Description of Business Ethics

Business ethics is defined as a moral concept, and constitutes a complex issue that continues to be debated throughout the business world. Defining the parameters of right and wrong is not a simple task, especially within the gray areas of business.

Parameters

Ethics, in its obvious form, entails conducting business with integrity and honesty. From small issues like filling out a time card to larger ones like determining pay scales overseas, operating a business in an ethical way is a daily struggle.

Obligations

Shareholders demand profitability, but the customer demands a superior product, thus creating conflicts for the business leader.

Global

TNCs (transnational corporations) are prominent in corporate America. Practices that are socially acceptable in foreign countries can be frowned upon or even illegal in the U.S.

Image

Public perception is a strong deterrent to unethical practices. Many large companies have lost sales when the public became aware that those companies were using child labor in their overseas factories.

Legislation

Because of the complexity of the subject of business ethics, the U.S. Department of Commerce has issued guidelines concerning corporate conduct, but there are very few actual laws on the subject.

Study

Leading business schools now teach ethics in their syllabuses, as the global economy brings the subject into greater focus.

Standards

Most corporations have created their own codes of ethics, and often require employees to attend seminars and sign ethics agreements as stipulations of their employment. Self-policing is one of the few ways for companies to enforce ethical conduct within their operations.