The importance of business ethics in corporate responsibility

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.

Conclusions

While business law issues such as insider trading, corporate responsibility and other types of bribery are important and play a role in maintaining an order to the market, ethical approaches should not focus on these negative aspects. By emphasizing the freedom of choice and the responsibility that the chooser has when making that choice, creates a sense of security and peace that the market is truly free.

Too often regulation is ignored and those who were depending on it become disillusioned and angry. Eliminating any guaranteed level of protection within markets, not only promotes freedom and freedom of choice, but weeds out those who do not truly belong in those markets. Independence and freedom from rules and tyranny are the principles of this country and the free market that supports the American way of life. A fluid and malleable ethical approach is needed in these times to see through the distortions and weaknesses of the law and create a market where there are no expectations except freedom and honest competition.