The answer to this question is highly subjective. Many academics who have written on this subject believe ethics in business are no different to the ethics in 'everyday' life.

However many other people believe the ethics within business do differ considerably to the ethics used in everyday situations. So which is it?

There are relations between ethics and business but this isnt to say that the ethics are in fact honest. Take for example, ENRON, probably one of the most publicised businesses that did not have integrity for its customers and employees.

On a literal level the relationships between ethics and business manifest themsleves in terms of:

1)Is pay ethical?, are the workers being paid adequately in light of the level of work they are providing.

2)Are working conditions ethically sound.
Are workers being represented by trade unions, what rights do workers have.

3) Is the company/partnership running an ethical business, i.e. animal rights/testing etc.

4) Are partners of a business being honest with one another, in terms of power and renumeration of profit.

5) Are employees working ethically. Consider the following: is taking a paperclip home for personal usesage the same as stealling $0.01 out of the cash register every week for a year?

6) are customers getting value for money our are they being exploited for greater revenue?

These are all examples of ethics that exisit within business. They also show that there is a variety of relationships between ethics and business. However it is still debateable to think that ethics in everyday life are no different from those in business.

Learn more about this author, Beth Hewitt.
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