Explore BrainMass

Explore BrainMass

    Business Philosophy and Ethics

    Business philosophy and business ethics are closely related. Business philosophy looks at the role of business in society. It deals with questions such as 'the purpose of business' and whether or not 'businesses are ultimately responsible to more than just their shareholders.' Ideas about the proper role of business in society help us define what is right and wrong in the affairs of a business. That is, business philosophy includes normative ideas about the proper role of business, and these ideas give us a framework to study business ethics. Subsequently, ideas about ethics (about what is right and what is wrong) then help us create regulation or define market mechanisms that can help regulate a business's activities. 

    Business Philosophy 

    In his 1954 book, The Practice of Management, Peter F. Drucker (often coined the father of management) wrote "free enterprise cannot be justified as being good for business. It can only be justified as being good for society." Business philosophy is an academic approach that looks at this bigger picture. As Drucker said, we cannot just focus on what is good for business, we have to show that the way we do business will be good for society as a whole.

    (Note: In application, many 'business philosophies' look at organizations as existing in a vacuum, and explain different ways of doing business that will allow for greater sales, lower employee turnover, lower costs or higher profitability. The philosophy of "Total Quality Management" is a prominent example of a 'way of doing business' mistakenly being referred to as a "business philosophy." When we talk about business philosophy from an academic perspective, we are not talking about theories like TQM.)

    Business Ethics

    Business ethics looks at how we classify the affairs of a business as "right" and "wrong," or "good" and "bad." Business ethics helps guide us when we face a moral dilemma as a manager. A moral or ethical dilemma occurs when different choices or actions can benefit or harm others or oneself. Deciding how to act when one person may be harmed to another’s benefit is an ethical dilemma. Ethics are the moral principles, values, and priorities individuals use to decide an appropriate course of action when faced with an ethical dilemma. Ethical theories include Deontological, Teleological (which encompasses utilitarianism), and Virtue Ethics.

    Regulation

    Regulation is an important outcome of business philosophy and ethics. To have regulation, we must have a belief about the role that business should play in society, and beliefs about what right and wrong behaviour is. These beliefs then act as guidelines, and are reflected in the public institutions, market mechanisms and corporate governance structures that are put into place to ensure that businesses play by these rules. There is significant public debate over whether the amount of regulation today hinders businesses from being fully productive, and lowers the social benefits of an efficient market. Securities regulation and antitrust regulation involve important regulation-related issues. 

    Corporate social responsibility is a form of corporate self-regulation that is integrated into the business model. It is supported by market mechanism that make self-regulating companies better off. For example, businesses might enforce safety standards because consumers demand it, or in order to mitigate a legal risk that may exist if they do not. 

     

    Photo by Pipe A. on Unsplash

    © BrainMass Inc. brainmass.com March 18, 2024, 5:46 pm ad1c9bdddf

    BrainMass Categories within Business Philosophy and Ethics

    Corporate Social Responsibility

    Solutions: 203

    Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) involves both defining an organization's ethical goals. standards and the self-regulating mechanisms that businesses use to ensure these goals are met.

    Business Philosophy

    Solutions: 114

    Business philosophy is the academic discipline that looks to explain the proper role of business in society.

    Business Ethics

    Solutions: 1,244

    Business ethics is the study of positive and normative arguments about the proper morals for deciding a course of action when faced with an ethical dilemma in business.

    The Role of Government and Regulation

    Solutions: 590

    Regulation is a form of government intervention in the economy which looks to modify business behavior in order to achieve some desired social outcome. For example, controversial areas of government intervention include free trade and tariffs, the Affordable Care Act, and the Sarbanes Oxley Act.

    BrainMass Solutions Available for Instant Download

    Effective leadership in a global constituency

    Read the World Health Organization publication "Eleventh Futures Forum on the Ethical Governance of Pandemic influence Research the position the United States takes toward Pandemic Influenza Preparedness I need 3 references. I included a sample of how I use your info to write my papers.

    The Columbia Accident Case Study

    We are to reflect on the role that political influences plays in the internal decision making of a public organization. Stillman's book Public Administration: Concepts and Cases is used focusing on chapter 4 The Political Environment: The Concept of Administrative Power and Case study follows: Using the attached criteria: answ

    Outline of Lecture Notes

    For this assignment you will be (1) creating an outline of your lecture notes and (2) a narrative description of your lecture presentation. First, choose a subject that is of interest to you and prepare your lecture notes. For this assignment, your lecture notes must be in a Word document in outline format. You may include cue w

    The case to go to war with Iraq

    Expert Washington, I need your assistance and guidance for this project. I am behind because of illness and I am having problems asking what is required. I select your expertise because you have experience with this case study. Thank you very much! Resources for assignment: Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making

    The case to go to war with Iraq

    This is a request to receive guidance on the above case study. I need guidance with the following: Identify key ethical decision Identify the bureaucratic subsystems and their corresponding values orientation Analyze how the organizational structure promoted or disabled ethical values Evaluate how ethical theories and the et

    How to Influence Organizations

    1. How do you (personally) try to influence without authority? 2. Identify a situation where you observed someone who was able to influence without authority in the workplace.

    Business ethics and codes

    1.3) What is a code of conduct? What is its role within an organization? 2.4) Outline the business reasons to limiting monitoring. 3.5) Describe the process of comparing and weighing alternatives and considering the effects of a decision on their own integrity and character.

