SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS
ELDORET WEST CAMPUS
(Human Resource option)
COURSE CODE: BBM 406
COURSE: BUSINESS ETHICS
TASK: Assignment I
PRESENTED BY: Jayne Wairimu Njenga
ADM NO. BBM/1491/07
PRESENTED TO: ROSE OMONDI Course Tutor
DATE: March 2009
Question:
Is good Ethics good business?
Definition of Business Ethics
Business Ethics is a set of moral principles applied in the commercial world. Business ethics provide guidelines for acceptable behavior by organizations in both their strategy formulation and day-to-day operations. An ethical approach is becoming necessary both for corporate success and a positive corporate image. Following pressure from consumers for more ethical and responsible business practices, many organizations are choosing to make a public commitment to ethical business by formulating codes of conduct and operating principles. In doing so, they must translate into action the concepts of personal and corporate accountability, corporate giving, corporate governance, and whistleblowing.
Business Ethics can also be defined as a specialized study of moral right or wrong. It concentrates on moral standards as they apply to business policies, institutions and behaviour.
ETHICS
Ethics are about making choices that may not always feel good or seem like they benefit you but are the "right" choices to make. They are the choices that are examples of "model citizens" and examples of the golden rules. We have the golden rules: on't hurt, don't steal, don't lie, or one of the most famous: "Do unto others as you would have done to you." These are not just catchy phrases; these are words of wisdom that any productive member of society should strive to live by.
In our personal lives, most people try to do exactly that. Ethics are thought of by many people as something that is related to the private side of life and not to the business side. In many businesses,