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.
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All Microsoft employees are trained and undergo a course, which is available in 16 different languages and has a completion rate of more than 99%. This course involves training their employees in ethical business making which helps ensure that the business has high standards of conduct. Microsoft is a transparent business and we can see that because their standards of business conduct are easily available online and we can see fiscal report results. These can help other business’s improve on working towards being more ethical. Microsoft is a large company that has an influence over billions of people over a large scale so they have a lot of responsibility when it comes to being ethical from providing human rights to being
Ethics has been around for a long time. Merriam-Webster defines ethics as rules of behavior based on ideas about what is morally good and bad. It is an area of study that deals with ideas about what is good and bad behavior. Ethics has much to do with feelings and beliefs. If you feel deep down in your heart that something is not right, then it you should not do it. The Bible says, “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin” (James 4:17 English Standard Version). Ethical business procedures include guaranteeing that the main legality is in place. Also, the company observes moral standards in its relationships with the people in its business community, which includes the most important people in their business, who are the customers. This report will discuss ethics in business, ethically transformed organizations; organizations preparation to make ethical decisions, ethical danger signs, and organizations that does business globally.
Even with this publicly ethical image, Microsoft has been mired in litigation since 1990, and has paid billions of dollars in legal settlements and fees to address allegations of anti-competitive business practices. Hollywood even jumped on the bandwagon with the 2001
Under this task I will explain the ethical issues that business needs to consider in its operating activities and how a business they could improve the ethical of their operations and also I will evaluate the influence of stakeholders exert in one company.
Abstract This case study discusses briefly the economic and legal issues pertaining to the antitrust case of the United States and a number of States against Microsoft.
Everything in life has a trade off. "Ethics is defined as the moral principles that govern a persons behavior." Ethics is constructed by society, and personal values, the purpose of code of ethics is that it gears all organizational conclusions, creating a groundwork in which all conclusions are drawn. This can benefit to build a sense of barriers through the organization. A well thought out code of ethics can assure a companies standing. Looking at the world of business and ethics, it is clear to see that there are many possible tradeoffs. One can be loyal to the company, and not have the best success, or one can be deceiving and manipulating in order to become rich and successful. The motivation for researching this topic is to see how the
Commencing in 1990, Microsoft was investigated and then charged with violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act which governs United States businesses. The company was determined to be a monopoly, and one which used anti-competitive practices to keep its leading edge on the market. As would most any organization on the receiving end of the allegations, Microsoft did not agree with the charges and sought to defend its business
The case against Microsoft was brought buy the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as several state Attorneys General. Microsoft is accused of using and maintaining monopoly power to gain an unfair advantage in the market. The case has been under observation for a long time, but the Justice department is having trouble coming up with substantial evidence against Microsoft. Specifically, the Department must prove:That Microsoft has monopoly power and is using it to gain unfair leverage in the market.And that Microsoft has maintained this monopoly power through "exclusionary" or "predatory" acts(Rule).Some say that Microsoft is only taking advantage of its position in the market and using innovative marketing strategies
Business Ethics is a set of moral principles applied in the commercial world. Business ethics provide guidelines for acceptable behavior by organizations in both their strategy formulation and day-to-day operations. An ethical approach is becoming necessary both for corporate success and a positive corporate image. Following pressure from
(Panza & Potthast, n.d.) Ethics is very important to a company’s success. Ethical behavior can bring benefits to a business. They can attract customers, which can lead to a boost in sales and profits. It can attract the right employees and increase productivity. It can also attract investors and keep the company’s share price high. Unethical behavior on the other hand can damage a company’s reputation and make it less appealing to stakeholders. It could also result in lower profits.
Today’s business world presents numerous ethical issues. In today’s world above board/moral ethics in organizations do not often materialize intuitively. Organization must strive to provide employees with a clear understanding of the overall company vision. This will aid employees in practicing the code of ethics, policies and procedures in the workplace. Companies must be unwavering in continuously delivering the uppermost ethics of provision in which customers, applicants and employees are entitled to under fair business practices. One major core value is to uphold responsible and fair business practices.
In my opinion Bill Gates is ethical in his business at Microsoft. He runs a successful corporation that makes a good profit and uses some of that profit and contributes to charitable organizations. The Microsoft Corporation is socially responsible and a profitable fortune 500 company. Bill Gates hast a postconventional level of moral development in that he motivated by universal principles of right and wrong. He balances his concerns for himself and his company with
Business ethics is a very extensive subject that is not easy to define. According to Andrew Crane and Dirk Matten (2004: 5), business ethics is the study of business situations, activities and decisions where issues of right and wrong are addressed. With an increasing globalization, environmental and social issues have amplified and therefore companies have to take full responsibility for the wrong impact their actions have. Gap pays a lot of attention to the social issues and challenges that large companies face, although it had some ethical issues in the past.
In their personal and professional lives, people can and, unfortunately, sometimes do go against their moral and ethical standards. Ethical standards are what it means to be a good person, the social rules that govern our behavior. Ethics in business is essentially the study of what constitutes the right and wrong or the good or bad behavior in the workplace environment. A business is an organization whose objective is to provide goods or services for profit. The organization has a group of people that work together to achieve a common purpose. The moral challenges that these men and women face each day along with a whole range of problems that could occur, are why ethics plays such an important
Microsoft Corporation is one of the largest and most influential companies in the personal computer industry. It has won several awards for innovation, for their commitment to diversity, and for their flexible work arrangements. It has always been a leader in the market with regard to its compensation. With 80,0004 employees across the world, having more than $15 billion revenue, it is one of the biggest and best‐known technology companies in the world.
Microsoft Corporation is one of the largest and most influential companies in the personal computer industry. It has won several awards for innovation, for their commitment to diversity, and for their flexible work arrangements. It has always been a leader in the market with regard to its compensation. With 80,0004 employees across the world, having more than $15 billion revenue, it is one of the biggest and best‐known technology companies in the world.