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BUSINESS OBJECTIVE V. ETHICS Often ethical conflict between making money and doing what is right People in business claim they are bound only by law, not by normal norms Business is no concern with ethics Moral is personal matter

 Positive business ethics: i.e personal ethics, fairness, integrity, truth telling, dependability, business plan, values based.

ETHICS AND MORALITY Ethics Solomon ethics means character/custom How people ought to act - individual character Its basic concept: A.individual character a good person B. the social rules that govern and limit our conduct morality
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 Ethics means how people ought to be distinguish from morality which refers to human conduct & values. Ethics presupposes the existence of morality. The morality of society is related to its customs and law of society.

 Morality Rules of human behavior/human conduct and values Specifies certain act as wrong or immoral Action can be viewed from moral perspective including business Those practices & activities that are considered importantly right and wrong The rules that govern those activities The values that embedded, fostered or pursued by those activities & practices
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BUSINESS ETHICS Part of general field of ethics What is business ethics? A study what constitutes right and wrong/good and bad in business activities Thus, it is not the study of what is legal but of the application of moral standards to business decisions. Moral standard s are canons of personal behaviour that are neither legislated nor changed by legislation.
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AMERICAN MYTH OF A MORAL BUSINESS A popular & widespread view among American businessman It describes how American Business and businessman perceive themselves & are perceived by others. Business is concerned primarily with profit

 Business & people in business are not explicitly concerned with ethics They are not unethical or immoral Business is not expected to be concerned with ethics

RELATION BETWEEN BUSINESS AND MORALITY Business and moral are related Business is an important part of contemporary society Morality consist of rules of human behaviors & specifies that certain actions are wrong or immoral or vice versa Business presuppose a background of morality & would be impossible without it.
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 BUSINESS RESPONSIBILITIES Merely profit making or Social responsibilities? Narrow view profit maximization Frieman: business has no special responsibilities other than to maximize profits

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 Broader view corporate social responsibility Keith Davies: social responsibility implies that business decision maker in the process of serving his own business interests is obliged to take actions that also protect and enhance societys interest In this manner, harmony is achieved between businesss action and the larger social system. The businessman becomes concerned with social as well as economic outputs and with total effect of his institutional actions in society.
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