Business ethics, also known as corporate ethics, is a form of applied ethics or professional ethics, that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that can arise in a business environment. This concept applies to all aspects of business conduct and is relevant to the conduct of individuals and entire organizations. Business ethics originate from individuals, organizational statements or from the legal system. These are the norms, values, ethical, and unethical practices they make up the principles that guide a business. They help businesses maintain a better connection with their stakeholders.
Business ethics also refers to contemporary organizational standards, principles, sets of values and norms that govern the actions and behavior of an individual in the business organization. Business ethics have two dimensions, normative business ethics or descriptive business ethics. As a corporate practice and a career specialization, the field is primarily normative. Academics attempting to understand business behavior employ descriptive methods. The range and quantity of business ethical issues reflects the interaction of profit-maximizing behavior with non-economic concerns.
In this broad sense. ethics in business is simply the application of everyday moral or ethical norms to business. An analogy from the Bible that comes to mind is the Ten Commandments. In this set of principles, the injunctions for truthfulness and honesty, or the prohibition against theft and envy, are directly applicable. A notion of stewardship can be found in the Bible, as well as many other notions that can be, and have been, applied to business. Other traditions and religions have comparable sacred or ancient texts that have guided people’s actions in all realms, including business, for centuries, and still do.
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