We are independent & ad-supported. We may earn a commission for purchases made through our links.
Advertiser Disclosure
Our website is an independent, advertising-supported platform. We provide our content free of charge to our readers, and to keep it that way, we rely on revenue generated through advertisements and affiliate partnerships. This means that when you click on certain links on our site and make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn more.
How We Make Money
We sustain our operations through affiliate commissions and advertising. If you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, we may receive a commission from the merchant at no additional cost to you. We also display advertisements on our website, which help generate revenue to support our work and keep our content free for readers. Our editorial team operates independently of our advertising and affiliate partnerships to ensure that our content remains unbiased and focused on providing you with the best information and recommendations based on thorough research and honest evaluations. To remain transparent, we’ve provided a list of our current affiliate partners here.
HR

Our Promise to you

Founded in 2002, our company has been a trusted resource for readers seeking informative and engaging content. Our dedication to quality remains unwavering—and will never change. We follow a strict editorial policy, ensuring that our content is authored by highly qualified professionals and edited by subject matter experts. This guarantees that everything we publish is objective, accurate, and trustworthy.

Over the years, we've refined our approach to cover a wide range of topics, providing readers with reliable and practical advice to enhance their knowledge and skills. That's why millions of readers turn to us each year. Join us in celebrating the joy of learning, guided by standards you can trust.

What is Business Ethics?

By Garry Crystal
Updated: May 16, 2024
Views: 581,499
Share

Business ethics is the behavior that a business adheres to in its daily dealings with the world. The ethics of a particular business can be diverse. They apply not only to how the business interacts with the world at large, but also to their one-on-one dealings with a single customer.

Many businesses have gained a bad reputation just by being in business. To some people, businesses are interested in making money, and that is the bottom line. It could be called capitalism in its purest form. Making money is not wrong in itself. It is the manner in which some businesses conduct themselves that brings up the question of ethical behavior.

Good business ethics should be a part of every business. There are many factors to consider. When a company does business with another that is considered unethical, does this make the first company unethical by association? Some people would say yes, the first business has a responsibility and it is now a link in the chain of unethical businesses.

Many global businesses, including most of the major brands that the public use, can be seen not to think too highly of good business ethics. Many major brands have been fined millions for breaking ethical business laws. Money is the major deciding factor.

If a company does not adhere to business ethics and breaks the laws, they usually end up being fined. Many companies have broken anti-trust, ethical and environmental laws and received fines worth millions. The problem is that the amount of money these companies are making outweighs the fines applied. Billion dollar profits blind the companies to their lack of business ethics, and the dollar sign wins.

A business may be a multi-million seller, but does it use good business ethics and do people care? There are popular soft drinks and fast food restaurants that have been fined time and time again for unethical behavior. Business ethics should eliminate exploitation, from the sweat shop children who are making sneakers to the coffee serving staff who are being ripped off in wages. Business ethics can be applied to everything from the trees cut down to make the paper that a business sells to the ramifications of importing coffee from certain countries.

In the end, it may be up to the public to make sure that a company adheres to correct business ethics. If the company is making large amounts of money, they may not wish to pay too close attention to their ethical behavior. There are many companies that pride themselves in their correct business ethics, but in this competitive world, they are becoming very few and far between.

Share
SmartCapitalMind is dedicated to providing accurate and trustworthy information. We carefully select reputable sources and employ a rigorous fact-checking process to maintain the highest standards. To learn more about our commitment to accuracy, read our editorial process.
Discussion Comments
By anon348906 — On Sep 21, 2013

When thing go awry in a business, that's a point where ethics makes an escape through the window. To be a good business; business must be good. And when business is good, the company would most likely keep its ethical integrity.

By anon348493 — On Sep 17, 2013

@anon33890 Post 14: Sure. How can I help?

By anon231777 — On Nov 27, 2011

Why is ethical management important in business?

By anon228512 — On Nov 09, 2011

can i ask who is the author of this?

By anon220367 — On Oct 07, 2011

Explain major factors that influence business ethics.

By kate84 — On May 28, 2011

I have an interview for a business course coming up and have been asked to write a 500 word essay on what I believe business ethics are and how they apply to businesses. Can someone please help with this?

From what I understand. business ethics are pretty much a company contract or policy which is a guideline for all involved in that business to follow including not just profit but fairness to employees, suppliers, etc. Am I on the right lines with this? Thank you.

By anon168444 — On Apr 17, 2011

I am studying towards a Business Science degree. As a future business person, I think it is crucial to know more about business ethics!

By anon156169 — On Feb 25, 2011

this is a good article to introduce business ethics.

By anon154687 — On Feb 21, 2011

The article doesn't tell you a lot about what you need to know about business ethics, just a basic outline. i think that it would be more informative if you added more examples and information on what the pubic finds ethical in a business situation.

By anon134479 — On Dec 14, 2010

The vast majority of businesses are ethical. We should not condemn all businesses for the actions of a few. An honest statistical analysis of good versus bad would confirm this point. Just ask yourself this question: Are you working for an overtly unethical company? If you answered yes, then you are part of the problem.

By anon133308 — On Dec 10, 2010

what are the code of ethics in the computer industry?

By anon129035 — On Nov 21, 2010

very good article. I intend to built an exam around it for my students and talk the issue over with them.

By anon120028 — On Oct 20, 2010

People like milton friedman can be directly held responsible for the business disasters like the bhopal tragedy and enron scandal, as he believed and propagated the concept that business people should only make profits as they don't have expertise in social tasks, meaning make profit forget ethics. This is evident from the unhindered advance of the corporates in exploiting the resources world over.

