked. Widget Tech Inc. is a company that stresses both corporate and personal integrity. We not only comply with laws and applicable regulations; but we also strive to conduct our affairs according to the highest ethical standards. Employees are expected to be honest and forthright in dealings with managers, subordinates and with one another, as well as with clients, suppliers, government agencies and their employees, business partners and the general public. Widget Tech employees must maintain the highest level of personal integrity and encourage it in others; they must not lie, cheat, steal or do anything that would bring dishonor upon themselves or the company (SRA International, Inc. 2009). Review of Widget Tech Inc. Code of Ethics Table of Contents Summary……………………………………………………………………………………..………..2 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………….………..…3 How to Create a Code of Ethics………………………………………………..……....…3 Components of a Code of Ethics……………………………………………….……………4 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………….....5 Recommendation……………………………………………………….…………….…………….5 Sources………………………………………………………….………………….…………………….6 Introduction ...
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...Ethical and Moral Issues in Business Ethical and Moral Issues in Business Introduction When the topic of ethics and morals is brought up in a discussion, there seems to be some confusion concerning the differences. Ethics is a code of conduct that is to be followed in the business world as where morals are known to be the personal beliefs a person may have. This paper will discuss the many differences between the two as well as what the definitions are between personal ethics and business ethics. Ethical Issues Ethics is a word used to describe acceptable behavior of a member of a large group. Most businesses today have what is known as an Ethic Code of Conduct for the employees to abide by. An example of an ethical issue would be when young doctors take the Hippocratic Oath, they are agreeing to a code of ethical behavior that they will never knowingly harm a patient. “Without ethics, one’s actions would be random and aimless. There would be no way to work toward a goal because there would be no way to pick between a limitless number of goals” (Landauer & Rowlands, 2001, p. 1). Moral Issues “Morality consists of rules of human behavior and specifies that certain actions are wrong or immoral and that others are right and moral” (DeGeorge, 2010, p. 6). An example of moral behavior would be when a person is faced with making a decision that goes against that person’s moral beliefs. When certain circumstances arise and a decision has to be made, regardless of how...
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...LAWS 310 - WEEK 7 ASSIGNMENT: YOU DECIDE Widget Tech Inc. Code of Ethics Professor: Sheila Hostetler LAWS 310 Devry University Review of Widget Tech Inc. Code of Ethics Table of Contents LAWS 310 - WEEK 7: YOU DECIDE Summary…………………………………………………………………..………..3 Introduction……………………….…………………………………….………..…3 How to Create a Code of Ethics………………………………………….....…....…4 Components of a Code of Ethics…………………………………… .……………4 Conclusion…………………………………………………..…………………….....6 Sources…………………………………………………...…….…………………….7 Summary Widget Tech Inc. is in need of update the company’s current code of ethics due to growth of the company and the changing workforce. Research has been conducted to revise the current LAWS 310 - WEEK 7: YOU DECIDE policy and address topics that were previously overlooked. Widget Tech Inc. is a company that stresses both corporate and personal integrity. We not only comply with laws and applicable regulations; but we also strive to conduct our affairs according to the highest ethical standards. Employees are expected to be honest and forthright in dealings with managers, subordinates and with one another, as well as with clients, suppliers, government agencies and their employees, business partners and the general public. Widget Tech employees must maintain the highest level of personal integrity and encourage it in others; they must not lie, cheat, steal or do anything that would bring dishonor upon themselves or the company...
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...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 that form the moral integrity...
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...Today’s business world is experiencing changes concerning ethics. This paper will give an overview of the differences between moral and ethical issues pertaining to the business world and review differences between personal and business ethics. Finally, I will give real-world examples of common ethical problems past and present in the business world. According to DeGeorge, “Morality consists of rules of human behavior and specifies that certain actions are wrong or immoral and that others are right or moral” (p. 6). Issues of morality are often linked to religion. Moral issues can have serious or immediate effects. Moral issues deal with personal values established by individuals’ upbringing and background. Moral issues are also dependent upon ones social background. Moral views are on a broader level than ethics. According to Shaw and Barry, “Business ethics are mainly concerned with morality in the narrow sense.” Etiquette can have an interaction with morality depending upon the situation. Ethics is refers to a philosophy dealing with values relating to human conduct, with respect to the rightness and wrongness of certain actions and to the goodness a badness of the motives and ends of such actions (Gale, par 1). Ethical issues generally deal with the breaking of laws and rules established by a governing board for an organization. Ethical issues have become more complex because of global business world and different customs worldwide. Personal ethics are based...
