Ethics and Business

Until recently, ethical behavior in business was not a formal topic of discussion in most business schools. In today's highly litigious society, however, business professionals and business students are coming to realize that sales and profits are no longer sufficient factors, in and of themselves, on which decisions can be based. Instead, it is vital that decisions take into account ethical issues.

Among the ethical questions that companies face are those that relate to safety. The Ford Pinto as marketed during the 1970s had a fuel system which made it susceptible to explosion when involved in rear-end collisions. The decision to market the vehicle despite this flaw was based on the economic decision of whether it would cost more t

. . .
hey can replace existing jobs or functions within the company. When an organization-centered system is used, it is up to managers to clearly identify career paths for their employees. After paths are clearly identified, the skills necessary to progress along the path can be identified and made a part of the employee's plan (479). Of course, there are problems with the organization centered system. For example, all sales representatives cannot progress to be sales managers. Instead, some sales representatives will recognize that their potential with the company is limited and will move on to other employers. In addition, the emphasis on developing skills that are important to the current employer can be constricting for employees who want to develop a broad range of skills for their own personal enrichment. Companies which adopt an organization centered system but which are forced to lay off workers later on may find that workers are dissatisfied in that they have not been given the opportunity to develop skills which are valued in the workplace as a whole. In this way, the employees may be seen as too "specialized" to be immediately employable. In the individual centered system, the focus is on individual skills and objec
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Publishing Company, Effective Practice, Method CPM, Monte Carlo, Patrick Shannon, Ford Pinto, Standard Poor's, Religion Deity, Roman Catholic, Hiroshima Nagasaki, financial statements, management science, career planning, decision makers, current assets, current liabilities, linear programming, accounting period, network models, real world, guerrieri et al, management science techniques, common stockholders' equity, ethics theocentric perspective, statements guerrieri et,
Approximate Word count = 10049
Approximate Pages = 40 (250 words per page)