Ethical and Fair Decisions

Business Ethics The Case of Tobacco Industry Business ethics can be defined as the art, system, method and the discipline that is applied to along with ethical principles to solve complex business issues and dilemmas. It defines the actions that are taken that tries to reach a balance between the organization achieving its business and economic obligations and social obligations (Ferrell & Ferrell, 2009). For this paper, we consider the case of the tobacco industry and the role of ethics in the industry.

The important ethical issues that should be followed while conducting business as a customer are primarily being truthful to the customer. The first ethical issue that is expected from a tobacco company as the customer is in the realm of product safety and honesty towards the consumers. As a member of the society, a customer would also like to see that the tobacco industry fulfills its responsibility towards the society at large.

Since tobacco is an established harmful product, as a customer one expects that the industry caters to the rules of advertising and product display. Customers expect that tobacco companies should refrain from engaging in direct advertisements as is the ethical norm for such products (Palazzo & Richter, 2005). Customers also expect that tobacco companies issue adequate guidance and warnings about the ill effects of tobacco on users on the packets and follow ethical directions to product display so that the young and underage do not get attracted to it.

As a customer, one would expect that the tobacco industry should avoid conflict of interest that states that the interests of the consumers cannot be compromised in case there is a conflict of interest between the consumers and the company. In case there is a conflict of interest, as a customer one would expect that the tobacco industry should keep the rights and interests of the consumers over and above the interests of the company.

Hence all production, operational, advertising and marketing issues related to the business should hold the consumers' interest as supreme while making decisions (Gavai, 2010). Hence from a consumer's standpoint, the tobacco industry has its responsibility to try and minimize advertising and marketing of tobacco products so that the use of tobacco is limited. The company has the ethical obligation to issue warnings that the consumption of tobacco could lead to terminal cancer.

Since in a free trade society, it is not possible to shut down an industry entirely, it is, therefore, apt that such industries follow the rules and ethical codes that have been established for them. It is also expected that the tobacco industry should also take part in social causes especially those that are directly associated with the ill effects of the products. For companies in the tobacco, industry capitalism does play an important role.

The primary aim of every business is to make profits and such profits are enhanced when production costs are low and revenue generation is high. Production costs include costs for advertising and other costs that are incurred to ensure sale (McCambridge, 2016). But without advertising or marketing product sale could be slow and hence the basic criteria of capitalism -- profit generation, is put to the threat. Hence while making a corporate decision, all companies, including the ones that are in the tobacco industry, have to consider profit making.

Therefore capitalism plays a very important role in business activities in the tobacco industry. But this pressure of capitalism in business decision creates an ethical.