Ethics_and_Moral_Issues

Ethical and Moral Issues in Business Brandon Moore MGT/216 Matthew Lorin September 3, 2010 Ethics and moral issues in today’s society amongst mankind have been considered controversial and taboo. The decisions one has to make taking in to consideration moral and ethical stance is very hard when it comes to making business and personal decisions. Ethics refers to a value belier or attitude about something ethical in general. Morals issues correlate with the ability one might have to help or harm oneself or others. In completions of this paper I will make understood the differences between moral and ethical issues, superseded by making clear popular ethics issues that arise in the business world. The different association of ethics and morals can seem arbitrary to most but there is a basic subtle differential. Morals cover personal character, while ethics stress a social system in which those moral are instituted. Nevertheless, ethics points to and is made up of standards or codes of behaviors expected by the genre or demographic the individual classifies their self to. This could be business ethics, social ethics, and personal ethics, and so on. So while a person’s moral code is usually unchanging, the ethics he or she practices can be other-dependent. When taking into consideration the difference between personal ethics and business ethics, consider a criminal defense attorney. Though the lawyer’s personal moral code likely finds murder immoral and reprehensible, ethics demand the accused client be defended as vigorously as possible, even when the lawyer knows the party is guilty and that a freed defendant would potentially lead to more crime. Business ethics must override personal ethics for the greater good of upholding a justice system in which the accused are given a fair trial and the prosecution must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The prosecution and court must also deal with the difference between ethics and morals. In some cases past actions of the accused might resonate with the current charge, but are kept out of evidence so as not to prejudice the jury. In a sense, the prosecutor “lies by omission” in representing the case, never revealing the prejudicial evidence. The same prosecutor, however, would likely find it reprehensible to fail to tell a friend if her date had a potentially dangerous or suspect history. Another area in which ethics and morals can clash is at the workplace where company ethics can play against personal morality. Corporate greed that blurs its own ethical lines coupled with unreasonable demands on time can lead to having to choose between a stressful, demanding and consuming work ethic, and family obligations seen as moral obligations to spouse and children. Conversely, people lose jobs every day because of poor personal morals, employee theft being a common reason for dismissal. Finally, in society, we are all faced with the butting heads of ethics and morals. Abortion is legal and therefore medically ethical, while many people find it personally immoral. Fundamentalists, extremists, and even mainstream theists all have different ideas about morality that impact each of our lives, even if indirectly through social pressures or legal discrimination. We all have to find a medium between ethics and morals to come to conclusion in making relevant decisions in life. References Lewis, C. S. (1963a). The Morality Issue; New York: Macmillan. Lewis, C.S. (1963b). Till we have faces. San Diego: Harcourt. Milem, J. F., (1998). Attitude change in college students: Examining the effect of college peer groups and faculty normative groups. The Journal of Higher Education, 69(2), 117-140. Miller, G. H. (1997). 10,000 Morals interpreted Chicago: Rand McNally. Price, R. & Stern, L. (2001). Mad libs: The original #1 mad libs. New York: Price Stern