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Business Ethics and Social Responsibility
Business Ethics
Business Textbooks Boundless Business Business Ethics and Social Responsibility Business Ethics
Business Textbooks Boundless Business Business Ethics and Social Responsibility
Business Textbooks Boundless Business
Business Textbooks
Business
Concept Version 11
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A Brief Definition of Business Ethics

Business ethics is the written and unwritten principles and values that govern decisions and actions within companies.

Learning Objective

  • Recall the three disciplines of business ethics


Key Points

    • Ethics, broadly, is concerned with the meaning of all aspects of human behavior. Theoretical/normative ethics aims to differentiate right from wrong.
    • An organization's culture sets standards for determining the difference between good and bad decision making. Ethics in business is about knowing the difference between right and wrong and choosing to do what is right.
    • There are three intricately related parts to the discipline of business ethics: personal, professional, and corporate.

Terms

  • ethical behavior

    Business ethics (also corporate ethics) is a form of applied ethics or professional ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that arise in a business environment. It applies to all aspects of business conduct and is relevant to the conduct of individuals and entire organizations.

  • normative ethics

    A branch of ethics concerned with classifying actions as right and wrong, attempting to develop a set of rules governing human conduct, or a set of norms for action.

  • ethics

    The study of principles relating to right and wrong conduct.


Example

    • Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a form of ethical behavior that requires that organizations understand, identify, and eliminate unethical economic, environmental, and social behaviors.

Full Text

Ethics: A Brief Definition

Ethics is the branch of philosophy concerned with the meaning of all aspects of human behavior. Theoretical ethics, sometimes called normative ethics, is about delineating right from wrong. It is supremely intellectual and, as a branch of philosophy, rational in nature. It is the reflection on and definition of what is right, what is wrong, what is just, what is unjust, what is good, and what is bad in terms of human behavior. It helps us develop the rules and principles (norms) by which we judge and guide meaningful decision-making.

Business Ethics

Business ethics, also called corporate ethics, is a form of applied ethics or professional ethics that examines the ethical and moral principles and problems that arise in a business environment. It can also be defined as the written and unwritten codes of principles and values, determined by an organization's culture, that govern decisions and actions within that organization. It applies to all aspects of business conduct on behalf of both individuals and the entire company. In the most basic terms, a definition for business ethics boils down to knowing the difference between right and wrong and choosing to do what is right.

There are three parts to the discipline of business ethics: personal (on a micro scale), professional (on an intermediate scale), and corporate (on a macro scale). All three are intricately related. It is helpful to distinguish among them because each rests on a slightly different set of assumptions and requires a slightly different focus in order to be understood.

Pierre Omidyar, Richard Branson

CEOs must adhere to ethical standards

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