Business Ethics

4 Pages 966 Words

CONTENTS
PREFACE, OR ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ii
INTRODUCTION n
I. Ethics: Boeing and Bell south Ethics policy 1 n
APPENDIX n
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY n

McLaws 1

Business ethics, I am writing my paper on business ethics, business ethics in society, and the ethics policies of Boeing and Bellsouth. I think to study business ethics you first have to understand what it is, business ethics defined is “The study of the general nature of morals and of specific moral choices; moral philosophy; and the rules or standards governing the conduct of the members of a profession”
Building on this definition, we can begin to develop a concept of business ethics. Most people would agree that high ethical standards require both business and individuals to conform to sound moral principles. However, some special aspects must be considered when applying ethics to business.
Let’s start with “What is ethics?” Simply put, ethics involves learning what is right or wrong, and then doing the right thing—but “the right thing” is not nearly as straightforward as conveyed in a great deal of business ethics literature. Most ethical dilemmas in the workplace are not simply a matter of “should Bob steal from Jack?” or “Should Jack lie to his boss?”
Many Ethicists assert there’s always a right thing to do based on the moral principle, and others believe the right thing to do depend on the situation—ultimately it’s up to the individual. Many Philosophers consider ethics to be the “science of conduct”. Twin Cities consultants Doug Wallace and John Pekel explain that ethics includes the fundamental ground rules by which we live our lives. Philosophers have been discussing ethics for at least 2500 years, since the time of Socrates and Plato. Many ethicists consider emerging ethical beliefs to be “state of the art” legal matters, I.E. what becomes an ethical guideline today is often translated to a ...