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...ETHICS Introduction The behaviour of the practicing management accountant is prescribed and regulated by the management accountant's personal code of ethics, the code of ethics of the employer, societal norms, and the law. In addition members of the Society are regulated by the Society's code of ethics. As more organizations adopt codes of ethics, management accountants will increasingly be asked to design systems to control, evaluate, interpret or apply ethical judgement. The following develops the basis for forming ethical judgements. The management accountant fulfils four broad roles concerning ethics: 1. to ensure that management has developed and installed a comprehensive and internally controlled code of ethics. 2. to verify that the code of ethics and its controls are comprehensive and that everyone in the organization understands and complies with it. 3. to report to management any deviation from the code of ethics and its control systems. The Board of Directors may ultimately have to address any failures in the code or its controls. 4. to act in accordance with the code of ethics in making personal decisions. What are Ethics and Morals? Ethics are the rules people use to define and regulate moral behaviour. Morals distinguish right from wrong. Descriptive ethics are codes of ethics as actually practiced. Descriptive ethics provide no value judgements. Normative ethics, or moral reasoning, develops statements about whether a practiced ethical system is good or bad...
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...The development of a code-of-ethics: IT challenges Geraldetta Lovelace Northcentral University The development of a code-of-ethics: IT challenges The problem to be investigated is the development of a relevant and effective code of ethics to address the ethical use of and the ethical issues related to the use of Information Technology (IT). The use of IT, like every innovation that has the potential to change lives for good, also has the potential for harm, however IT “seems to create more ethical challenges than other kinds of technology” (Brooks, 2010, p. 2). To be proactive, ethical issues involving IT need to be addressed by educational programs as well as businesses and professional IT organizations. Discussed herein are ethical challenges presented by the four issues of concern identified by technology managers: security, privacy, intellectual property and electronic monitoring of employees (Brooks, 2010, pp. 1, 2). Security In this context, security refers to maintaining the integrity and confidentiality of data by putting protective measures in place to prevent destruction and/or unauthorized use. Security issues involve internal as well as external forces. Hacking is usually thought of as being an external force, but can be an internal force as well. Any act of accessing a computer system and/or information without the authority to do so is considered hacking. Whether the information attained is used for good or evil, is another issue and does not negate that...
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...Ethical and Moral Issues in Business Moral and ethical issues greet us each morning in the weekly paper, meet us at our jobs, and bid us good night on the nightly news. We are faced with the rights of the homeless and abortion, and sexual morality. Dealing with these moral and ethical issues is confusing particularly when people are trying to think through an ethical issue and defining what questions to ask and what causes should be reflected. The difference between ethics and morals can seem slightly logical to many. Morals describe individual character, while ethics stress a social system in which those morals are related. In other words, ethics point to principles or codes of behavior accepted by the group to which the individual fits. So while an individual’s moral code is normally unchanged, the ethics he or she practices can be other-dependent. An example of ethical and moral issue would be the ex-mayor of Detroit, Kwame Malik Kilpatrick. He used the city own cell phone to communicate with his child hood friend and lover to meet up for nights of intimacy or private talks. Mr. Kilpatrick illustrated adultery, disrespect to the people of Detroit and shame and humility to himself. In spite of all of that, Mr. Kilpatrick still have not learned his lesson by incurring new criminal charges with tax evasion with the federal government. A personal code of ethics is the heart of who a person is and his or her views. It's created on the rules and regulations an individual uses...
