According to Trevino and Nelson (2006) the definition of ethics is the set of moral principles and values governing an individual or group. When this is applied to business, it is the code of principles and values that govern how a business should make decisions. This is usually in the code of conduct section in the employee handbook of an organization so that employees can read and become familiar with what the expectations of him or her. Employers also usually have one department that is in charge of handling the education of ethical decisions so that employees can be taught what to do in certain situations.
Ethical issues arise in today’s businesses when the code of conduct is not followed or people stray from the integrity and character of one’s self. Most ethical issues in business today are human resources issues, conflict of interest issues and customer confidence issues. These issues can lead to legal retributions, cost the organization not only financially but also lead to the company losing customers.
Ethical issues in human resources can be summed up in the way that people work together. Most issues come from discrimination, harassment, privacy policies and, hiring and firing. Corporations try to cover themselves by incorporating fairness into their organization. This is done by covering three elements into their organization, equity, reciprocity, and impartiality (Trevino & Nelson, 2006). This is