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What is??business??ethics? Would you agree that ultimately??business??ethics??is a complete paradox, an absurd contradiction,??and therefore largely a pointless exercise? Introduction In different periods of time, scholars provide different focuses for business ethics: systematic focus at the beginning, while organisational focus followed and individual focus at present (Fisher and Lovell, 2006). Although focuses of business ethics at different period of time are different, the basic principle and standards of business ethics is along with the social morality standards acknowledged by the society.
However, being complex than social issues, commercial business involves diverse interests or benefits of different stakeholders and diverse different development objectives at different stages. Although the ultimately business ethics is a paradox, it cannot imply that ultimately business ethics is an absurd contradiction which is a pointless exercise. On the contrary, business ethics is useful in directing commercial business behaviour in both organisational and individual levels (Ferrell, Fraedrich & Ferrell, 2000).
In order to discuss the nature of business ethics as well as its exercise or function, this essay is going to discuss definition and nature of business ethics firstly. Following that, this essay will explain ultimately business ethics is a complete paradox but business ethics is not an absurd contradiction. Therefore, this essay will demonstrate that business ethics is not a pointless exercise. Business Ethics
According to Crane and Matten (2007), business ethics is a phenomenon rather than a paradox although it is inevitably has disagreements on ethical business activities or unethical business activities, there is agreement on the principle of faire trade. Therefore, Crane and Matten (2007) provide the definition of business ethics as situation, activity, decision making aspects inside business corporations in whether they are right or wrong. Although the definition is simple, there are more implications than simple definition.
First of all, the principle for right or wrong in business activities are in accordance with morally right or wrong, which is also in accordance with social normal moral standards. In other words, the right or wrong issue in business ethics does not involve the consideration on the business strategic development or financial strategy. Besides, the concept of business in business ethics not only refers to commercial business organizations such as commercial enterprises but also refers to diverse market commercial actors ranging from governmental institutions, NGOs, or even not-for-profit organizations (Fisher and Lovell, 2006).
This is because although not all businesses are involving in profit searching activities, their daily activities are mostly involved in commercial market. For example, no matter commercial enterprise or NGOs will face the issue of advertising during their marketing strategy (Parker, 1998); therefore, both of them should consider the faire competition principle in their advertisements, which is the reflection of business ethics. According to Epsetin (1989), the nature of ethics is the re-consideration of social moral as well as the behaviour choice of individual or organisations.
Actually, no moral thinking or choice will be explored in a vacuum, which means specific facts or environment will provide impacts on the choice. Business ethics will be helpful in identifying individual or organisation’s rights and responsibilities during their business behaviour and assess whether their thinking or behaviour is suitable comparing with other people or organisation in the business world. Therefore, business ethics is a choice or behaviour in the business world as a reflection of social moral reflection (Ferrell et al. 2000). Instead of providing an evaluation standard for every individual or organisation to following, business ethics is aiming at providing a process or a framework for business individual or organisations to identify and evaluate their business behaviours according to the basic moral principle and values (George, 2005). Business ethics is a special branch of social ethics and it is reflecting the basic principle of social morality in the business world.
Actually, business ethics is also the reflection of social system which is building on the acknowledged social value; also, business ethics is also directing the choice and behaviour of individual or organisations during their commercial business operation (Fisher and Lovell, 2006). Being considered with the conception of corporation social responsibility (CSR), business ethics focuses more on the overall result or the corporation performance with emphasis on individual or organisational behaviour’s impacts on those results.
Therefore, the major function of business ethics is to identify which right behaviour or action is for managers to choose. Therefore, Epsetin (1989) provides the framework for analyzing business ethics in following three levels: first of all is the systematic level to consider the performance the overall result of the business behaviour; second level is the intermediate level to consider ethical issues during business association behaviour; last level is the individual level to consider the individual or organisational behaviour.
Since 1950s, business ethics starts to pay special attention on business individual’s business behaviour. However, since the beginning of 21st century, this focus has changed into organisational business behaviour, which reflects the organisational behaviour has become the most important behaviour in society and impacts the society largely. With the impacts of organisational culture, mission or strategic objectives, organisations prefer to design the organisational structure or function from the perspective of profit maximum instead of social benefits maximum (Fisher and Lovell, 2006).
However, being similar with individual in business world, organisations also should follow the business ethics during their business behaviour, which is reflected through the behaviour of its board of directors or senior managers in decision making process or business operation behaviours. Although emphasis of business ethics has been changed from individual behaviour into organisational behaviour, it is not implicate less focus on individual business behaviour.
On the contrary, it pays more attention on the business ethics behaviour of leaders or managers of organisations especially during their decision making process. With CEO’s ethical thinking during business decision making process, the organisational culture will be impacted and led to a more ethical one. Consequently, not only CEO in the organisation but also managers as well as employees will perform ethically in their business behaviours (Hoffman and Frederick, 1993).
