Ethics And Ethical Business Practices

Microsoft is the global leader in computer software, and well recognized in the field of corporate social responsibility and philanthropy. However, since 1990 the computing giant has been plagued by allegations of antitrust violations and monopolistic, non-competitive business practices. By answering the three questions posed in Part 5, Case 7 of Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases; this review will address how such a legal and ethical dichotomy is possible, and how the issues relate to one another in terms of corporate reputation.

Hartman, E. (2006). Can We Teach Character? An Aristotelian Answer. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 5(1), 68-81

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

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.

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

Microsoft is one of the largest software companies in the world and had been started up by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in 1975 , their Mission and value statements are to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Microsoft is known to be a limited company and Microsoft has become one of the big monopolies in the secondary sector. But what are ethics? Ethics are the socially accepted moral principles that guide decision-making, based on the collective belief of what is right and what is wrong. Microsoft has been ranked as one of the world most ethical companies in the world consecutively for 5 years. This is because large companies like Microsoft find it essential to maintain a good image of the company and be well reputed. Ethical businesses are ideal as they apply principles of honesty and justice to relationships with their various stakeholders. Since Microsoft is a large international business, employees and the business as a whole have to deal with situations where ethical decisions have to be made.

The word ‘Ethics’ is derived from the Greek word ‘ethos’ (character) and Latin word ‘moras’ (customs) (Senaratne, 2011). Ethics is usually based around a decision one makes to help us identify what is good and what is bad as well as guiding us on doing well and avoiding the bad. What’s more, ethics are like a code of conduct asserting moral guidelines, prevailing good behaviour. It’s also about relationships and how we treat others. There are many underlying ethical issues arising for instance, in the work place, health care, in schools and many more.

1. How would you advise Craigslist? Discuss the legal and practical issues involved and how they should be resolved, and explain why?

The ethical concept of distributive justice is probably the most difficult to understand as well as the most controversial of all ethical principles. Distributive justice is also the ethical dimension most likely to be unfairly exploited since it is based upon a concept of inequality. Distributive justice can be essentially boiled down to the idea that inequality may be considered a more thorough means to a utilitarian justice. A fair example of this would be the fact that those who have the riskiest jobs are paid more than those who do not. The risk is greater so therefore inequality of recompense is perfectly acceptable. The problem occurs when the inequality is less obvious. For instance, distributive justice is also used to justify the extraordinary gap

CyberCore Security Inc. Squared (CCSI2) is in business to create value for our clients, however, our true reason is to be of service to our country, our communities, and our fellow citizens. We do this through customer-focus performance in the products and services we provide with high quality and on time contracts. Honesty, service, integrity and accountability underline, permeate, and incorporates who we are and “what we do”. Ethical behavior is the foundation of our company and is mandatory from our employees beginning at “day one” in all their actions and activities and is expected from our business partners as well. We will not tolerate unethical behavior from anyone within the company or by anyone with whom we do business! Any employee violating our Code of Conduct will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination.

Determine the impact of this event on ARC’s “benefits of business ethics” (employee commitment, investor loyalty, customer satisfaction, and bottom line).

Shaw and Barry distinguish two different forms of utilitarianism. What are these two forms? Briefly describe each and use examples.

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

Microsoft was co-founded by Paul Allen and Bill Gates in 1975. Microsoft had a huge vision of putting a computer on every desk top and in every home. In June 1980 IBM approached Microsoft about a project called “CHESS”. They came up with a new operating system called MS-DOS this introduced a whole new language to the general public, since the system brought difficulty to people to read they set out to find a better way to make an operating system.

All started when Bill Gate and Paul Allen, two friends that as early as 13 years old started to mess around with computers, drop out of college to create their own business. This business founded April 4, 1975 is known today as Microsoft Corporation. Allen and Gates created a basic interpreter for computers, that was rejected by Digital Research, but later on IBM made a contract with them. The creation of the MS-DOS for IBM in mid-80’s gave Microsoft the high rock success that still last till this day, making them the dominant operating system for personal computers. Likewise, Microsoft became at a later time the leading business in office suite software better known as Microsoft Office.