...Business Morality AIU Online In an ever growing fast paced society with businesses popping up and flourishing comes the question to what is important, the people who work for and support the businesses or the money? For most businesses success is gauged based on product or services output and profit. This brings the question to what means brings the success? Does the business value morals? Does it display the type of ethics people expect? Businesses should operate with upstanding ethics and morals that show they value their employees as well as the consumers who are essential to the success of a business. Do businesses have an obligation to be moral? To ask that question one is asking if there is an authority telling the business what is right and wrong. To view a business overall as moral is questionable at best. More likely it could be said individuals within the business are moral. With that one needs to think more in terms of whether or not the business is ethical. Having good ethics, a system of appropriate and good conducts, are important for a business. It leads to good morale with the employees as well as showing consumers that the business is trustworthy. Some of the things to look at are the mentalities that drive a business. What motivates their way of thinking to set forth a set of ethics? Does it come down to one person and their beliefs or are a business’s ethics set by a collective standard? What is the basis for a company to decide what is good or bad...
Words: 966 - Pages: 4
...Values have always been important for organizations, but it has only been in the last decade that they have become important topics for organizational leaders to address. As competitive advantage became associated with a less controlling management style and organizations worked to empower more of their people, an important question was: What keeps people behaving in a way that supports the goals of the enterprise? Any thinking person would ask, “Will they accept responsibility? Empowering people who avoid responsibility is a good strategy for failure. One important answer was: Their behavior is significantly controlled by the code of acceptable behavior which governs their work lives, their code of ethics. This has popularly been called “organizational values.” The relevant definition in The American Heritage Dictionary is: Value...4 A principle, standard, or quality considered worthwhile or desirable.” They are organizational values because they are shared by large numbers of people in the organization. The fact that values are a “principle or standard” suggests they go beyond current desired pleasures, such as having a drink or quarterly profits. Indeed Collins and Porras in their book Built To Last (1994) found that values contribute not only to success, but long-term survival. There are many shared values in any group and knowing which are the most important or fundamental is necessary to diminish confusion. A work group may value: getting to work on time; being cheerful;...
Words: 311 - Pages: 2
...statement “What is morality in any given time and place? It is what the majority then and there happen to like, and immorality is what they dislike” (Solomon & Higgins, 2009, p.273). As for business, it can have ethical standards, even though businesses are not moral agents. This statement is true because to work well, any business has to incorporate an element of morality. Morality in business is evident when a company provides equal opportunities for all employees. As a result, morals in a business setting act as a guide for employees and managers to work conscientiously. The value of ethical standards in business is that it provides employment opportunities for potential personnel without putting into consideration such aspects as sex, race, sexual orientation, religion, age, nationality, and color. If business adopts the above ethical standards, it concurs with Whitehead’s statement of morality. The reason is that people will like this business and associate it with terms of work and consumer relations. In my opinion, the profit alone cannot be the bottom line of business, even though it is essential for any commerce to make a profit to prove that it is operating in the right direction. To be successful, business has to balance its goals and client service as vital aspects that contribute to a good return. The most significant goal of business is to make money, but there are other less tangible goals that are intrinsic. For instance, when business initiates a good relationship...
Words: 940 - Pages: 4
...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 morality. Morality is a...
Words: 761 - Pages: 4
...the aforementioned phrases. However, what are they classified as? Do these expressions deal with morality, ethics, or both? Although these terms are often confused, morality and ethics are very distinct. On the surface this terminology may seem analogous, but their definitions are quite dissimilar. Morality and ethics are major components when examining the decision making of corporations. Despite having different meanings, morality and ethics are interrelated words that play a major part in business organizations. Morality The term morality deals with an individual or groups interpretation of what is right and wrong. In fact, it can be defined as the standards that a group or individual has about what is good and evil or right and wrong (Velasquez, 2006). Morals for the most part, are fairly unwavering within a group. The vast majority of people would agree that it is wrong or immoral to murder, steal, lie, or cheat. These are examples of moral standards. Moral standards are described as the types of behaviors or actions believed to be morally good or bad (Velasquez, 2006). There is also what is known as nonmoral standards. These principles judge what is good or bad in a nonmoral way such as good grammar or proper etiquette (Velasquez, 2006). In addition to understanding the meaning of morality, it is important to understand where these standards come from. Morality comes from many different influences in a person’s life. These standards are usually absorbed as...
