Ethical and Moral Issues in Business a

Ethical and Moral Issues in Business A situation or problem requires an organization or a person to choose between some alternatives. These are evaluated as ethical (right) or unethical (wrong). Involvement of a difference of belief is a moral issue. A slight difference between moral issues and ethical issues is about "preference." Such issues play an important role in business dealings. This essay discusses various ethical and moral issues in business. Also difference between personal ethics and business ethics is discussed.

Ethical and Moral Issues in Business Ethical and moral issues play an important role in the field of business. In areas such as pricing, contracts, personal selling, suppliers and advertising, several examples of business ethical dilemmas and decisions can be found. There is a clear difference between ethical issues and moral issues; they are discussed in the following paragraph. Considering the area of "suppliers"; if unethical practices of the suppliers are ignored by a business firm then it is not an ethical firm.

The unethical practices include use of forced labor and child labor, violation of basic rights of the workers, production in sweatshops, ignoring environmental, safety and health standards. Several businesses operate in a supply chain. Showing concern to the behavior of all the businesses is the responsibility of an ethical business. A supply chain consists of sales agents, contractors, distributers and suppliers. Moral issues involve difference of belief. No matter of preference is present in such issues. A moral dispute may involve any factual disagreement.

The beliefs of two people or parties may differ but there is no disagreement in the attitude (feeling); for example obeying a law or cheating in exams. Moral issues also involve a special kind of feeling (experience); for example, feeling of guilt, shame or satisfaction. "We accept the principle of well-being and the principle of autonomy. These principles count in favor not only of abandoning the extreme view, but also of accepting the liberal view" (Kappel 2001). Some people mix business ethics with personal ethics.

Business ethics such as employee relations, harassment, discrimination etc. come in to play when any business has to make a decision. In simple words the discipline and behavior followed by a business in its activities, is called as business ethics. On the other hand personal ethics mean whatever a person believes to be wrong or right. Personal ethics are influenced by experience, culture, religion, law and beliefs therefore it varies from person to person. An example of personal ethics could be telling truth or open to an extent.

Personal ethics may not be influenced by business ethics but business ethics are greatly influenced by personal ethics. Several people working in a firm; each has a different belief and belongs to a different culture. It completely depends on the point-of-view of a person on business and personal ethics. At times an activity or an incident that is ethical in terms of business, but it may not be accepted as a part of personal ethics. An example of fall of business ethics is the fall of Enron.

That happened only due to the fall of business ethics. At times an employee has to pretend; covering up his or her personal ethics to survive in a business firm following all its ethics. "Man inherently has faults that he naturally wants to hide. We do not want to appear foolish. He either is reserved to conceal them or makes some act to conceal them. Being reserved can take the forms of not talking or talking but not revealing anything" (DeGeorge 2010).

It is good to maintain harmony between business ethics and personal ethics for a better work and it keeps the life balanced. There is a possibility of occurrence of a conflict. If an employee has transparent and open personal ethics but the business actions are not that open then a conflict might occur. Therefore people draw a line between business and personal ethics to reduce such conflicts. "Business ethics involve corporate governance, reverse discrimination, truth in advertising, whistle-blowing, and disclosure, are not clear cut.

They require careful analysis and a weighing of appropriate facts; applicable principles in order.