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Ethical & Moral Issues in Business
MGT/216 – Week 1
4/26/2009
University of Phoenix
Shannan Elizabeth
Defining the difference between ethics and morals in relation to business can be just as difficult as defining their difference in any setting. There is a common misconception that ethics and morals mean the same thing. While these two words relate to each other more often than not, they each have their own meaning. This paper will address the difference between ethical and moral issues, and the differences between personal and business ethics.
Many individuals would define both morals and ethics as knowing the difference between right and wrong. While this may seem correct to some, there is a definite difference between the two. Morals are basically personal characteristics that are developed throughout life. Moral guidelines are formed through activities, experiences, and interaction with others. An individual who was raised as a Christian may believe that it is morally wrong to lie, cheat, steal, choose abortion, have children out of wedlock, and so on. Ethics are more of a code of conduct than a belief or feeling. Many businesses are beginning to include ethics within their own code of conduct. A good example of this would be a Christian who is a doctor may believe it is morally wrong to provide a female patient with a prescription for the morning after pill yet understands it is their ethical duty to provide this service without bias.
It seems much easier to discuss the difference between personal ethics and business ethics. Personal ethics affect individuals and what they perceive as right or wrong in their own everyday life. Business ethics are a code of conduct within the business. While it is easy to differentiate between the two, it can be very difficult to separate these in the field. It can become complicated if the business’ ethics are different than the personal ethics of the employee. There are many cases in which...