Complete 10 page APA formatted essay: Business Ethics in the Business World.Download file to see previous pages... The world of business, naturally, is no exception. Applied in such a context, these p

Complete 10 page APA formatted essay: Business Ethics in the Business World.

The world of business, naturally, is no exception. Applied in such a context, these principles come into play in all aspects relating to business matters, especially when moral or ethical problems arise. Organizations and individuals alike demonstrate their grasp of business ethics in everything they do. In fact, business ethics may encompass a whole world of subjects on its own, many of which touch on the nature of the relationship between an organization, its employees, its clients and its stakeholders. Regardless, the main point that comes into play is that of the concept of right and wrong - whether a given course of action is right and just with respect to all parties involved (Smith, 1952).&nbsp.The origins of the entire concept of business ethics date back as far as before the Christian Era, having first been discussed in ancient times by Cicero (Goldin, 2006). His view on the matter, one in line with the principles of Stoicism, mainly holds that no single set of moral principles can apply to all aspects of everyday life. This means that, while the business world is still bound by principles of morality, these principles are not necessarily the same as those ascribed to by laypeople. indeed, businessmen have every right to the pursuit of profit, as it is their way of contributing to society. At the same time, though, such right only extends insofar as it does not conflict with the common good, at which point the latter should always prevail. This directly ties into the related concept of corporate social responsibility.&nbsp....

The origins of the entire concept of business ethics date back as far as before the Christian Era, having first been discussed in ancient times by Cicero (Goldin, 2006). His view on the matter, one in line with the principles of Stoicism, mainly holds that no single set of moral principles can apply to all aspects of everyday life. This means that, while the business world is still bound by principles of morality, these principles are not necessarily the same as those ascribed to by laypeople. indeed, businessmen have every right to the pursuit of profit, as it is their way of contributing to society. At the same time, though, such right only extends insofar as it does not conflict with the common good, at which point the latter should always prevail. This directly ties into the related concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR), which in turn helps ensure that an organization consistently complies with ethical standards (Wood, 1991). In the academic context, on the other hand, business ethics is a fairly new topic of interest. Baumhart (1961) was probably the very first to discuss the subject in his studies, and is actually credited by DeGeorge (2005) as one of the main proponents of academic business ethics. At the time, the Cold War as well as the Vietnam War was well under way, and America as a whole was experiencing rapid paradigm shifts with respect to business and even society itself. In fact, it was during this time that most of the corporate giants we know today were born. Of course, the rise of these corporations also had certain detrimental consequences, some of which earned them the ire of the public.