Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

The concept of ethics has a long history in western philosophy. Usually, ethics is understood as reflecting on and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior. Following this definition, business ethics is the reflection on the ethical behavior of business organizations. Much discussion of business ethics focuses on the ethical consequences of the pursuit of economic interests by business. On the one hand, some argue “good ethics is good business,” suggesting that the pursuit of economic interests within lawgiven restrictions will automatically lead to ethical behavior. On the other hand, more critical ethicists argue the pursuit of economic self-interest by firms is fundamentally opposed to ethical conduct. In their perspective, financial profit and moral principles cannot be aligned. Such considerations engender considerable debate both within organizations and in the public sphere more generally. The practical implications of this in contemporary times is that organizations are more and more under pressure to rethink the ethical consequences of their behavior and readjust their actions accordingly (for a business example, see Royal Dutch/Shell Group 1998 ). The young but rapidly growing body of academic literature reflects the importance of business ethics. Although ethics have their antecedents both in ancient philosophy and religion, business ethics is an emerging discipline. ... log in or subscribe to read full text