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...Code of Ethics Teresa Sieck ETH/ 316 July 2, 2012 Ed McCullough Code of Ethics A code of ethics is a collection of principles practiced and followed by management of businesses and corporations around the world (Spiro, 2010). A businesses code of ethics works with a company’s mission statement and policies of conduct that gives employees, partners, venders, and outsiders an understanding of what the company stands for and believes in (Boylan, 2009). It should address the differences or variations in both company’s industry and its broader goals for social responsibility (How to create a company code of ethics, 2012). It should be strong enough to serve as a guide for employees with questions to resolve issues on their own if needed (Trevino & Nelson, 2007). Wal-Mart is one of the largest corporations in the United States. As one of the largest corporations the company has a social responsibility to their employees, customers, and the community. The code of ethics works with and around these principals. Wal-Mart has three basic principles, 1) respect for the individual, 2) service to the customer, and 3) striving for excellence (What is Wal-Mart’s Code of ethics, 2011). The following is an example of what a code of ethics could be and what values a business may have. Vision Statement: People are assets not possessions; employees, customers, and communities should be treated with fairness, respect, honesty and integrity. The corporation’s global vision is to...
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...Preferred Letter Code of Business Brochure Title Alternate Letter Ethics: Brochure Title Our Core Values in Action Alternate Letter Brochure Title Alternate Letter Brochure Title Our Code of Business Ethics reinforces our core values and drives our culture of compliance, ethical decision making and accountability. Our core values shape the culture and define the character of our company. They guide how we behave and make decisions. Accenture will not tolerate retaliation against any employee who raises an issue or uses its Business Ethics Line (or any other appropriate channel) to report an ethical or legal concern. Employees who come forward with concerns play an important role in maintaining our ethical workplace and high-performance business. Contents Page 3 Page 6 Page 8 Page 11 Page 14 Page 17 Page 20 Page 25 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 How to Use the Code of Business Ethics: Our Core Values in Action Our Code at a Glance Client Value Creation One Global Network Respect for the Individual Best People Integrity Stewardship The Five Cs A Model for Making Ethical Decisions Responsibilities Index of Key Terms Visit the Accenture Business Ethics Line Visit the Code of Business Ethics website 2 | Accenture Code of Business Ethics How to Use the Code of Business Ethics: Our Core Values in Action Our Code is built on a foundation of our core values, illuminated by "action statements." Action statements describe the behaviors we seek and “key ideas” provide...
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...RUNNING HEAD: THE IMPORTANCE OF ETHICS IN THE BUSINESS WORLD BY Marie J.Lucel MAN 2604 International Business Submitted to: Professor McFarlane Donovan Department of Business Administration Broward College North Campus Coconut Creek, Florida April 01 , 2013 The Importance of Business Ethics in International Businesses Abstract Keywords: Business ethics, corruption, human rights, conducts employment practices, environmental regulations, conflicts of interests, General Policy and Procedures, and moral obligation of the multinational organization. Introduction Businesses are faced with very real ethical dilemmas where the appropriate course of action is not really clear. Some of these are the ethical obligations of a multinational corporation toward their employment conditions, human rights, environmental pollution .Understanding the nature of ethical problems and deciding what actions to pursue when confronted with .Ethical problems frequently occur in International Business. Basic human rights are not accepted in international business, which include freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of movement, freedom of political repression and so on. In international corruption is so widespread in some countries that politicians and bureaucrats regard it as a benefit of office and openly as break laws against corruption. Corruption is seen and treated as illegal, and when discovered, violators are punished by the full extent of the law. In some countries...
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...Professional Values and Ethics GEN 200 Professional Values and Ethics What is Ethics? Ethics can be defined as a branch of Philosophy that questions about morality, concepts of good and evil, right or wrong and justice. Then what is Professional Values? Professional Values can be the guide or beliefs that influence a person in a work behavior. Personal values are also related to your professional value because this is the person’s core belief. Professional values may change but the core belief will stay the same like loyalty, determinations and etc. Professional values and ethics can play big part in career success and at every level in the organization (Gauss, 2000, p. 89; Curtin, 1996, p. 63). The professional values and ethics of an organization can impact ones career positively or negatively. Each company or profession has a set of “rules” that give guidelines to how a professional in that field should act. These “rules” are known as the Code of Ethics. Many similarities exist between different professions when it comes to values and ethics. A few examples of these different codes of ethics include the profession of education, architecture, business, and medicine. NPA stated in the Code of Ethics of Architects, “The Architect is engaged in a profession which carries with it civic responsibilities towards the public, whether such responsibilities are the natural outcome of good citizenship or of his professional pursuit or whether they partake of informative...
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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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