Words: 1346 - Pages: 6
...adfh JIS S e c 3 (1 ) 2 0 0 7 Journal of Inform ation System Security w w w.jissec.o rg Ethics and Morality - a business opportunity for the Amoral? Ian O. Angell Professor of Information Systems Information Systems Department London School of Economics and Political Science London, United Kingdom Preamble It is common for speakers at computer security conferences to tell audiences that 'they should do' this, and 'should do' that. The word 'should' is regularly thrown about as some jumbled-up mixture of efficiency and ethics, without any justification of the imperative. This paper will concentrate on the ethical issues, and so it will quickly dispose of 'efficiency,' leaving detailed argument for another time. Then, taking the devil's advocate position, it will focus on demolishing the certainty behind the ethical obligation, by questioning the role of ethics in society in general, but specifically in computer security. Indeed this paper will claim that an unsuspected morality and ritual lies behind many real-world security choices and much so-called 'objective' academic analysis. Furthermore, it will propose that such moralistic positions are highly problematic, and that all recommendations phrased in terms of virtue rather than pragmatism be treated as highly suspect. This polemical paper formed the basis of a keynote address given at the 5th Computer Security Conference, held in Las Vegas on the 20th-21st April 2006. 4 Angell, JISSec adfh The quest for efficiency, where...
Words: 6215 - Pages: 25
...society or culture BELIEVES that some action is morally wrong, then it IS morally wrong for everyone within that society. Businesspeople often claim something similar. They say, for instance, that businesses operate under their own system of morality. What is deemed to be right by some business IS right for that business. This makes morality relative. For instance, if one society says cannibalism is morally wrong, while another says it is morally permissible, then the fact of whether or not cannibalism is morally wrong will just be a relative one—namely, whether or not it is wrong for someone will just depend upon which society they are in. We will now ask the question: Does some action become right or wrong just because one’s society, or employer, SAYS it is right or wrong? Or rather, is it the case that there are some moral standards that apply to ALL businesses and societies, regardless of whether or not those societies believe in those standards? 2. The Argument From Disagreement: Why believe that morality is relative? Relativists often say that widespread moral disagreement proves that their view is true. They say: 1. Different people have different beliefs about morality. 2. Therefore, there are no objective facts about morality. Lots of people disagree about moral issues. There are heated debates and bitter arguments between people, and wars between civilizations, over what the morally right and wrong actions are. The relativist’s claim is that this disagreement...
Words: 2510 - Pages: 11
...repercussions are too far reaching. In a business environment, a business should be more conscious of acting morally correct than any individual, because the number of live affected are incalculable. In a business environment, why should people be moral as individuals? Introduction Businesses should be morally responsible because the damage they can do is monumental. Businesses that do not act morally destroy lives; while these individual may not die their lives are irrevocably changed. For example, the collapse of a factory in Bangladesh in 2013 killed eleven-hundred people. This collapse was entirely preventable; had the owner not violated building codes and failed to respond appropriately to information that the building was not safe, the accident would not have happened. (Fortune, 2013) Furthermore, this businesses immorality not only affected those employees that died but the lives of their families, as well as all those whom witnessed the event. One will never know the extent of damage caused by immoral acts such as this one; the repercussions are too far reaching. In a business environment, a business should be more conscious of acting morally correct than any individual, because the number of live affected are incalculable. Deontological Ethics Deontological ethics is the position that judges the morality of an action based on the action’s adherence to the rules. (Merriam-Webster, Incorporated, 2014) This means that morality is what the law says it is; the law...