Therefore, organisational business ethics is not replacing individual business ethics but enforcing individual business ethics through mutual impacts. That is because organisational business behaviour cannot be alone without individual business behaviour; it is the trace of possible unethical individual behaviour to find out possible unethical organisational behaviour in business world. Ultimately Business Ethics is a complete paradox
According to Crane and Matten (2007), the issue of ultimately business ethics as a complete paradox involves the implication that there is no ethics or there can hardly be ethics in business: as Dunn (1991) states, the nature of business as well as the definition of ‘being wicked’ can provide the answer for whether corporations are inherently bad; or those unethical issues are normal which are exclude in social ethical standards. In fact, diverse scholars view the issue of business ethics from different perspectives.
According to De Geer (1994), the relationship between corporation and the society is connected through electronic power, which is also decided by the scale of the corporation. For those small corporate, they can keep their personality since they have limited impacts over the society; however, for those large corporations, especially those leading corporation in industry, they should keep a positive relationship with the society since society is the responsible of those large corporations.
While Kaptein and Wempe (1998) point out that it is necessary to perform bad in order to achieve excellent business objectives; besides, it is corporation’s responsibility to satisfy the interests or benefits of stakeholders. At the same time, under most circumstance, corporation responsibility can hardly resource to individual responsibility since so many individuals performs during the corporate behaviour. As a corporation, it has to divide responsibilities into different individuals; since individual behaviour can hardly be controlled, the business ethics can either hardly be controlled by the corporation.
Since individuals have their own benefits and interests, it is unavoidable for corporations to face the unethical behaviours during business operation process. Therefore, it is hard to achieve ultimately business ethics even there is basic standard or principle to follow. According to Bandura, Caprara and Zsolnai (2000)’s investigation on the issues corporate transgression, corporations are more or less involved in the unethical business behaviour of the individuals through the forms such as keeping silence or paying no notice; however, most of those unethical behaviours will result in loss of public benefits or interests.
Actually, it is not strange that people will consider ultimately business ethics as a paradox because of all kinds of scandals in commercial business world. For example, according to Dunn (1991), Borowski’s dumping toxic waste into the river costs him not only a penalty of environment pollution of $400,000 but also the sentence into jail for two years; other scandals are including children workers in developing countries, bribes behaviour during business operation or false advertising about the products or service. However, above scandals are not only unethical business behaviour but also immoral by social moral standards.
Therefore, above scandals can hardly explain the issue of business ethics especially the basic principle or standards since people can judge business ethics as good ethics or bad ethics when they are performing under such business ethics (Jones,?? Parker and ten Bos, 2005). Therefore, besides out immoral behaviour during the commercial business behaviour, the business ethics means that managers should find more options during the decision making process in order to find the most appropriate way or approaches to solve the problem according to social morality standards but also business ethics.
Business Ethics is not an absurd contradiction It cannot be understand that the consideration of business ethics during commercial business operation is meaningless since all commercial business activities require basic morality standards to follow in order to form an accepted business system for all actors to take part in, for example, honesty, co-operation as well as keeping words (Stark, 1994). This is because without those basic morality standards, it is impossible for the business operation going on.
For example, without the basic hypothesis of honesty, it is impossible for the director believing in managers’ decision making basing on the interests of the stakeholders; without trust between sellers and buyers, it is possible for the transaction to go on; or without co-operation between employees, it is impossible for them to carry on the work as team. While in the same way, it cannot be understand that above scandals in business operation implicates the absurd contradiction of business ethics.
On the contrary, the main function of business ethics is to provide answer for existence, such as why decision makings are ethical or unethical, or how to assess the business behaviour as ethical or unethical behaviour. Therefore, without systematic research on business ethics, it is hard for commercial business activities to keep on with vague standards or principles. Epsetin (1989)’s research focuses on the context of the United States and finds out the overlapping circles of business ethics, CSR as well as corporation social response.
These three concepts are motive notions deciding what is business ethics under different environment with different consideration in different period of times or different locations. For example, current business ethics cannot direct business behaviours in the 19th century even in the same country of US: not only the social morality standards are different but also the unethical behaviours are different. Along with the change of value or ethics, diverse value nowadays is changing the society with diverse business ethics standards and principles along with the social culture changing.
Business Ethics is not a pointless exercise Being an important issue in modern business world, business ethics attracts diverse actors’ attention. For example, consumers and NGOs are requiring more responsibility for enterprise basing on the principle of business ethics while the mass Media is also pressuring enterprise paying more attention on their business operation behaviours while unethical of those behaviours will be explored by media for the public interests seeking (Trevino and Nelson, 1999).
