Ethics Paper � PAGE \* Arabic �2�
Ethics Paper
University of Phoenix
Kendra Pitts
FIN475
Stephanie Ramsey February 02, 2009
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Ethics and social responsibility are a part of everyday life around the globe. From the time a business begins, ethics and social responsibility play an important role in deciding what direction that business will take, and how the company will turn a profit. Ethical behavior is critical to strategic planning for businesses. In order to be successful, businesses must consider themselves a part of the business community, as well as society. Making money is not unethical; however, money cannot be the driving force of ethical thinking within a business
Ethical behavior is that which is morally accepted as good and right as opposed to bad or wrong in a particular setting (Merriam-webster.com, 2008). To whose standards the good and right, or bad and wrong are compared to, have yet to be determined.
Each individual who enters a company brings his or her own ethical behavior. This behavior may be ethical to some, but not all. Having a corporate guideline on expected ethical behavior is what assists employees in determining exactly where the line is in the ethical sand. Those who choose to stretch the interpretation of these characteristics within the ethical guidelines are the ones who find themselves out of work. A company who is not enforcing its own guidelines can find themselves facing a wounded, and not so forgiving, public.
Examining the statement "strict government regulations are necessary to make companies behave ethically" invokes concerns regarding why certain regulations were not already in place, and how companies could, and still can, get away with unethical practices. As of this year, poor ethical practices within the business world are still making headlines. For instance, the head of the Smithsonian...