Principles and Ideas of Business Ethics
By: *************
BBA 4751-03C, Business Ethics
Professor O'Connor
Ethics play an increasingly important role in today's business environment.
From whistle-blowing to workplace privacy and from marketing, advertising and product
safety to occupational health and safety, the conduct of business is the public eye more
and more everyday. In this paper, I will examine and discuss the aforementioned topics.
First, what are ethics? According to American Heritage Dictionary, ethics is, "a. A set of principles of right conduct. b. A theory or system of moral values" (The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, 2000). From honoring a warranty to maintaining a healthy work environment, ethical decisions are crucial in good business practices.
One area in which ethics play a huge role is in whistle-blowing. Whistle-blowing is the release information by a member or former member of an organization that is evidence of illegal and/ or immoral conduct within the organization. Whistle-blowing can also include bringing to light conduct in an organization that is not illegal but definitely not in the public's best interest. Whistle-blowing involves the release of non-public information, usually concerning a matter of great importance. It is usually done to try to avert or rectify a serious wrong (Boatright, 2003, p.105). To qualify as whistle-blowing the information must be released outside regular channels of communication; following standard organizational procedures for reporting wrongdoing is not whistle-blowing.
Whistle-blowing is not always justified; it can have serious consequences for the organization as well as the person doin ...