As a result, enterprise are pushed into performing under business ethical principles, while at least seems to be ethical under the social morality. However, besides those pushing factors, enterprise are also facing those pulling factors to perform under business ethical principles especially when assessing the business activities or for enterprise managers searching for the best decision for the business operation with consideration of the business ethics. Therefore, no matter it is push factor or pull factor resulting enterprise’s choice of performing thically, it is important for them to understand following positive reasons for their ethical behaviour choosing: First of all, along with the development of commercial business, modern enterprises are having stronger power in influencing the society; however, residents feel uncertain of the development of commercial business considering the issue of business ethics (Crane and Matten, 2007). Therefore, standards of business ethics will be positive for residents being aware of possible ethical results of commercial business behaviour as well as possible settlements for those problems.
Besides, through producing products or providing service for residents to satisfy their requirements, commercial business has the potential to contribute to the society through providing employment opportunities, paying taxation and explore the economic development of the society (Crane and Matten, 2007). Therefore, the contribution to the society authorises it the more important role in social ethical issues. At the same time, unethical business operation behaviour will possibly harm human health or social environment (Crane and Matten, 2007).
Therefore, business ethics can help the society understanding the reason for possible unethical business behaviour as well as the possible negative impacts of those unethical business behaviour; and the ultimate aim is to improve the society environment for human being. In addition, when considering the business ethics issue from the perspective of diverse stakeholders, the issue of business ethics will be more complex and challenging (Crane and Matten, 2007).
However, with the basic principle for business ethics, it is positive for managers making the right choice among diverse stakeholders’ interests and commercial enterprise can perform in a more ethical way. Moreover, not all managers in receive the education relating to business ethical issues (Crane and Matten, 2007). Therefore, the standard and principle of business ethics can help them identifying, analyzing business decision making from the ethical consideration as well as provide possible recommendations following the business ethics principle.
Also, business ethics issues are happening in commercial business worlds every aspect. For example, from the perspective of employees, they are facing unethical working performance by their colleagues or bosses and they feel great pressure from those unethical business behaviours according to their own moral standards (Crane and Matten, 2007). At last, business ethics can provide managers knowledge which is far more than social morality standards (Crane and Matten, 2007).
With business ethics knowledge, managers can not only improve their skills and competence in business operation but also improve their understanding of the society and improve their stronger competence in problem solving. Conclusion In conclusion, as a phenomenon rather than a paradox although it is inevitably has disagreements on ethical business activities or unethical business activities, there is agreement on the principle of faire trade, business ethics is the situation, activity, decision making aspects inside business corporations in whether they are right or wrong.
Although the issue of ultimately business ethics as a complete paradox involves the implication that there is no ethics or there can hardly be ethics in business, It cannot be understand that the consideration of business ethics during commercial business operation is meaningless since all commercial business activities require basic morality standards to follow in order to form an accepted business system for all actors to take part in, for example, honesty, co-operation as well as keeping words.
Therefore, no matter it is push factor or pull factor resulting enterprise’s choice of performing ethically, it is important for them to understand positive reasons for their ethical behaviour choosing. References: Bandura, A. , Caprara, G. V. and Zsolnai, L. (2000) ‘Corporate transgressions through moral disengagement’,??Journal of Human Values, 6: pp. 57-63 Crane, A. and Matten, D. (2007) ‘Understanding business ethics’, in Business Ethics, 2nd edition, Chapter 1 De Geer,??H. 1994) Business Ethics in Progress, New York:Springer-??Verlag Dunn, C. P. (1991), ‘Are corporations inherently wicked? ‘, Business Horizons, July-August, pp. 3-8. Epsetin, E. (1989) ‘Business ethics, corporate good citizenship and the corporate social process: a view from the United States’, Journal of Business Ethics, 8: pp. 583-595 Ferrell, O. C. , Fraedrich, J. ; Ferrell, L. (2000), Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases, Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Fisher, C. and Lovell, A. (2006), Business Ethics and Values, 2nd edition, London: Prentice Hall George, R. T. (2005), ‘A history of business ethics’, paper for the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, Santa Clara University Hoffman, W. M. and Frederick, R. E. (1993) (eds), Business Ethics: Readings and Cases in Corporate Morality, see General Introduction Jones,??C, Parker,??M and ten Bos,??R??(2005) For Business Ethics. London: Routledge Kaptein, M. ; Wempe, J. 1998) ‘Twelve Gordian Knots When Developing an Organizational Code of Ethics’, Journal of Business Ethics, 17??(8): pp. 853-869 Parker, M. (1998) ‘Introduction: ethics, the very idea? ‘, in M. Parker (ed. ), Ethics and Organizations Stark, A. (1994), ‘What’s the matter with business ethics? ‘, Harvard Business Review (May-June), pp. 38-48 Trevino, L. K. and Nelson, K. A. (1999), Managing Business Ethics: Straight Talk About How to do it Right, 2nd edition