Business Ethics

Part One:
What is the Business Ethics?
Business ethics are moral
ss principles that
guide the way a business behaves. The same
principles that determine an individuals
actions also apply to business

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 Business Ethics

Ethics is a part of decision making

at all levels of work and
management
Just as important as functional areas
of business
Deals with questions of whether
practices are acceptable
No universally accepted approach for
resolving issues

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 Business Ethics Defined
Comprises principles, values, and
standards that guide behavior in
the world of business
Ethical decisions occur when accepted
rules no longer serve and decision
makers must weigh values and reach a
judgment
Values and judgments are critical in ethical
decisions
Principles:
Values:
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 Specific Issues

Misuse of company resources

Abusive behavior
Harassment
Accounting fraud
Conflicts of interest
Defective products
Bribery
Employee theft

4
The Reasons for Studying Business Ethics

Having good individual values/morals

is not enough to stop ethical
misconduct
Ethics training helps provide
collective agreement in diverse
organizations
Business ethics decisions can be
complicated
Studying business ethics helps
identify ethical issues to key
stakeholders
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The 1970s: Business Ethics as an Emerging Field

Business professors began to

write about social
responsibility
An organizations obligation to
maximize positive impact and
minimize negative impact on
stakeholders

6
 Organizational Ethical Culture

Ethical culture: The component

of corporate culture that captures
the values and norms that an
organization defines as appropriate
Creates shared values
Goal is to:
Minimize need for enforced compliance
Maximize utilization of principles/ethical
reasoning

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 Global Ethical Culture
Nations working together to
establish standards of ethical
behavior
NAFTA
MERCOSUR
WTO
Companies can demonstrate their
commitment to social responsibility
through adopting international
standards
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 The Role of Organizational Ethics in
Performance

Source:
Source: Adapted
Adapted from
from Business
Business

9
 Ethics Contributes to Profits
Corporate concern for ethical
planning is being integrated with
strategic planning

Corporate citizenship is positively

associated with

Studies have found a positive

relationship between corporate
citizenship and performance
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Well! I guess thats it, thank you for listening.

Thank you!!