Ethics vs. Capitalism
Can Business Ethics & Capitalism coexist?
The concept of business ethics has tried to change the way businesses operate over the years. Business ethics is a form of ethics that governs the actions of businesses to circumvent the affects business has on every day society. But some question its effectiveness in the application of capitalism. Several case studies have shown that this is the case; many companies place the pursuit of money in front of the pursuit of virtue. Although, the majority of companies are not in the spotlight of acting unethically, can we conclude that they follow the ethical norms? It is natural for normal human beings to act ethical but businesses are on a completely different playing field. But could business ethics be clearly possible in capitalism? In order to understand the debate of business ethics, one must understand the concept of capitalism. Capitalism in its purest form is free enterprise, meaning that the market functions with minimal interference from government and other forces. If this is possible then businesses compete with each other on an equal playing field and whoever has the upper hand can gain much of the market. Each business will fight for there own share of the market and it is basically survival of the fittest, whoever has the better product, price, quality will win over customers. Capitalism is a free-market approach to economics but one other practice makes capitalism different from any other economical system. Within capitalism investors play a large part in business in capitalism. In theory there are several different kinds of investors in capitalism. One can loan' money to a company and the company will promise to return that loan with interest but the most common type of investment is ownership into the company or business. This type of ownership takes place through the concept of stock. Stock is an actual stake within the company bought in the stock market. In capitalism the stock's price can either
The concept of business ethics has tried to change the way businesses operate over the years. Business ethics is a form of ethics that governs the actions of businesses to circumvent the affects business has on every day society. But some question its effectiveness in the application of capitalism. Several case studies have shown that this is the case; many companies place the pursuit of money in front of the pursuit of virtue. Although, the majority of companies are not in the spotlight of acting unethically, can we conclude that they follow the ethical norms? It is natural for normal human beings to act ethical but businesses are on a completely different playing field. But could business ethics be clearly possible in capitalism? In order to understand the debate of business ethics, one must understand the concept of capitalism. Capitalism in its purest form is free enterprise, meaning that the market functions with minimal interference from government and other forces. If this is possible then businesses compete with each other on an equal playing field and whoever has the upper hand can gain much of the market. Each business will fight for there own share of the market and it is basically survival of the fittest, whoever has the better product, price, quality will win over customers. Capitalism is a free-market approach to economics but one other practice makes capitalism different from any other economical system. Within capitalism investors play a large part in business in capitalism. In theory there are several different kinds of investors in capitalism. One can loan' money to a company and the company will promise to return that loan with interest but the most common type of investment is ownership into the company or business. This type of ownership takes place through the concept of stock. Stock is an actual stake within the company bought in the stock market. In capitalism the stock's price can either