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Business Ethics

When looking at a corporation, we cannot judge it by its employees, including its executives. The reason being is that corporations must be judged as it is legally defined, a person. This reminded me a popular quote, “the sum of its parts is greater than the whole”. This is a situation where the quote is totally untrue. Although corporations are made of many inherently good people, the corporation itself isn’t anywhere near that standard. Since corporations are legally considered “a person”, their actions must be judged as if it were done by one person. Ethical values are applicable to all members of the society as they have been agreed upon by all, and that includes corporations. So when individuals break these ethical values, they are subject to some sort of punishment for not complying with the agreed upon moral code. In many cases individuals who break these moral codes believe they were justified in doing so, the situation compelled their behavior. However we have courts and judges that determine the amount of truth in the argument and in some cases the individuals are sentenced to time in prison due to actions that are detrimental to society. So as with individuals, corporations should face similar punishments when failing to follow these simple moral codes. Instead corporations roll along to a different drumbeat; they believe that in the business world they have their own principles, codes, and moral values that only apply to those within the business community. This does not mean that corporations should be excluded from social norms. It should be the total opposite because corporations themselves operate within society, and without the support of the people in this society, they would all be out of business. If a company is operating within the society, it must follow the laws that govern that society. Therefore it is the legal obligation of a company to both fulfill its legal mandate to maximize profit for their shareholders while also being socially...