There’s No Such Thing as “Business” Ethics is a book written by John C. Maxwell. The book was first published in 2003 by First Warner Books. Maxwell is a well-known expert in leadership and highly desired public speaker. The title of this book may leave one wondering about what Maxwell is trying to say with his book title. Is he saying all business is corrupt and without ethics? Or is he saying that ethics are not a requirement of business situations? The answer is no, Maxwell is expressing neither of those ideas. The author uses this title as an attention grabber. Maxwell is actually saying, and he enforces this idea throughout the book, that there is only ethics. There is no separate category for business ethics or personal ethics. It is simply ethics. The entire book is centered on The Golden Rule and how the rule should apply to business and personal situations. Maxwell uses stories, experiences and even religion to deliver his message on ethics. I, like many others, was drawn to this book because of the title. The title almost seems to give permission to be unethical, brushing off ethics as if it were nothing. This surprising title left me wondering about its true meaning. Is this published author really successful with this type of approach to ethics? For me, the title has a negative implication that required further investigation. My investigation was short. Maxwell explains in a short preface the story behind the title. He explains in one simple sentence.
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.
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
Shaw, W.H. (2014). Business ethics: A Textbook with cases, (8th ed.). Boston, MA : Cengage.
Clegg, Kornberger and Rhodes: 2007 'Business Ethics as Practice': British Journal of Management 18: 107-122
Desjardins, J. (2009). An introduction to Business Ethics (3rd Ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher education. pp. 26~41.
The author Robert Solomon argues that ethics has to an integral part with regard to business management. He does not believe that business management must include unethical or illegal methods to be able to succeed. Solomon preaches that business management is not as simple as obtaining revenue. “Businesses need to abide by fair policies and their owners have to be ethical in dealing with their customers” (Shaw p. 37). The author acknowledges that while illegal practices in business management could bring positive results at first, eventually the business is bound to fail. This is why Solomon recommended eight important policies that can help businesses in integrating ethics into their operations.
Business ethics is the application of right and wrong, good and bad in a business setting.
According to Omidyar & Branson (2016), business ethics are called as corporate ethics which is a set of rules that define the right and wrong behaviour. From the research, ethics are a form of applied ethic that can be used to evaluate whether the conduct of the people are considered acceptable and appropriate. Besides, business ethics are the collective values of a business organization that can be used to evaluate whether the behaviour of the collective members of the organization are considered acceptable and appropriate. In the most basic term, a definition for business ethics boils down to knowing the difference between right and wrong and choosing to do what is right.
“Business ethics is the application of general ethical ideas to business behavior” (Lawrence & Weber, 2017, p. 94), and it’s through these ideas that good, bad, moral, and immoral decisions are made based on the foundation and framework of how we view life.
Andrew C. Wicks – Business ethics: a managerial approach – Boston – Prentice Hall -
Business ethics is the principles and standards that define acceptable behavior in business organizations which is determined by customers, competitors, government regulators, interest groups, and the public, as well as each individual’s personal moral principles and values (Ferrell, Hirt, & Ferrell, 2013). Every business should present with ethical performance and socially responsible for the public.
Ethical standards in business are important for every leader to know and understand. The book Ethics 101: What Every Leader Needs to Know by: John C. Maxwell discusses ethics in the world today. When people make unethical choices, the reason they do because of three main pitfalls. People do what is most convenient to them, people tend to do what they must do to win, and people rationalize their choices with relativism. In this summary, Maxwell’s definition of business ethics will be framed, examples of ethical standards and guidelines, the meaning and contrast of ethical thinking and ethical behavior, and how to avoid these major pitfalls to live an ethical life. The
Business ethics is a vital element to the growth and success of any business. To be ethical means to have a system of moral principles. Ethics alone is a branch of philosophy dealing with values relating to human conduct, with respect to the rightness and wrongness of certain actions and to the goodness and badness of the motives and ends of such actions. To have business ethics you would take the meaning of ethics and apply it to the things that go on it the work place. We are going to take
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
Boatright, J. (2009). Ethics and the conduct of business (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ : Prentice Hall. ISBN: 9780205667505