Words: 1085 - Pages: 5
...Essay On Morality & Ethics in corporate world In today’s world of development the company form of organisation is said to be the most beneficial one and after availing the development how to sustain the same is of much significance. Two important principles that could help one sustain the same are Morality & Ethics. In broader sense the terms morality & ethics are defined as under : Morality : It is differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are “good” and those that are “bad”. Ethics : It is a branch of philosophy that involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong conduct. So in order to develop an organisational structure that has a strong resistivity in the competitive edge, it must have the above said to principles at its base. Talking about morality and ethics in the context of a corporate world, it is must that a company that has development of themselves and the development of the country as its final mission it is surely got to have Morality and Ethics as is Milestone In today’s world economy there are many companies who claim that their morals and ethics are strong enough so as to guide the entire organisation and the nation as well. It is the duty of all the business entrepreneurs and the corporate entities to inculcate the feeling of returning the society what they want and in all the ways as is desirable. Being ethical in the business requires acting with an awareness of: The need for...
Words: 323 - Pages: 2
...14, 2016, for Thomas Santangelo’s B406 Business Law and Ethical Behavior course. Morals and Ethics in Society Morals and ethics in society play major roles in our lives and our work environments and I am more than happy to write this research paper to help explain the similarities and its key differences. And this research paper will also include where both morals and ethics derived from and what can cause both of these. How can ethics or morals affect the work atmosphere and even outside of work. And with ethics and morals the key difference is that ethics comes from the social system and can be an external factor, while morals can be derived from the individual and is an internal factor. Ethics can be linked back to the Greek word “ethos” (Diffen, 2016) meaning “character”. And according to Merriam-Webster the full definition of ethos “The distinguishing character, sentiment, moral nature, or guiding beliefs of a person, group or institution”. (Merriam-Webster, 2016) Ethical behavior can be motivated by self-interest, or some intuitive sense of right and wrong and this can stem from our social system which I briefly describe in the first paragraph is an external factor. And consequently there is no clear-cut blueprint of ethics that you can use to project your business’ reputation and well-being of your employees and customers (Small Business, 2016) With my ethics project I’m writing about having a medical marijuana business and an example that could be used is that...
Words: 1023 - Pages: 5
...Ethical and Moral Issues in Business Kenneth H. Niuman University of Phoenix Ethical and Moral Issues in Business How do you differentiate between ethics and morality.?How does ethics impact governance in business organizations. Ethics and morals may seem the same on the face of it, but if one were to analyze, there is definitely some difference. Morality refers to an adopted code of conduct within an environment and a set of agreed upon rules for what is 'right' and 'wrong'. Morals have formed the spine of modern society, religion and every individual's conscience. The conceptions changed in time and take on a new meaning. For example, killing a human being is immoral in any society but when on the battlefield soldiers are given medals for killing their enemy soldiers.. In a way, morality is in sync with ethics. While one is abstract in understanding, the other is defined and in the form of written code. Morality addresses the ethical queries on the moral outcome of a specific situation. The code of conduct formulated probes prohibitions, controversial behavior, standards of belief systems and social conformity of morally 'right' behavior. Moral codes define 'appropriate' and 'expected' activity. Community morality is usually defined via commentaries and codes of authority. Morality is better understood as an assimilation of beliefs about the essentials to lead a 'good' life. It is not to be confused with religious or fanatic or political preception. Moral codes are...
