The need for a process for making ethical decisions in business is great. There are a large number of instances where ethical decisions are necessary in business operations, corporations find that they can get themselves into trouble even when they are trying to be ethical if they do not have a strong and effective procedural structure to guide employees in making such decisions. One aspect of ethical decision making comes under the heading of crisis management as corporations are faced with some huge problem that may involve liability and legal issues but that certainly involves questions of public image. A second aspect is the day-to-day decisions which have not yet reached the point of crisis but which could if ethical decisions are not made. Even without any external threat to a company, an ongoing process of ethical decision-making crates an atmosphere in a company that is beneficial, that contributes more to society, and that helps create an environment in which employees may flourish and do their best. Companies should consider and institute a set of procedures to guide managers and employees in making ethical decisions when faced with some dilemma calling for such a decision, and the system then should be monitored to assure that the guidelines are followed and that they are effective.
Ethics in business have been debated since the mid-1960s when Ralph Nader published his book on the dangers of the Corvair automobile and charged that General Motors was knowingly developing and selling a poorly designed vehicle. The 1970s was a period of new scrutiny of U.S. business activities, and the dominant issues then were foreign bribery, employment discrimination, false advertising, and pollution. Environmental issues came to the fore with the problem at Love Canal when Hooker Chemical Company was found to have dumped tons of toxic waste into the canal, producing major health hazards. In the 1980s, product liability was again...