By anon115738 — On Oct 04, 2010

Ethics is as much a part of business as oil is a part of water. It is inevitable that a business should work with or against the moral standard. Simply put, a rim of paper here is one less tree there.

Morals have no mediation because they measure human emotion. Business is a measure of quantified values.

In the end, where business is binary, then ethics is analog.

A business is only as ethical as the people who run it. No, that is wrong. A business is only as ethical as the bad taste it leaves in your mouth when you've swallowed the good stuff.

By anon109052 — On Sep 05, 2010

those people saying you're wrong are wrong. well done.

By anon105786 — On Aug 22, 2010

Has this person ever run a business? I doubt it. The article reads like an MSNBC rant, just absurd. 99 percent of US businesses are run in an ethical manner. The ones that aren't are newsworthy.

This author doesn't add anything to help. The real issues are when there are different interpretations of right and wrong due to cultural, societal or personal standards. How does a business resolve these issues?

By anon105096 — On Aug 19, 2010

why are the big companies failing to be ethical? good ethical levels in a company mean good productivity for the company.

By anon96550 — On Jul 16, 2010

i love what you have but seems it's hard to save the work for future reference. Anyway, good work. keep it up.

By anon92413 — On Jun 28, 2010

what are business consequences and why are they necessary?

By anon91261 — On Jun 21, 2010

Can i ask a question? When is business considered as capitalistic? Thanks.

By anon90556 — On Jun 16, 2010

business ethics should be like trust. van b.

By anon87941 — On Jun 02, 2010

This a great website. Thank you so much!

By anon73105 — On Mar 25, 2010

all i want is to know a good type of business ethics, not the bad type!

By anon69614 — On Mar 09, 2010

I am so thankful for your insightful discussion on business ethics. please keep it up!

luciano, Makerere University-Uganda

By anon69347 — On Mar 07, 2010

Why is it important?

By anon68838 — On Mar 04, 2010

why is business so important?

By anon63973 — On Feb 04, 2010

where can I find information on business ethics in germany?

By anon58427 — On Jan 01, 2010

I want to be a business professor. How will I teach my students to make good decisions, ethically?

By anon57530 — On Dec 23, 2009

Is Unocal morally responsible for the injuries inflicted on some of the karen people? explain?

By anon57182 — On Dec 20, 2009

there are many ways that people understand business ethics, but not all of them are right. in order to really understand business ethics, one should go over the examples of Enron, Cadbury, Walmart, Starbucks, etc. This is how one can really understand the need of business ethics and the impact it has on major businesses.

one more thing: business ethics cannot always be seen in a negative perspective. for example, The Body Shop stopped animal testing and has dedicated itself for the good of the society. that is one promising business ethic. TAHA

By anon53848 — On Nov 24, 2009

If you personally want others to treat you in the right way that you deserve but not in the wrong way, it means that you want people should treat you in an ethical way.

As such, business ethics are similar. It should treat with others, whether internal or external, in the right way without crossing the lines, and this means business should be ethical as it exists.

By anon53437 — On Nov 21, 2009

please help me about my assignment. what is the code of ethics of the course in business information management? can anyone answer this?

By anon52201 — On Nov 12, 2009

the above article is short but it is good and moral. Business not only for making money it is much higher than that. It is all about reputation in market, rapport with suppliers of yours and mostly probably customer count. Always the proverb is true and proves that the customer or client or guest is treated as God and God is happy, then all is well. Business is a way to make good relations with all, even if it is concern about finance, relations with supplier or guest or costumer. --Neeraj

By anon50631 — On Oct 30, 2009

give three reasons why businesses should operate under an ethical policy?

By anon47514 — On Oct 05, 2009

i like this article, but i need some more good points to add in my essay on business ethics, of 350 words. can anybody make for me with references? Thanks.

By anon43745 — On Sep 01, 2009

what do you associate business with?

By anon38197 — On Jul 24, 2009

I blame social isolation.

By anon35063 — On Jul 02, 2009

how can the public can make sure that a company adheres to correct business ethics?

By anon33890 — On Jun 13, 2009

Can anyone do my business ethics homework for me? Rather than doing the work myself and gaining an understanding of ethics that would help me better navigate the business world, I figured I'd post the questions here and wait for someone else to answer it for me. Thanks!

By emekandu — On May 12, 2009

Can anyone examine critically the inevitability of ethics in business activities?

By anon31478 — On May 06, 2009

pls i need your help to solve the question "examine critically the inevitability of ethics in business activities." thanks

By Kentucky0323 — On Feb 15, 2009

Which one of these (Metaethics, Normative ethics, applied ethics) is best for making business decisions and why?

By anon22837 — On Dec 11, 2008

what are consequences of greed in term of politics or economy of the country?

By lynnwill43 — On Nov 11, 2008

Which moral philosophy you feel is best suited for making business decisions and why?

By anon19626 — On Oct 16, 2008

the article is very knowledgeable and logical i like the true aspect of the article.

By anon17427 — On Aug 29, 2008

why is it necessary to apply business ethics?

By chungman — On Mar 26, 2008

yes!

By bigmetal — On Feb 21, 2008

business ethics often is an oxymoron. fortunately, there are some businesses that still demand ethical behavior among its employees, and that's heartening. also, i think one of the number one priorities is treating employees well, and they are often forgotten by employers.

Share
https://www.smartcapitalmind.com/what-is-business-ethics.htm
Copy this link
SmartCapitalMind, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.

SmartCapitalMind, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.