Business Ethics and Society

Question: Consider the aims and approach of the business ethics course that you are currently studying. What are these, and how effective is the approach for achieving these aims? What would you like to see done differently? Answer: Business ethics is a form of applied ethics that basically assesses the principles of ethics or analyses the problems related with ethics or morals. Business ethics is relevant to the conduct of the individuals and it also applies to every aspect of the conduct of the business. There are descriptive and normative dimensions of the ethics in business. It is evident that nowadays there are multiple issues that are seen in business units in terms of ethics. The ethical issues that are faced by business units nowadays can also harm the reputation of the business units as well as the welfare due to the fact that the awareness of the consumers has increased significantly at present (Das Gupta, 2010). It is evident that the governments in various countries impose various laws in order to maintain the ethics of the business units. In the case study it is examined that the business schools to some extend encourage the corruption in business. It is also evident that the business ethics training can potentially affect the students of the course. It is identified in the case study that the most of the infamous cases of corruption and fraud are alumni from the leading business schools but there are groups of people from the department to criticise on this aspect (Gavai, 2010). In the past few years, the commentators and the business gurus have condemned the business schools publicly for their misguided and perpetual techniques and theories. They are also criticised because of their lack of emphasis on the curriculum on business ethics. In business schools people are trained in a wrong ways and thus it leads to wrong consequences in future (Ghoshal, 2005). Thus it is very important to undertake the process effectively so that the issues of business ethics can be resolved. The idea that each and every individual in t he industry is self-interested and the business is a zero-sum game etc is devoid of any moral responsibility. In this context it is also depicted that maximising the value of the shareholder is the only legitimate objective for a business unit and it should focus on that (Hogan, 2010). Thus it is very important to reintroduce the importance of business ethics in the industry and such importance is also considered in the business course in our current study. It is evident from the case study that in 34% of the schools of the US the ethical courses are provided whereas such education is higher in Europe. It is seen in 50% of the schools in Europe offers the course in business ethics and morality. The importance of the business ethics course is taken into consideration in our course and thus an effective approach is also undertaken so that the students are able to understand the importance of business ethics and the effectiveness of the applicability of the ethical business in practical scenario (Raths, 2005). It is known that infusing the ethics with education is very important and various developments are required in the basic educational courses to achieve such objectives. The main aim of the business ethics course is firstly; to examine the purpose and the role of ethics in business units as it can significantly affect the success of the business units. Secondly, to present the ethical values that is related to the business units especially with respect to development of trust, fairness, honesty and dignity. Thirdly, to present the methods of resolving ethical dilemmas, case analysis, and moral reasoning. Fourthly, to investigate the ethical ideas and the ethical obligations that is existent between the employees and the employer. Fifthly, to present and explore the aspects of the corporate social responsibility in case of the business units (Richardson, 2002). Sixthly, to investigate whether there are any boundaries on advertising, sales or marketing that can be set on the business units in terms of ethical obligations. The final aim is to consider the moral obligations that a business units should abide by in order to maintain their corporate respon sibility towards the people in the society (Schrempf-Stirling and Palazzo, 2013). Thus these are the main aims and objectives of the business ethics course that I am currently studying. It is known that the business ethics is one of the most discussed concepts in recent times and it is also known that the con summers are more aware of the business practices of the units and they also take that into consideration while making their purchase decisions. Thus the business course is significant in order to identify the importance of business ethics at present and how it can increase the efficiency and the effectiveness of the operations of the business. In our course effective approaches are also considered by the course unit. In this course we will learn how other types of values can be distinguished with ethics for the business units and we will also learn the common beliefs of business units in ethics. In this course, the theoretical approach is undertaken for understanding the roles of ethics in business. Here various case studies are illustrated and discussed in order to gain the idea regarding the importance of business ethics and the issues that can be faced by the companies if they do not abide by the business ethics (Shaw, 2011). It is also identified that there should be ethical relations within the business units and thus it should be taken into consideration as well. Here it is known that the unethical business practices are not only harmful and undesirable for the society and the economy but it is harmful for the business unit as well. Thus the aim of the course is to educate the students regarding such impact of business ethics and the approaches in the course are taken accordingly so that th e students will learn to address the issue and understand the nature of the issues that can b faced by the business units if appropriate measures are not taken. Here it can be said that the approach that is undertaken for the course is very effective as it can successfully address the topics that are required to be evaluated in terms of business ethics. Here it can be said that the course and the approach is very effective. In the course the emphasis is given on the description of the concept of business ethics and the application of the topic on the business units (von Weltzien Hivik, 2004). The course has successfully helped in establishing the practice of teaching moral philosophy or introducing and improving the normative thinking among the students. Here the ethics is presented in terms of the wide social and economic context. The importance of corporate social responsibility and its applicability is also discussed and various case studies and real life scenarios of the companies are presented. Here it can be said that the business ethics course is very effective in addressing the issues that are faced by business units presently and it also enlightens on the concepts of corporate responsibility and the ethics in business. But more practical approach is required here and it will be even more effective if real life case scenarios are discussed with every aspect of the topic. The benefits of ethical business approach, the consequences that can be faced if ethical approach is not taken etc can be shown from the real life case scenarios of various business units. This will increase the effectiveness of the course to a certain degree and new conceptual territories in the topic need to be identified as well. References Das Gupta, A. (2010).Ethics, business and society. Los Angeles: Response Books. Gavai, A. (2010).Business ethics. Mumbai [India]: Himalaya Pub. House. Ghoshal, S. (2005). Bad Management Theories Are Destroying Good Management Practices.Academy of Management Learning Education, 4(1), pp.75-91. Hogan, P. (2010). Preface to an ethics of education as a practice in its own right.Ethics and Education, 5(2), pp.85-98. Raths, D. (2005). Business Schools - Driving Ethics into Mainstream.Business Ethics: The Magazine of Corporate Responsibility, 19(4), pp.12-12. Richardson, J. (2002).Business ethics. Guilford, CT.: McGraw-Hill/Dushkin. Schrempf-Stirling, J. and Palazzo, G. (2013). Upstream Corporate Social Responsibility: The Evolution From Contract Responsibility to Full Producer Responsibility.Business Society. Shaw, W. (2011).Business ethics. Boston, MA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning. von Weltzien Hivik, H. (2004). Learning Experiences from Designing and Teaching a Mandatory MBA Course on Ethics and Leadership.Journal of Business Ethics Education, 1(2), pp.239-255.