MGT 216
April 4, 2012
Ethical and Moral Issues in Business
Ethics and moral are not things that commonly cross a person’s mind, unless there is an ethical or moral issue. In ethical and moral issues, people begin to question the ethics and morals or the person or people in the middle of the questioning. This paper will define the differences between ethical and moral issues, the differences between personal and business ethics, and will provide examples of common ethical problems in business.
Differences in Ethical and Moral Issues
The "Dictionary.com" (2012) website defines ethics as the rules and conduct recognized to a particular class of human actions. Ethics is how people act and behave in public and how it’s accepted. Society dictates the ethics and what is and is not accepted in society. Ethics are what most people would commonly consider to be what is right and what is wrong. Ethics may change as society changes and what once may have been acceptable may no longer be acceptable and vice versa. Just because something is not illegal, the action may not be ethical or accepted by society.
According to "Dictionary.com" (2012), "moral is pertaining to or concerned with the principle rules” (para. 1). Morals are generally taught by a person’s parents and family. Morals can define a person’s honesty or dishonesty. Everyone has heard of the voice in a person’s head, telling them what is right and what is wrong; that is actually the person’s morals helping direct them to what is right and what is wrong. Some people find themselves answering questions on what their friends or family would think if they found out about the decision they made; this helps some people make the right or moral decision.
Differences in Personal and Business Ethics
Personal ethics are the ethics that apply to a particular person and may vary between people. Personal ethics are established based on religion, culture, family, and
References: Dictionary.com. (2012). Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/business+ethics?s=t Dictionary.com. (2012). Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ethics?s=t Dictionary.com. (2012). Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/moral?s=t USA.gov. (n.d.). U.S. Equal Employment. Retrieved from http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/index.cfm