    Code of ethics of both Starbuck's and McDonald's

    search the code of ethics of both Starbuck's and McDonald's using google. List three aspects that you like most and three aspects that you like least about both the Starbuck's statement and McDonald's statement. In other words, compare the two statements. Conclude by indicating which statement of conduct you like best. Why do yo

    Research Paper on Business Ethics

    Please assist with 2500 words regarding a business ethics today Please include an outline as well to include: ï‚· be at least one page in length (not including the cover and reference pages), ï‚· include an original thesis, ï‚· describe the approach that you will take to research the subject thesis, and ï‚· include five r

    ethical leadership

    For a leader to exhibit personal and professional ethics, and disregard the organizational codes violates the ethical standards of the organization. please explain what is interesting is that organizations many times will wink at ethical discrepancies as long as the employee is producing. This is where the importance of ethic

    Political Arenas and Agents

    1. Why are organizations such active political arenas? 2. Give an example of when an experience or observation from working with a virtual team. What benefits do you observe? What adaptations do you have to make in the teams processes?

    Employee engagement article

    Select an article based on the topic of employee engagement or Management's Ethical Responsibility to Employees. Review the article using the following format with the headings indicated in bold below: 1.Citation: 2.Summary: focus on the author's main points. 3.Critique: how the article influenced understan

    Minors and contract law

    1. Tommy McCartney is a sixteen-year-old high school student. He has worked forty hours per week at the local convenience store over the last year, and has diligently saved $6,000 for the purchase of his first car. While visiting a local car dealership, Tommy finds the "car of his dreams," a used yellow Camaro. Tommy walks

    Commercial Disparagement

    Commercial Disparagement When Olivia P. Rae talks, people listen. As a talk show host on her nationally-syndicated television program, "The 'O' Show," Olivia reaches approximately thirty (30) million viewers each week. Her dedicated viewers are collectively referred to as "Olivia's Militia," and most of her viewers wait for

    Commerce Clause Questions

    Respond to statements in regard to case (The State of Organic recently adopted new milk safety standards that are stricter than any other state in the United States. The standards are designed to assure the safety of the milk supply and protect the health of adults and children who consume milk. The standards have been scientifi

    The Dormant Commerce Clause

    The State of Organic recently adopted new milk safety standards that are stricter than any other state in the United States. The standards are designed to assure the safety of the milk supply and protect the health of adults and children who consume milk. The standards have been scientifically proven to make the milk supply 9% s

    Ethics and Global Organizations

    Please help responding to the following: 1. What are the differences in ethical systems and cultural practices within global organizations? What are some strategies that a global organization employs to accommodate the differences? 2. What role do personal ethical and moral values play in leadership? How can the lines of e

    Richard Fuld

    How did Richard Fuld achieve his level of power and influence he had? Why did he have so many followers? Please cite source for response.

    Creating Culture in an Organization

    It has been determined that the culture of ACME Corp. promotes poor quality, low productivity and horrendous customer service. You have been hired as an outside consultant to quickly diagnose the root causes. What tools and processes will you propose to the client and why? Make a case to the decision makers for your approach

    Ethical Considerations in the WHO and Smoking

    From an ethical perspective, examine the pros and cons (based on the following reading) of the WHO's strategies to promote smoking cessation (i.e. - what ethical arguments can be made in support of these strategies? Against these strategies?). Discuss both (a) the argument in support of the WHO's strategy, and (b) the arguments

    Financial Risk Management: Economic Downturn 2007

    I need background information where a globally invested business failed to mitigate global risk in the financial crisis beginning in 2007 and determine the financial risk considerations of globalization in the financial crisis that started in 2007. Need specific focus on: * The context of the case researched. *Metric-

    Economics: The Sabanes-Oxley Act

    - Provide a brief history of the Sabanes-Oxley Act in your own words, and explain why it was initially enacted. - What business or company would you consider the best example for where the Sabanes-Oxley Act was utilized? - Give a brief description of the company or business you selected. - How was the act implemented into th

    Protecting Workers in a Company

    Companies work in tough areas of the world on a daily basis. These companies often make it work short of pulling out of the country. Look at the oil and gas companies in Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq. These are extraordinarily dangerous places to operate, but they make it work. How? What are they doing that we're not seeing in

    Should companies pay bribe money to terrorists?

    The corporation for which you are on the board of directors operates globally. One of their subsidiaries is a banana growing farm in Colombia, South America. You have learned that the company has been paying bribes to a terrorist organization in Colombia in order to protect the people who work for your company, and that the only

    Business Ethics: Dealing with Security Breaches

    You are the Head of Security for your multimillion-dollar corporation. Recently, you have been restoring your computer system because of a serious breach that occurred over a period of several weeks before it was detected by your computer analysts. You estimate that the financial loss associated with this attack is $27,148,000.

    Trump and Kepcher Scenario

    On Donald Trump's personal blog, "Carolyn,"4 about Carolyn Kepcher, Donald Trump's former apprentice on his Apprentice show, Trump wrote that Ms. Kepcher was terminated because "she loved her fame and she loved her celebrity on The Apprentice and it was affecting her work. She wasn't doing her job like she used to or was capable

    Ethics in a Concert Cancellation

    Here is an ethical aspect of contracts -imagine you were a ticketholder to a Michael Jackson concert at the time of his death. The Final Tour is announced, tickets go on sale, the shows immediately sell out, and then Michael Jackson dies quite suddenly two weeks before the tour is to begin. Aside from any legal contractual issue

    Determining Scholarly Sources

    The Internet provides many opportunities to access information. However, not all information is relevant information, nor is all information good information. Discuss how one would determine a scholarly source from a non-scholarly source. Identify characteristics of scholarly resources.

    Non-Market Environment Analysis

    Using the fours I's—issues, institutions, interests and information—that characterize the non-market environment, develop an analysis of the fast food industry using McDonald's as your primary focus.

    Non-Market Strategy for Sucessful Business Performance

    I need some help answering this topic question, I choose Pharmaceutical Industries: "An effective market strategy is necessary for successful performance, but is not always sufficient. An effective non-market strategy is rarely sufficient, but for most firms it is necessary for successful performance." Explain this statement u