School of business and economics 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 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 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. 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, having ethics is frowned upon or thought of as a negative subject. This is because business is usually about doing what's best for number one, not about what's really the right thing to do. A business that behaves ethically induces other business associates to behave ethically as well. If a company or a manager exercises particular care in meeting all responsibilities to employees, customers and suppliers it usually is awarded with a high degree of loyalty, honesty, quality and productivity.

For examples, employees who are treated ethically will more likely behave ethically themselves in dealing with customers and business associates. A supplier who refuses to exploit its advantage during a seller's market retains the loyalty and continued business of its customers when conditions change to those of a buyer's market. A company that refuses to discriminate against older or handicapped employees often discovers that they are fiercely loyal, hard working and productive. Ethical dilemmas occur when a manager is faced with two or more conflicting ethical issues, and has to make a choice.

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Businesses must ensure that employees are paid a fair wage, and that working conditions are reasonable. The same could be said of having an employee work in a room filled with toxic fumes that would cause illness. Margie andrist business ethics the purpose of this paper is to review the phenomenon of illegal insider trading in the united states financial securities markets. The analysis section of this paper a defines illegal insider trading, b explains the enforcement of laws and regulations concerning illegal insider trading, c review the pattern of illegal insider trading from 1996 through 2005, and d compares the problem of illegal insider trading in the united states with the problem in other countries.

Contributors examine moral aspects of systems of production, consumption, marketing, advertising, social and economic accounting, labor relations, public relations and organizational behavior. In order to promote a dialogue between the various interested groups as much as possible, papers are presented in a style relatively free of specialist jargon. From its inception the journal has aimed to improve the human condition by providing a public forum for discussion and debate about ethical issues related to business.

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The style and level of dialogue involve all who are interested in business ethics the business community, universities, government agencies and consumer groups. ft 45 this journal is one of the 45 journals used by the financial times in compiling the prestigious business school research rank traditionally, business was associated with the use of methods and approaches that did not always meet the existing moral standards. As the matter of fact, the history of the formation of the contemporary business, starting from the industrial revolution and ongoing development of capitalism to the present epoch, reveals the fact that business and economic interests of companies often varied consistently from the interests of a considerable part of society or, at least, did not meet the existing and declared moral standards. In this regard, it is possible to mention the cooperation of some western companies with the nazi regime in germany and the revelation of the fact that the swiss banks, for instance, were also involved in cooperation with nazi regime proves that the morality and business are not always compatible. In fact, the contemporary business attempts to create a positive image in order to gain the customers’ recognition and approval. In such a situation, it is really important to meet the moral standards of society and avoid arguable decisions. At the same time, it is important to understand the fact that the practical implementation of moral principles of business ethics is not a one sided, benevolent process organized and performed by companies but it also needs the public involvement and control.

the kantian perspective for business ethics first of all, it should be said that the problem of business ethics and morality of business is not new and its roots may be traced in the early history of the development of business. This is why it is possible to apply principles of business ethics to any economic activity. At the same time, it should be pointed out that the problem of morality disturbed many outstanding thinkers of different epochs. Among the most influential western philosophers, who produced a profound impact on the development of western philosophy at large and business ethics in particular, it is possible to name e.

Basically, kant did not really develop a unique concept or branch of philosophy entirely dedicated to business ethics or business. In contrast, his views on business ethics and the problem of morality in business are rather developed in the context of his general philosophy than as a separate branch of his philosophy. As a result, his views on business ethics are closely intertwined with his views on morality and individual. In this respect, it should be said that kant emphasized the fact that the relationships between individuals, including business relations should be regulated by laws. In such a way, businessmen should take decisions and develop their business on the basis of the moral law.

At the same time, kant lays emphasis on the fact that the moral law should be universal by nature. This means that the moral law should be accepted by all people and it should guide all their actions. By means of the universal application of the moral law kant expected to create a really moral society where ethic norms and principles would dominate over human primitive instincts and desires. On the other hand, kant argues that humans do not tend to be moral by their nature. Instead, he indicates to the fact that humans are more likely to focus on their personal needs and interests and ignore interests of other people.

Consequently, human nature originally rejects the moral law, which should be universal, according to kant. Such a rejection would be particularly strong if an individual deals with material benefits he/she can gain from his/her business. This is why, kant underlines the importance of human will since he believes that it is due to human will businessmen could be able to follow the norms and standards of the moral law and suppress their primitive instincts to obey to this law. Thus, the kant perspective for business ethics involves three basic postulates: the existence of the moral law, the universal character of the moral law, and the will of humans, namely businessmen, to follow the norms of this law.

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the moral responsibility and accountability within a modern organization ideas of kant, being distanced in time from the present epoch, are still very important and potentially they can be applied in the contemporary business. At any rate, it is obvious that the contemporary business, including the largest and most powerful companies, such as shell, attempt to follow the basic principles of business ethics. Basically, the trend to the wider implementation of moral and ethical norms and the increasing role of business ethics in the contemporary business environment are determined by the objective needs of the contemporary business in customers’ support.

In this respect, it should be said that, being traditionally customer oriented, the contemporary business pays even more attention to its positive image than it has ever done before. The importance to meet moral standards of the society is extremely significant for many companies because the deterioration of the public image of a company in the result of the violation of the existing moral norms and standards can undermine the market position of the company. Nowadays, companies operating in industries exposing the environment to a significant threat of the pollution are particularly susceptible to the negative effects of the violation of moral and ethical norms. For instance, shell, being one of the leading companies in the oil industry, may be viewed as one of the companies that is under the public control and it is forced to obey to the existing moral and ethical principles that are accepted in the contemporary society. What is meant here is the fact that the environment protection is one of the primary concerns of the contemporary society.