INTRODUCTION OF BUSINESS ETHICS

Introduction

 

Some years ago, one sociologist asked business people, "What does an ethic mean to you?" Among their replies were the following:

 

"Ethics has to do with what my feelings tell me is right or wrong." "Ethics has to do with my religious beliefs."

 

"Being ethical is doing what the law requires."

"Ethics consists of the standards of behavior our society accepts." "I don't 

know what the word means."

Definition & Nature of business ethics:

 

The term "ethics" is derived from the Greek word "ethos" which refers to character or customs or accepted behaviors. The Oxford Dictionary states ethics as "the moral principle that governs a person's behaviour or how an activity is conducted". The synonyms of ethics as per Collins Thesaurus are - conscience, moral code, morality, moral philosophy, moral values, principles, rules of conduct, standards.

Ethics refers to well- founded standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do, usually in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or specific virtues.

Ethics is a set of princ iples or standards of human conduct that govern the behavior of ind ividua ls or organizations. Using these ethical standards, a person or a group of persons or an

 

organization regulate their behavior to distinguish between what is right and what is wrong as perceived by others. It is not a natural science but a creation of the human mind. For this reason, it is not absolute and is open to the influence of time, place and situation.

Business Ethics

 

Business ethics is a form of applied ethics. In broad sense ethics in business is simply the application moral or ethical norms to business. Business ethics refers to a 'code of conduct' which businessmen are expected to follow while dealing with others. 'Code of conduct' is a set of

 

principles and expectations that are considered binding on any person who is member of a particular group. The alternative names for code of conduct are 'code of ethics' or 'code of practice'.

 

Business ethics comprises the principles and standards that guide behaviour in the conduct of business.

Businesses must balance their desire to maximize profits against the needs of the stakeholders. Maintaining this balance often requires tradeoffs. To address these unique aspects of businesses, rules - articulated and implicit, are developed to guide the businesses to earn profits without harming individuals or society as a whole.