The Definition of Business Ethics
“The mind of the superior man is conversant with righteousness; the mind of the mean man is conversant with gain” - Confucius.
The Encyclopaedia Britannica defines ethics, also termed as moral philosophy, as a branch of philosophy that seeks to determine the correct applications of moral notions such as good and bad and right and wrong [1]. Business ethics relates to the application of ethical rules and moral values in the context of a business environment. Joseph L Baldaracco, Jr.’s four sphere framework divides business ethics in the form of a manager’s responsibility into four spheres i.e., personal ethical values, responsibilities as economic agents, responsibilities as organization leaders and responsibilities in co-operative capitalism. These four spheres encompass the all the stakes that go into a business manager’s ethical system i.e., his own personal values, his cognizance of responsibility as an economic agent to his shareholders, as organization leader to the well-being, in an all-round sense, of his employees & peers and as a co-operative capitalist to all the businesses that interact and share partnerships and business interests with his firm. In the context of marketing, ethics assumes a very pertinent role, as marketing is traditionally regarded as an “inherent evil” in a popularist stance. Primarily because of the impression that marketing has a history of: i. Damaging personal autononomy by influencing a person’s buying styles and infringing his self-determination; ii. Causing harm to competitors in saturated markets; iii. Manipulating social values; iv. Creating artificiality and influencing sexual attitudes. [2] Areas of marketing like advertising and media have repeatedly come under the scanner of ethical scrutiny. A prominent reason being that these areas directly speak to large masses of population and have an impact on and influence their mindsets. So, it’s ethically imperative for any firm to be sensitive to these areas and
The Encyclopaedia Britannica defines ethics, also termed as moral philosophy, as a branch of philosophy that seeks to determine the correct applications of moral notions such as good and bad and right and wrong [1]. Business ethics relates to the application of ethical rules and moral values in the context of a business environment. Joseph L Baldaracco, Jr.’s four sphere framework divides business ethics in the form of a manager’s responsibility into four spheres i.e., personal ethical values, responsibilities as economic agents, responsibilities as organization leaders and responsibilities in co-operative capitalism. These four spheres encompass the all the stakes that go into a business manager’s ethical system i.e., his own personal values, his cognizance of responsibility as an economic agent to his shareholders, as organization leader to the well-being, in an all-round sense, of his employees & peers and as a co-operative capitalist to all the businesses that interact and share partnerships and business interests with his firm. In the context of marketing, ethics assumes a very pertinent role, as marketing is traditionally regarded as an “inherent evil” in a popularist stance. Primarily because of the impression that marketing has a history of: i. Damaging personal autononomy by influencing a person’s buying styles and infringing his self-determination; ii. Causing harm to competitors in saturated markets; iii. Manipulating social values; iv. Creating artificiality and influencing sexual attitudes. [2] Areas of marketing like advertising and media have repeatedly come under the scanner of ethical scrutiny. A prominent reason being that these areas directly speak to large masses of population and have an impact on and influence their mindsets. So, it’s ethically imperative for any firm to be sensitive to these areas and