Home Depot Implements Stakeholder Orientation
CHAPTER 1
The Importance of Business Ethics
SUMMARY
This chapter provides an overview of the field of business ethics. It develops a definition of business ethics and discusses why it has become an important topic in business education. It also examines the evolution of business ethics in North America and explores the benefits of ethical decision making in business. Finally, the chapter provides a framework for examining business ethics in this text.
LECTURE OUTLINE
I. Business Ethics Defined A. Business ethics is a complicated and controversial topic: 1. The field of business ethics concerns questions about whether specific business practices are acceptable. 2. Business ethics is controversial and there is no universally accepted approach for resolving ethical issues. 3. Values and judgments play a critical role in the making of ethical decisions. B. Some special aspects must be considered when applying ethics to business. 1. Businesses must earn a profit to survive. 2. Businesses must balance their desires for profits against the needs and desires of society. 3. Maintaining this balance often requires compromises or tradeoffs. C. Business ethics comprises values and standards that guide behavior in the world of business. D. Principles are specific and pervasive boundaries for behavior that are universal and absolute. E. Values are used to develop norms that are socially enforced. 1. Investors, employees, customers, interest groups, the legal system, and the community often determine whether a specific action is right or wrong and ethical or unethical.
II. Why Study Business Ethics? A. A Crisis in Business Ethics 1. Reports of unethical activities (accounting fraud, insider trading, falsifying documents, deceptive advertising, defective products, bribery, abusive behavior, harassment, and employee theft) are cited as evidence of declining ethical standards, not only in
The Importance of Business Ethics
SUMMARY
This chapter provides an overview of the field of business ethics. It develops a definition of business ethics and discusses why it has become an important topic in business education. It also examines the evolution of business ethics in North America and explores the benefits of ethical decision making in business. Finally, the chapter provides a framework for examining business ethics in this text.
LECTURE OUTLINE
I. Business Ethics Defined A. Business ethics is a complicated and controversial topic: 1. The field of business ethics concerns questions about whether specific business practices are acceptable. 2. Business ethics is controversial and there is no universally accepted approach for resolving ethical issues. 3. Values and judgments play a critical role in the making of ethical decisions. B. Some special aspects must be considered when applying ethics to business. 1. Businesses must earn a profit to survive. 2. Businesses must balance their desires for profits against the needs and desires of society. 3. Maintaining this balance often requires compromises or tradeoffs. C. Business ethics comprises values and standards that guide behavior in the world of business. D. Principles are specific and pervasive boundaries for behavior that are universal and absolute. E. Values are used to develop norms that are socially enforced. 1. Investors, employees, customers, interest groups, the legal system, and the community often determine whether a specific action is right or wrong and ethical or unethical.
II. Why Study Business Ethics? A. A Crisis in Business Ethics 1. Reports of unethical activities (accounting fraud, insider trading, falsifying documents, deceptive advertising, defective products, bribery, abusive behavior, harassment, and employee theft) are cited as evidence of declining ethical standards, not only in