Ethics essay

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Business Ethics

The term business ethics refers to the examination of the ethical principles and morals that relate to the business environment . Business ethics are developed in the business environment because they ensure that people who undertake business activities can be guided to carry out their endeavors in a responsible and morally upright manner . Since the ancient times , the concept of business ethics has been recognized as being very instrumental in promoting running of businesses within the socially accepted habits or beliefs ( Bowie , Norman

E . 1999 . The demand for more ethical business practices continues to increase with time , including in the modern society . In relation to the business ethics concept , this will look at Edith Wharton 's novel , the House of Mirth which gives a story of a young woman called Lily Bart . The novel gives an insight into the business environment existing at that time , and further exposes the peoples ' behavior in relation to the business ethics ' issues that arose in the society .The consequences of the behavior is also described (Wharton , Edith . 2002

Based on the book , business ethics as a concept can be said to be the moral responsibility for one to engage in actions or behavior that promote the observation of the society 's positive values . A society 's positive values in turn refers to the qualities of a person 's life that are acceptable by all members of the society . It would therefore be correct to say that , a society 's moral authority is one of the characteristic of business ethics . In a business environment people conduct business activities and transactions to gain maximum financial capability . In their search for financial stability , people may sometimes be tempted to get involved in practices and actions that are unacceptable in the community because they are considered morally -wrong (Harwood , Sterling . 1996

A good example can be seen in Edith Wharton 's novel . In to obtain financial favors , Lily Bart who is a young and a very attractive woman gets engaged in prostitution as a means of gaining financial and emotional security . When people find themselves in desperate situations where they lack the financial ability to support themselves , they tend to neglect ethics that govern the business deals . This is seen when the business people display degradation of morals by taking part in immoral behavior , either to give or receive favors . In real life instances , people in the business field tend to show immoral behavior when they get engaged in sexual activities to obtain or give certain favors .For example , in modern organizations or companies , low or middle level employees sometimes exchange sexual favors with the top management officials in to obtain financial assistance from them

Furthermore , getting a job promotion at the place of work in some cases has and still demands that one gives sexual favors in exchange for the promotion . The employees ' behavior (low level workers ) may be encouraged by their poor life or the demand to repay...