 |  Business and Society: Corporate Strategy, Public Policy, Ethics, 10/e James Post,
Boston University
Anne T Lawrence,
San Jose State University
James Weber,
Duquesne University
Ethical Dilemmas in Business
Chapter Summary- Ethics is a conception of right and wrong behavior, defining for us when our actions are moral and when they are immoral. Business ethics is the application of general ethical ideas to business behavior.
- Ethical business behavior is expected by the public, prevents harm to society, improves profitability, fosters business relations and employee productivity, reduces criminal penalties, protects business against unscrupulous employees and competitors, protects business employees from harmful actions by their employer, and allows people in business to act consistently with their personal ethical beliefs.
- Ethics problems occur in business for many reasons, including the selfishness of a few, competitive pressures on profits, the clash of personal values and business goals, and cross-cultural contradictions in global business operations.
- Similar ethical issues, such as bribery, are evident throughout the world, and many international agencies and national governments are actively attempting to minimize such actions through economic sanctions and international codes.
- Although laws and ethics are closely related, they are not the same; ethical principles tend to be broader than legal principles. Illegal behavior by business and its employees imposes great costs on business and the general public.
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2002 McGraw-Hill Higher Education