Presentation to Business Forum on Business Ethics

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Ethics

Gwendolyn Cuizon (2009) defines business ethics as a methodology used to examine organizational behavior against the standards of practices of outward organizational entities. Ethics is one of the most complex entities within the business world. With the limited understanding of what is and is not acceptable- ethical behavior, organizations continue to be in the middle of ethical corruption-i.e. the Hepatitis scare in Las Vegas, NV. Staff infected patients with the Hepatitis C virus. Staff members neglected to use clean needles per patient; instead they reused disposable needles, a prime example of ethical corruption within an organization. (KLAS TV-8 news, 2010). Early on, society has identified the most intricate detail of ethics and the underlying definition of the term. Theorists and philosophers have rhetorically dissected the contents of ethical meaning only to facilitate a philosophical state of confusion. Nevertheless we find ourselves at the center of an unethical working environment in every industry imaginable whether the organization is of a political nature or within medical facilities. I find that unethical behavior can be prevented if we revert to the fundamental concept of what is morally right or morally wrong. This type of philosophy is a slippery slope for the reason that ethics does not necessarily constitute moral fiber; instead ethics can be categorized as to what is constitutional within the confines of the organization; or the underlying framework of what is appropriate organizational behavior.

Identity of Socialism vs. Capitalism

In an article by C. Bradley Thompson (1993) Socialism vs. Capitalism: Which is the Moral System? He accurately assesses and compares socialism vs. capitalism and identifies the role they play on morality and ethics. "In theory socialism is the morally superior social system despite its dismal record of failure in the real world. Capitalism, by contrast, is a morally bankrupt system despite the extraordinary prosperity it has created. In other words, capitalism at best can only be defended on pragmatic grounds. Under socialism a ruling class of intellectuals, bureaucrats and social planners decide what people want or what is good for society and then use the coercive power of the State to regulate, tax, and redistribute the wealth of those who work for a living. In other words, socialism is a form of legalized theft." (Thompson, 1993).

Paradoxically, ethics are formulated into the substratum of cultural dimensions, it is essential to identify the organizational structure of business ethics. It is merely a conception of "group" think," for example if the majority of employees do something within the internal framework that appears to be unethical from external sources, is it morally wrong because external sources say it is wrong? According to Thompson (1993) he states that the social system is based on "coercion expropriating wealth from producer class for its redistribution of the parasitical class."

Capitalism, on the other hand is based on the system of exchange in which case everyone benefits. Traders and consumers engage in the exchange cycle of a buyers and sellers market of trading goods. Bradley identifies this system an ethically moral system. The philosophical perspective of capitalism is that the rise and fall of an individual is predicated upon his/her own mental capacity. Richard Hooker (1996) defines capitalism as a "difficult, problematic ...