Business law concepts and applications

Business Ethics Business Law

Business ethics are a very important part of the entire business process. It is important to have a firm understanding of the ethical rules of the game in order to perform the best. The purpose of this essay is to discuss and highlight some of the more important effects that ethics plays in business and business law. The essay will discuss the corporation's role within society and what is to be expected from ethical and honest business practices in today's extremely competitive environment.

The Importance of Business Ethics

Polder (2011) wrote of the very high level of importance that companies and corporations must carry when considering their ethical approach to business and business laws and regulations. She wrote " business ethics concerns itself with the choices exercised by the people in organizations in terms of decisions and actions. Some choices are considered to be good and some are not. But there are no standard definitions. A lot of the choice depends on the perspective of what is good for the business and from whose point-of-view." This author explained how no one unifying set of ethical principles can be used in different situations.

Too often business is worried about the greater good of society and applies an ethical approach that is too harsh or too restrictive. Businesses should recognized the importance of survival and self preservation. Incorporating an ethical stance where the company and the company's interests are the top priority, may not win many friends and neighbors, but will most likely guarantee a spot atop the most profitable companies within a market.

Corporate Responsibility

The free market is a purely consensual activity where it takes two parties to complete any deal. Corporations wishing to develop a useful ethical approach to their business must realize that no one is being forced to buy products and services. This "buyer beware" approach has been in the consumer psyche for many years and should serve as a guiding principle for everyone's ethical approach. More importantly, corporations must abide by existing law only when they realize they cannot find a loophole or escape from avoiding it.

The law's definition of responsibility varies from case to case and it is important that corporations and business organizations understand that an ethical approach is merely a tool and not an end to determine responsibility in many cases.

Karnani (2010) suggested that companies are not responsible for finding solutions to social problems. He wrote "very simply, in cases where private profits and public interests are aligned, the idea of corporate social responsibility is irrelevant: Companies that simply do everything they can to boost profits will end up increasing social welfare. In circumstances in which profits and social welfare are in direct opposition, an appeal to corporate social responsibility will almost always be ineffective, because executives are unlikely to act voluntarily in the public interest and against shareholder interests."

The essence of business markets is not about cooperation, but competition . Stifling competition would be a most unethical act and strike at the heart of the true freedom and responsibility that comes with the free market. Corporations are essentially doing society a favor by challenging them into making the right decisions for themselves and their family. It is an impossibility that business can or should mandate the free will and decisions of other human beings.

The law has mandated certain ethical demands within corporations to confuse the scenario. Corporations, are themselves, treated very much like individual people and the term "corporate personhood" carries much weight in the legal systems today. The lines are being blurred to what a corporation or business really is and how much weight it can carry in society. To many the corporation is more important than the individual and an ethical reformation may be necessary.

Guthrie (2012) added some much needed light on this discussion when he wrote "having assured their personhood, corporations are now being asked whether their court-awarded rights have legitimately laid the groundwork for the responsibilities of citizenship. The men who created this country abhorred the idea of a monopolistic corporate class becoming dominating government and the people. "I hope we shall crush… in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country," wrote Thomas Jefferson in 1816." It appears the time has come within the law to either reattach our ethics to a past, or develop a new ethical standard that represents more modern challenges and problems.

Developing Ethical Solutions to Business Law Problems

Businesses and corporations owe it to themselves, their workers and the market to continually find new ways of achieving competitive advantage. There is no excuse for these organizations to leave anything on the table, after all to know what is enough, one must know what is more than enough. Ethical developments must evolve alongside society's ever changing fads and demands. The market is dictated by demand and supply. Human nature is fickle and understanding its fluid and plastic attitudes towards laws and ethical standards should comfort those in business who are troubled by ethical challenges.

Luckily for corporations, the law itself is a large market and can be used as an ad hoc ethical approach. In truly free markets, monopolies should never arise unless it is earned. Lawyers using confusing and complex litigation techniques can amply substitute for any formal ethical program or plan in many organizations. America and its business models, whether we like it or not, was built on breaking rules and ignoring past ethical standards that had enslaved many of the settlers that came to this land.

Freedom is the only ethical approach that is truly necessary in a business or business law environment. Freedom is very dangerous however and only those organizations who truly understand the responsibility that is associated with a truly "lassiez faire" mind set must be prepared to meet the disagreement that is sure to come. Freedom is what keeps markets going and gives purpose to business law as well. It is important that this ethical ideal is safeguarded by protecting and respecting everyone's right to consent or not to consent when participating in capitalism.