Ethical standards in business can be divided up into three levels. These levels are law, policies, and individuals. In the United States, we are bound by laws. With these laws, we distinguish right and wrong, and what is accepted by the majority of citizens in terms of behavior. Businesses have to abide to these laws at all time. There are laws on wages and hours to protect employees, but there are laws on environmental responsibility too. For a business to be considered ethical, at first, they should always follow the law. The law however, does not always guarantee ethical conduct as there is a thin line between legal and ethical. A business might act legally but unethical at the same time. In this case, the business must see to that themselves if this is ethical or not. The second level is policies. Internal policies and procedures of companies play a part in whether a business can be considered ethical. Having a sound company policy enables employees and managers of the company to make decisions while ensuring they are not improper actions. The policies of a business should include the termination procedures, hiring practices, vendor …show more content…
Subprime lending means that people that have a lesser ability to pay the loan back at a higher than normal prime rate. On itself, this is not unethical. However, the companies that started implementing abusive tactics changed that. They started targeting people of low income, elderly, individuals with limited understanding of financial transactions, and minorities. The subprime mortgage lenders did not keep true to their fiduciary duty and the system was based on giving the broker a reward for closing a loan. Countrywide Financial is one of these businesses that had unethical practices. They used misleading marketing practices to sell mortgages with risky terms and hidden fees and basically steered borrowers into loans that were going to
Do you believe the ethical standards in America are generally increasing or decreasing? Give four specific reasons to support your answer.
The ethical considerations for any company are highly valuable and by far the important aspect of any company or organization. The decisions that any CEO or manger would make will have a lasting and heavy impact on everyone that belongs to the organization. I do believe that any company or organization that wants to be known as a great company in the business world has to follow all regulations not only from where they operate but also within their own
The problem to be investigated is the application of business ethics. In the business world, ethics are extremely important. Ethics are prime elements that help a business to grow and to become more productive. It is by applying proper business ethics that a business can operate in a moral or ethical business environment and managed to conduct all activities in a manner that maximizes profits while not compromising all other non-economic concerns(Schwab, 1996). Businesses have over the years failed to nurture business ethics in order to fulfill shareholders' interests and to have a culture that is oriented towards profit maximization and high performance(Jennings, 2012; Sims & Felton, 2006). This has led business to have gray areas in their activities. Gray areas are those situations or problems that do not fit exactly into any ethical analysis. These are the activities which may be represented to be immoral as a result of lying and false representations on the part of the business.
In the time of the Great Depression back in 1930’s, where a time where four million Americans had fallen into poverty. Then in 2008 the economy experienced a serious economic meltdown crisis and recession, at this time 44 million adults now live below the poverty line officially defined as an income below $10,830 for a single adult or less than $22,050 for a family of four (Shaw, 2013 p.132). The economy today in my opinion, where poverty is still a huge impact due to the cost of living going up but the income is not changing and it appears people are digging themselves into bigger holes.
Hartman, E. (2006). Can We Teach Character? An Aristotelian Answer. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 5(1), 68-81
Business ethics refers to the consideration of moral decisions and responsibilities in the process of operating a business. Business ethics, practiced throughout the deepest layers of a company, become the heart and soul of the company 's culture and can mean the difference between success and failure. Values drive behavior and therefore need to be consciously stated, but they also need to be affirmed by actions. Ethical business environments are created with foundations of integrity, accountability and commitment.
Three general principles will guide the move towards sustainability. Firms and industries must become more efficient in using natural resources; they should model their entire production process on biological processes; and they should emphasize the production of services rather than products. Versions of the first principle, sometimes called eco- efficiency, have long been a part of the environmental movement. "Doing more with less" has
Peter Crist is almost always correct. The reality is that if someone lies or covers stuff up, most of the time they will be found out eventually be it in two days or in 20 years. However, the reality is that some people do lie and cover stuff up in professional and personal situations and are never exposed. Sometimes this is because they're in a situation where dishonesty is prized, other times it's because the people around them turn a blind eye to what they see because they don't want to know the truth. Other times, it's because the person engaging in the dishonesty is so crafty and so quick that the trickery and subterfuge is almost inscrutable. However, the fact remains that Crist is correct. Often people are found out because those who are engaging in the trickery have so much hubris and so much arrogance that they engage in bolder and bolder moves, believing that they will never be caught. One example of that from the recent past is of Bernie Madoff. His crime was a simple Ponzi scheme which grew larger and larger in size and scale to the point where he couldn't help but be found out. In this case, the fact that Ms. Jones was found out was somewhat expected: she advanced to such a position of power within the institution that she was almost one of their public figures, which meant that her credentials would be under greater scrutiny.
