Ethical and Moral Issues in Business

Whether you are an employee or an employer, exhibiting good practice of ethical and moral behavior is essential to ensure a successful business environment. We know that morals and ethics are related to individual character; however ethics and morals carry a very important role in how people conduct business. This essay will differentiate ethical issues and moral issues, and address the difference between personal and business ethics as well as provide common examples of ethical problems in business.

What are the differences between ethical issues and moral issues?

What prevents an individual from stealing? How about that tiny voice within that stops you in your steps? It is called Morals. Morals explain an individual's honest and dishonest behavior. Normally, morals are taught by our parents at early age by establishing the difference between good and bad behavior. At a large company in Nevada, certain employees were given favoritism by providing special favors to their manager, such as dog sitting while the manager was out of town, going to happy hour after work hours and going out to lunch. Although other employees in that department were proficient at their work, they only performed their required job duties and as a result were excluded from the special favors. At the same company, pay raises were eliminated, along with 401k contributions, and bonuses; however, upper management continued to receive all of the monetary benefits regardless of what they called a freeze on benefits due to the changes in the economy.

According to BusinessEthics.ca "Business Ethics" can be defined as the critical, structured examination of how people & institutions should behave in the world of commerce (BusinessEthics.ca.) Ethics are established when these morals are combined and recognized as a standard for society's behavior. For example, the selling of addictive, life threatening products i.e.…cigarettes is legal only because it creates wealth for the decision makers on Capitol Hill, but method in which they are able to get their laws passed is also