Words: 2559 - Pages: 11
...adfh JIS S e c 3 (1 ) 2 0 0 7 Journal of Inform ation System Security w w w.jissec.o rg Ethics and Morality - a business opportunity for the Amoral? Ian O. Angell Professor of Information Systems Information Systems Department London School of Economics and Political Science London, United Kingdom Preamble It is common for speakers at computer security conferences to tell audiences that 'they should do' this, and 'should do' that. The word 'should' is regularly thrown about as some jumbled-up mixture of efficiency and ethics, without any justification of the imperative. This paper will concentrate on the ethical issues, and so it will quickly dispose of 'efficiency,' leaving detailed argument for another time. Then, taking the devil's advocate position, it will focus on demolishing the certainty behind the ethical obligation, by questioning the role of ethics in society in general, but specifically in computer security. Indeed this paper will claim that an unsuspected morality and ritual lies behind many real-world security choices and much so-called 'objective' academic analysis. Furthermore, it will propose that such moralistic positions are highly problematic, and that all recommendations phrased in terms of virtue rather than pragmatism be treated as highly suspect. This polemical paper formed the basis of a keynote address given at the 5th Computer Security Conference, held in Las Vegas on the 20th-21st April 2006. 4 Angell, JISSec ...
Words: 6215 - Pages: 25
...and such other immoral behaviors. It is apparently a play that teaches about morality. Morality, according to Oxford dictionary, is defined as the principles of right and wrong behavior as well as goodness and badness of human character. Macbeth is all about how the characters deal with morality and how they face the consequences of immoral choices. Morality is universal and it is not only based on a society. It helps maintain law and order and serve justice upon the wicked. Morality sets order in the society because when people act according to their ethics misdemeanors will be eliminated. The perfect example of this would be Banquo. Banquo, although he hears his share of the prophecy, does not make haste to make it happen. He does not try to conspire or plot against the king. He adheres to morality and continues to fulfill his tasks. Although he does think about it and tries to talk about the witches’ words with Macbeth, he is not consumed by it as Macbeth is. Instead he says “…but still keep my bosom franchised and allegiance clear/ I shall be counseled” (Shakespeare 2.1.37-39) which means that he is not apprehensive about the matter. And another example of how morality helps people to act conscientiously would be when Macbeth becomes inept in carrying out the plot. He feels wrong about killing the king because he has been honored by the king. He says, “We will proceed no further in this business/ He hath honored me of late, and I have bought/ Golden opinion from all sorts...
Words: 766 - Pages: 4
...unethical conduct I would not have any customers and it would give my business a bad reputation. My business depends on my conduct because it is a small business that my husband and I run together. We put our customers first and listen to their needs. We also honor quality work and try to be understanding and take time to make each of our customers feel like they are special because they are special without them we would not have a business. I am not sure what specific benefits that I hope to receive from this class but I do believe that it will help me learn more about how to be a successful business owner. 1(B) Based upon what you have read so far, how do you think the study of ethics might be different from other courses you have taken? How does that modify your approach to the course? My Answer: I believe that it is going to be different because we are learning about ethics and conduct where with other classes we learned about what to do in a business such as accounting and such. With this class we get the chance to learn how to act and treat others in a business way. I believe that everyone who is a business owner should take this class to learn about how to suceed with a positive conduct and morals. It makes me want to pay closer attention and learn everything that I can because even tho I consider myself to be a very likable person I know that there is always something new to learn and in business things are a little different then it is with friends. 1(C) The Syllabus...
Words: 1551 - Pages: 7
...Morality (from the Latin moralitas "manner, character, proper behavior") is the differentiation of intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are distinguished as proper and those that are improper.[1] Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from acode of conduct from a particular philosophy, religion, or culture, or it can derive from a standard that a person believes should be universal.[2] Morality may also be specifically synonymous with "goodness" or "rightness." Moral philosophy includes moral ontology, or the origin of morals, as well as moral epistemology, or knowledge about morals. Different systems of expressing morality have been proposed, including deontological ethical systems which adhere to a set of established rules, and normative ethical systems which consider the merits of actions themselves. An example of normative ethical philosophy is the Golden Rule, which states that: "One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself."[3] Immorality is the active opposition to morality (i.e. opposition to that which is good or right), while amorality is variously defined as an unawareness of, indifference toward, or disbelief in any set of moral standards or principles. An initial naïve attempt at a descriptive definition of “morality” might take it to refer to the most important code of conduct put forward by a society and accepted by the members of that society. But the existence of large and heterogeneous societies raises...
Words: 1480 - Pages: 6
