1. The power and influence of business in society is greater than ever before. Evidence suggests that many members of the public are uneasy with such developments (Bernstein, 2000).
For instance, one recent poll of more than 20 leading economic nations revealed that almost 75% of residents believed large companies had too much influence on the decisions of their government (Cywinski, 2008). Business ethics helps us to understand why this is happening, what its implications might be, and how we might address this situation.2. Business has the potential to provide a major contribution to our societies, in terms of producing the products and services that we want, providing employment, paying taxes, and acting as an engine for economic development, to name just a few examples. How, or indeed whether, this contribution is made raises significant ethical issues that go to the heart of the social role of business in contemporary society. As a 2008 global survey conducted by McKinsey shows, about 50% of business executives think that corporations make a mostly or somewhat positive contribution to society, whilst some 25% believe that their contribution is mostly or somewhat negative (McKinsey Quarterly, 2008).
3. Business malpractices have the potential to inflict enormous harm on individuals, on communities and on the environment. Through helping us to understand more about the causes and consequences of these malpractices business ethics seeks, as the founding editor of the Journal of Business Ethics has suggested (Michalos 1998), ‘to improve the human condition.’4. The demands being placed on business to be ethical by its various stakeholders are constantly becoming more complex and more challenging. Business ethics provides the means to appreciate and understand theses challenges more clearly, in order that firms can meet these ethical expectations more effectively.
5. Few businesspeople have received formal business ethics education or training. Business ethics can help to improve ethical decision-making by providing managers with the appropriate knowledge and tools to help them correctly identify, diagnose, analyse, and provide solutions to the ethical problems and dilemmas they are confronted with.6. Ethical violations continue to occur in business, across countries and across sectors.
For example, a recent survey of over 1,000 UK employees in public and private sectors found that one in three workers did not consider their employers to be fair. 2 Another survey of nearly 2,000 Hong Kong executives revealed that more than 40% of those with operations in China had encountered fraud.3 Business ethics provides us with a way of looking at the reasons behind such infractions, and the ways in which such problems might be dealt with by managers, regulators, and others interested in improving business ethics.7. Business ethics can provide us with the ability to assess the benefits and problems associated with different ways of managing ethics in organizations.
8. Finally, business ethics is also extremely interesting in that it provides us with knowledge that transcends the traditional framework of business studies and confronts us with some of the most important questions faced by society. The subject can therefore be richly rewarding to study because it provides us with the knowledge and skills that are not simply helpful for doing business, but rather, by helping us to understand modern societies in a more systematic way, can advance our ability to address life situation far beyond the classroom or the office desk.
