LESSON 7: EMERGING

BUSINESS ETHICS ISSUES

RECOGNIZING AN ETHICAL ISSUE (ETHICAL
AWARENESS)
• The first step in understanding business ethics is to develop ethical issue awareness.
• Awareness arises because of conflicts among individuals’ personal moral philosophies and
values.
• Failure to acknowledge ethical issues puts corporation at great risk.
• An ethical issue is a situation or a problem that requires thought, discussion or investigation in
order to make a decision.
 RECOGNIZING AN ETHICAL ISSUE

1. HONESTY
⮚ Also involves being trustworthy, loyal, fair and sincere.

2. FAIRNESS
⮚ Impartial and just treatment or behavior without favoritism or discrimination.

3. INTEGRITY
⮚ The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles.

✔ Honesty, fairness and integrity are the glue that holds businesses together.
TYPES OF ETHICAL ISSUES AND DILEMMAS
IN BUSINESS:
1. ABUSIVE AND INTIMIDATING BEHAVIOR
o These concepts can mean anything from physical threats, insults, and harshness.
2. LYING
o false statements and untruthfulness.
3. BRIBERY
o The giving or offering of a bribe.
 2 types of Bribery

1. Active bribery – actions are taken by the

person giving the bribe.
2. Passive bribery – actions are taken by the
person on the receiving end of the bribe.
4. DISCRIMINATION
o the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things, especially on the
grounds of race, age, or sex.
5. FRAUD
o Wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain.
6. Illegal insider trading
❑ is the trading of a public company’s stock or
other securities based on material, nonpublic
information about the company.
7. BULLYING
❑ bullying is associated with a hostile workplace
where a person or group is threatened, harassed or
overly criticized.
8. Misuse of company time and resources – is a major
form of observed misconduct in organizations.

- Computer and Internet

9. Conflict of interest – exists when an individual must
choose whether to advance his or her own interests, those
of the organization or those of some other groups.

- To avoid conflicts of interest, employees must be able to

separate their private interests from business dealings.
THANK YOU