The assignment for this week is to conduct an analysis and review of the text Business Ethics by Denis Collins. That chapters chosen for analysis in this essay are chapters two and three. Chapter two deals with the historical implications of how ethics has affected businesses. It talks about the idea of ethics a few hundred years ago as well as the economic system that operated without a guide on how behave ethically. Chapter three describes the process for finding ethical people to come work for you and once they are in your company, how to sustain their ethical decision making.
Historical Perspective on Ethics
Business ethics must be understood from a historical perspective to appreciate how the current economic system and regulatory system has evolved over time. (Collins, 2012) The idea of ethics has expanded slowly over time with more and more “stakeholders” being given particular rights when it came to business decisions. The text describes the evolution of ethics into a few key phases such as in pre-capitalist America, Adam’s Capitalism and the industrial revolution. Those moments give an ideal breakdown on how business ethics evolved into what they are today.
Most people define the beginning of America by Christopher Columbus’s quest to find a sea route to the east. European rulers had been using the land route for some time now and due to religious differences, they saw a need to find another way to conduct trade with the orient. Christopher Columbus secured funding and proceeded to sail west to find an alternative route. He did not find a direct route to the orient but what he did find was the vastly unexplored American lands at least to the Europeans. He concluded that the indigenous people would be easy to exploit an...
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This chapter is also interesting because of the sequential steps taken by companies who conducts ethics screens such as these. The more that I think about it, I was a part of such a screen when I joined the United States Army. They made sure that I was physically fit and morally sound. The code of ethics the United States has is almost spelled out in the oath of enlistment that we are required to take.
In conclusion, I want to continue to learn about the attempts of companies to attract and retain ethically and morally sound employees. This study will be very useful when it comes time for me to start my own business and I go through the same process of hiring people to work for and represent myself and the company.
Works Cited
Civil Rights Act of 1964, Pub.L. 88-352, 78 Stat. 241 (1964)
Collins, D. (2012). Business Ethics. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley
By proactively addressing ethical issues with a code of conduct, Raiders Inc. can set the standard regarding how they want employees to behave. Employee can be trained on the company code of ethics so they understand how their company expects them to respond. They can also train them on the biases of decision making, to make sure they are aware of the pitfalls that exist. (Robbins & Coulter, 2012)
The Ins and Outs of Ethics is a Business Week Online magazine article from May 13, 2001, it was written by Eric Wahlgren. In the article he interviews Michael Rion, the author of The Responsible Manager. Rion is also a leading business ethics advisor who consults many Standard and Poor’s 500 companies. In the article Wahlgren asks Rion why it is important for businesses to have a high ethical standard. In his responses, Rion explains that effective organizations utilize ethics programs to clearly define ethical expectations, resolve ethical issues quickly, and to remove moral constraints. Additionally, employees who understand how to deal with ethical dilemmas will also be more productive and have strong core values to guide them. According to scripture, Rions concepts are biblically sound, relevant, and desirable, proving that ethical organizational behavior is shaped and influenced by sound ethical principles.
Although the Americas were not discovered until the late 1400’s, there were many time periods in Europe that resulted in its discovery. The ones that stood out the most were the Crusades, the Renaissance, the rise of absolute monarchs, and the Commercial Revolution. Starting with the Crusades in the 11th century, it took hundreds of years for the age of exploration to begin. As the years went by, the Catholic religion, advances in technology, wealth, and power became important factors in the conquest and colonization of lands in Africa, Asia, and the Americas. European developments led to the discovery of America through religious, social, political, and economic causes.
Ethical behavior is behavior that a person considers to be appropriate. A person’s moral principals are shaped from birth, and developed overtime throughout the person’s life. There are many factors that can influence what a person believes whats is right, or what is wrong. Some factors are a person’s family, religious beliefs, culture, and experiences. In business it is of great importance for an employee to understand how to act ethically to prevent a company from being sued, and receiving criticism from the public while bringing in profits for the company. (Mallor, Barnes, Bowers, & Langvardt, 2010) Business ethics is when ethical behavior is applied in an business environment, or by a business. There are many situations that can arise in which a person is experiencing an ethical dilemma. They have to choose between standing by their own personal ethical standards or to comply with their companies ethical standards. In some instances some have to choose whether to serve their own personal interests, or the interest of the company. In this essay I will be examining the financial events surrounding Bernie Madoff, and the events surrounding Enron.
