American Business Ethics
American diversity creates an ethical environment made up of a variety of ethical business codes. Americans often value and encourage individuality, which means that American ethics springs from innumerable moral standpoints. Certain business ethics are uniquely American, while others are common all over the world, but emphasized in America. Ethical codes in America often include socially responsible provisions along with other ethical requirements.
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History
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Until about the mid 1970s, American business ethics was a loose academic topic, discussed in conjunction with social ethics, but not considered a specific discipline. Societies based on social and business ethics began to emerge, and organizations such as the Social Issues in Management Division of the Academy of Management (founded in 1976) prompted awareness of ethical issues in American business. Business ethics took root and by a decade later, there were 20 textbooks on the subject and 500 college courses. The Society for Business Ethics was founded in 1980, touching off a culture of ethics that evolved to create the present-day American business ethical environment.
Theories
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American business ethics includes a great deal of commentary on social issues because of its roots in social ethics. Business ethical codes often place significance on the activities of a corporation and the activities of individual employees as representatives of their corporation. These activities fall into several lines of theory, and many organizations subscribe to more than one. Theoretical areas of responsibility may include environmental protection, honest marketing, leadership emphasis, quality offerings and financial culpability.
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Features
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As a nation founded and continuously developed by people from all over the world, an emphasis on the importance of diversity is one defining aspect of American business ethics. Ethical benchmarks are another common part of the American business environment. American ethical systems often function within a specially described framework, such as an official corporate code. These official codes provide benchmarks that help management and the public evaluate ethical standing and progress.
Types
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Some types of ethics are specific to the industry. Different types of industry-specific ethical sets include medical ethics, management ethics and legal ethics. Ethics could also be split into personal business ethics, sometimes called workplace ethics, and large-scale moral efforts, called corporate ethics. Both workplace and corporate ethics combine to create a business's moral climate.
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References
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