Villar, Claidenn C.

12 – Achievement
Business Finance OL

Read the article entitled, "Business Ethics And Integrity: It Starts With The Tone At The Top" in Forbes
website. This can be found at:

Then answer the following questions:

1. What is Business Ethics?

Business ethics is the study of appropriate business policies and practices regarding potentially
controversial subjects including corporate governance, insider trading, bribery, discrimination, corporate
social responsibility, and fiduciary responsibilities. (Investopedia)

2. Based from your understanding of the article, why do ethical issues arise in corporate setting?

The arising ethical issues in a corporate setting is not primarily because of bad behaviour of the CEO and
other higher officials of the company, it’s because of the many uncontrollable external factor like social
media pressures that leads to greater scrutiny from the public. Of course, CEOs want a good reputation
so even if it means to do internal wrong doings and illegal violations, they tend to do it just to make sure
their business would be viewed as successful one without being mindful on the ethics they must
execute.

3. Based from your understanding of the article, how can a firm have a strong and positive
commitment to Business Ethics?

The CEO is the primary responsible in cultivating a strong commitment in business ethics. They should
be open to their employees because their workers play a big role in the success of their business they
must be approachable and genuine to everyone. They should let their employees be comfortable in
sharing their thoughts because knowing they are heard results to more productive and innovative team.
They should also practice transparency by bridging the gap and inspiring everyone to do their best
because it’s always more of “we” than “me”, instilling the essence of company culture.