There were many European people that decided to come to America to gain new territory. These people included Spanish explorers such as Christopher Columbus and Hernan Cortes and English explorers such as John Cabot. All three of these explorers sailed to America in between 1490 and 1550. They helped create the country that we live in today and changed the culture of America drastically. Christopher Columbus first voyaged in 1492 thinking he was sailing to Asia. He wanted to trade with the natives for spices and gold but he also wanted to convert them to Christianity. John Cabot like Columbus was trying to find a water route to Asia but landed in Canada instead. Cabot was an English sailor looking for trade routes and trying to find new lands
For this paper Washington Mutual has been selected to show how the ethical decision making process can be achieve. When it comes to business ethics in the workplace Washington Mutual has designed what can be considered a well balanced workplace with behaviors that are aligned with their moral values and business ethics. Business ethics are sometimes depicted as resolving conflicts where one option can appear to be the correct choice. There are many different ethical dilemmas that are faced by managers and leaders everyday that are highly complex and have no clear choice or guidelines to assist in making the choices for resolution. There are times when an employee has to decide whether or not to cheat, lie, steal, or break their contract. These ethical decisions are real-life situations where they are forced to make on a daily basis. This is why it is ultimately important that all employee know the six steps to ethical decision making that the company uses.
Seawell, Buie 2010, ‘The Content and Practice of Business Ethics’, Good Business, pp. 2-18, viewed 22 October 2013, .
Throughout the course of day-to-day business life, the business professionals come in contact with quite a sum of ethical dilemmas. There are various ways to handle these ethical dilemmas, but failure to follow the appropriate manner could result in an unethical outcome. The ethical guides related to the book definitely help students develop an ethical character that is sure to stand out for highly ethical companies. In addition, there are companies that test how ethical applicants are before hiring them, this in turn makes getting the job more difficult and costly. However, despite the high cost and difficulty said companies stay firm to ethics, guaranteeing they get top-of-the-line employees who will act in an ethical manner. Ethics is defined
I discovered how sticking to one’s morals should be the topmost priority for everyone involved in business, whether personal or professional. Regardless of what the consequences may be, the intensity of the problem, and the complexities it may bring, sacrificing one’s integrity should never be an option, as integrity goes hand-in-hand with the morals of an individual (Duggan & Woodhouse, 2011). They further go on to say that having individuals take part in building a code of ethics that supports employee integrity, they will act ethically. Also, I believe that companies should place more emphasis on the moral behavior of their employees, and clear-cut policies should be set regarding such ethical situations. Furthermore, I realized how serving justice while making decisions really helps in the long run, and that opting to go for the ideal rather than they deserved is not always the best option, and could hurt a company in more than one
Economic activity always has an ethical aspect. No matter what type of business is taking place there is always an aspect of ethics. A business transaction occurs when people exchange a product or service for money. If the exchange is fair then both parties benefit and therefore both parties’ interests are served. Therefore this interaction between parti...
The most posing problems with the set routes to Asia, which went around the Cape of Good Hope and along the coast of Africa, were that it was very dangerous due to enemy colonies along the route and was also very long. These problems made some people, including Christopher Columbus, decide to turn to the west to find safer and faster routes to the riches of Asia. What they found was the Americas. Believing that he would reach Asia, Columbus accidentally found a new continent, full of new riches and unclaimed lands. All of this occurred near the end of the Renaissance, beginning with the founding of America in 1492, near the end of the 15th century.
Ethics in business is a highly important concept, as it can affect a company’s profits, salaries paid to employees and CEOs, and public opinion, among many other aspects of a business. Ethics can be enforced by company policies and guidelines, set a precedent when a company is faced with an important decision, and are also evolving thanks to new technology and situations that arise due to technology usage. Businesses have a duty to maintain their ethical responsibilities and also to help their employees enforce these responsibilities in and out of the workplace. However, ethics and the foundation for them are not always black and white. There are many different ethical theories, however Utilitarianism, Kant’s Deontological ethics, and Virtue ethics are three of the most well known theories in existence. Each theory is distinct in that it has a different quality used to determine ethicality and allows for a person to choose which system of ethics works best with both the situation and his or her personal ethical preferences.
In the business world there are many fundamental aspects and situations that can lead to several issues. In order to find an optimal and professional solution, business decision makers need to apply moral and ethical standards. And it is at that moment in which business ethics perform its role. Business ethics, which is in charge of examine how companies and individuals should act in business situations, is very essential in order to reach a common agreement and to work within the laws of business and solve an arisen dilemma. Working of the hand of ethical business companies, employees, investors, directors, and even individual officers can be beneficiated and obtain most favorable outcomes.
Ferrell, O. C., Fraedrich, J., & Ferrell, L. (2011). Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases. Mason, Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning.
Business ethics is defined as “a specialized study of moral right and wrong that focusses on moral standards as they apply to business institutions, organizations, and behavior” (Velasquez, 2014, p.15). Business ethics is the study of moral standards that focusses primarily on how these standards may apply to social systems and/or organizations. For this paper I will be focusing on one of the great minds of business ethics, John Locke, his ideas and contributions to business ethics.