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One of the most interesting ethical dilemmas that continues to plague ethicists and policymakers is the struggle to reconcile the need for free enterprise with the need for social justice. Another ongoing ethical issue is related to organizational culture, shifting social norms, and whether individual actors in organizations define the tenor of the organization as a whole. Neither of these genuine ethical dilemmas can be resolved simply. The first bears itself out in what often appear to be glaring violations of every ethical principle and logical construct. Free enterprise has helped to bolster economic growth and development, as well as to empower individuals to innovate and contribute to society. Yet free enterprise has not been truly free, with access to power and resources constrained by factors like race (Kerr & Walsh, 2014), gender (Tufarolo, 2015), and class (Shin, 2014). Of these variables, race and gender remain salient barriers to achieving the full benefits of a genuinely free market economy. Whether a free market economy can ever reflect the ethical norms embedded in an idealized democracy remain to be seen. When governments constrain businesses on ethical grounds, as through legislation requiring equal pay, they risk short-term economic losses. In the long run, though, the profit-driven motives of capitalist...
The most extreme example of how this ethical dilemma has played itself out in the past was with slavery: which was first an economic institution that epitomized in the most exaggerated, gross way the injustices of exploitation and dehumanization of labor (Guterl, 2015).
Regarding the second ethical dilemma, organizations continue to grapple with issues like fraud and corruption, which are ultimately individual behaviors. However, company culture and even organizational policies may be designed to enable unethical behavior or at least to facilitate thee tendency to abnegate personal responsibility and accountability. The conflict between personal ethics and organizational behavior is borne out in the research by Cojuhuarenco, Shteynberg, Gelfland, et al. (2012). Cojuhuarenco, Shteynberg, Gelfland, et al. (2012) also show how gender and self concept impact ethical decision making as much as the normative ethical culture in the organization. An abundance of research reveals the detrimental effects of unethical behavior in organizations (Askew, Beisler & Keel, 2015). Given the deleterious effects of unethical behavior at…
Adam Smith's Economic Philosophy: Just as Smith's moral point-of-view was ahead of his time with respect to ideas that others would popularize later, Smith presented matter-of-fact observations on the nature of work and the relationship between working people and society at large. More than one hundred years before Henry Ford revolutionized modern industry with his production line, Smith had explained the mechanism that accounted for its success. Using the example of manufacturing
Give me that which I want, and you shall have this which you want, is the meaning of every such offer" (Smith, 1776, p. 118-119). The unintentional consequence is thee same as it was before: an increasingly respectable and thriving nation, one so much so that it is as if shaped by what Smith deems the "invisible hand," from which Smith thus concludes that "it is the necessary, certain propensity
(Smith, 1904) Smith on Labor The importance of the labor skills and the method of production of which the factor labor contributed the major share was the theme of the ideas of Smith. In the Wealth of Nations Smith argued that it was labor which created wealth and supplied the necessities - "The annual labor of every nation is the fund which originally supplies it with all the necessaries and conveniences
He deliberated that domestic investment generates higher income and jobs compared to investment made in foreign trade. Through choosing the backing of domestic to foreign investment, the capitalist planned exclusive his independent security and through propelling that industry in such a way so as to yield what might be of the maximum worth, he plans solely his self advantage, and hence in this manner as also in other problems,
Given the proper incentives -- the ability to profit from hard work and risk taking -- people will strive to do well. Give two or three examples of business competition in which everybody wins. What are the defining characteristics of such games (if any)? Could all (or business activities consist of such games? There are situations where one firm lowers its prices, competitors are likely to follow and everyone will see
Labor Ethics Labor and Ethics The concept of ethics in both business and labor is one rife with contradiction. Especially today, where the public has come also to expect a degree of dishonesty, corruption and exploitation at the hands of corporate abusers, the notion of ethical practice may seem almost quaint. But as the text by Collins (2011), entitled Business Ethics, demonstrates quite effectively, ethical practice is exactly what is called for