Subprime loans are ethical tools which were wildly misused during the time leading up to the financial crisis in 2008-2009. Subprime lending targeted borrowers who would typically not qualify for standard loans for various reasons. These included low credit scores, low income, and history of late payments. The loans were offered at a rate higher than the market rate due to the increased risks of the borrowers. Many of the clients Countrywide supported were much less likely to be able to pay off their loans compared to traditional borrowers. In the years leading up to the financial crisis, the real estate industry was flourishing which encouraged even clients who could not afford fancy houses to use subprime loans to finance their homes.
Business Ethics are defined as “moral principles that guide the way a business behaves” (Businesscasestudies, 2017). In order for any business or individual to act in an ethical
Today ethical codes are widespread in the U.S. and found in about fifty-three percent of the largest companies worldwide. They are becoming more common globally as an increasing number of companies choose to adopt them. Scholars have observed that code content differs across countries and continents. LangLios and Schelgelmilch’s study of codes from England, France, Germany and the U.S. showed that British and European codes addressed government and customer relations less frequently than American ones. Kaptein also identified content differences among European, Asian and North American codes. He found that European codes focused more on the environment than American codes and discussions of honesty were more prevalent in American codes. Indeed, sixty-four percent of American codes addressed honesty compared with forty-five percent of European codes and thirty-eight percent of Asian codes. The concept of fairness was found more frequently in European and Asian codes than American ones. Cultural beliefs, values, and political norms are likely to have influenced these international differences in code content.
Ethics in the Lockheed Martin Corporation didn’t always have the message it has today. As I read through the book, Ethics at Work: Creating Virtue at an American Corporation, specifically chapter two, I came across some very interesting issues this corporation has had to deal with over the past few decades that go back to the 1920’s and earlier. In the following I’ll go over a few points that led to the development of Lockheed Martine’s current ethics program. Ill cover some ethics issues that were overcame on the way to a great ethics program. First let’s talk about the beginnings that started the Lockheed Martin Corporation so you can get an idea of the foundation of the company itself.
Ethics is defined as what is right and what is wrong. Every business should behave ethically. The moral principles that guide the way a business behaves are business Ethics. Ethics are moral guidelines to people or to an organisation which govern good behaviour. So behaving ethically is doing what is morally right. Doing an ethical business may always be not profitable but it will be more beneficial to company and the people involved in company as well as the people who are getting influenced by the company. If a company is acting ethically then it is trying to differentiate between right and wrong and then chose the right decision for everyone. It is very easy it identify any unethical
Business Ethics can be defined as the critical and structured examination of how people & institutions should behave in the commerce world. Furthermore, it particularises the involvement of examining appropriate limitations upon the pursuit of complete self-interest; however, this may also apply for firm profits when the actions of each individual or firm affects others in some form. If the business really has no ethics, it can be concluded that the environment will suffer since the intention of business growth is far greater than environmental responsibility.
1. The Sales Rep. A sales representative for a struggling computer supply firm has a chance to close a multimillion-dollar deal for an office system to be installed over a two-year period. The machines for the first delivery are in the company’s warehouse, but the remainder would have to be ordered from the manufacturer. Because the manufacturer is having difficulty meeting the heavy demand for the popular model, the sales representative is not sure that the subsequent deliveries can be made on time. Any delay in converting to the new system would be costly to the customer; however, the blame could be placed on the manufacturer. Should the sales representative close the deal without advising the customer