Comparing Two Articles Of Morality: Self-Serving Or Traditional

Improved Essays
Two Articles of Morality Compared
The comparison of the two articles in question is one of ethics, morals and public opinion. While the article by Bailey, (2014), argues that traditional morality, treat others as you would want to be treated, is a norm for business, with a counter argument of a situational morality being the norm for business; the article by Choy, (2012), argues that public opinion is that major companies are not ethical. The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast these two articles.
Morality: Self-serving or Traditional
The example set forth in the article by Bailey (2014), is that while self-serving actions may seem to promote benefits, in the long run, those self-serving actions will only diminish the benefits. Take for example the illustration of the women reading and discarding the newspaper on the ground when she is finished (Bailey, 2014). The self-serving benefit is that she does not take the time to find proper disposal of the paper, while the long-term
…show more content…
While traditional ethics can play a role in business and life, situational ethics, which is the foundation of Bailey’s (2014) argument may have a place in business. For instance, it is wrong to take a life of another human being, but in times of war, it is mandated on the battle field. The third argument by Choy (2012), is that the public sector will make an ethical judgment on a company when that company is not forth right in doing so itself. While Johnson and Johnson voluntarily recalled Tylenol brand acetaminophen, and set itself up as a moral company by this act (Choy, 2012). Enron shredded valuable legal documents which ended in government sanctions. Thus, we can surmise that while a moral decision may be right for one situation, it may be wrong for another, and the public will force companies to be ethical or pass negative judgment upon those

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Ethics is a part of almost everything in our lives. It’s what allows us to consciously make good decisions and avoid bad decisions to guide us through life. Even if someone is unfamiliar with the word ethics, a majority of people can distinguish what is the right thing to do in most situations but can also consciously do the wrong thing. This can apply to anything from miniscule daily tasks to giant corporate decisions that can affect many lives, that is ethics. In the following pages, we will discuss; What I feel is the responsibility of top leadership in regards to balancing profits and stakeholder concerns, how businesses have greatly improved on ethics since the 1800’s, welfare capitalism and its role in contemporary business ethics, and…

    • 1461 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    They American Food Supplier asked their suppliers to provide false documentation regarding the money owed and the purchase documentation. Ethics governs the behavior of people as well as groups of people and distinguishes between good and evil, right and wrong (Maicibi & Yahaya, 2013). The case provides evidence of how the company was not ethical as it was involved in unethical activities that led to the loss of millions. As a result of the immoral activities, the company lost approximately two-thirds of its stock price value, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer lost their jobs. Also, high-level managers from parent company stepped down to pave the way for…

    • 1475 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Introduction For a long period of time, ethics and management have been a much discussed relationship. Must managers make the transition to becoming moral leaders in order to be a successful leader? Does the transition mean what ethical leadership is all about? Some people agree with the statement above. Meanwhile, some people think that ethics is irrelevant in management.…

    • 938 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The unethical decision by both parties during this scandal caused great unrest for the public. It wasn’t just the failure of laws and regulations, but also the failures of corporate leaders and attorneys that were supposed to foster an ethical self-policing practice. Enron was the example to many other businesses at the time that exploited large payoffs to accounting firms in return for misrepresented…

    • 1234 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    main aim of a business is to make profit. Finance is the lifeblood of a business and therefore, for a business to survive, it must generate profit. In order to make profit, a business must sell more and more, in other words, bigger sales. For bigger sales to be realized, a business must properly market its products to both existing and prospective customers. In its bid to market its products, a business is faced with one big challenge: to remain ethical at all times.…

    • 832 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    The topic covered relates to specific companies that went against these rules and regulations to try and accomplish selfish goals. This information is significant for a businessperson because such examples portray topics that any businessperson may encounter. Understanding the background of ethics and how it ties to businesses is…

    • 1126 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    Ethics in business is of crucial importance in the decision making of reputable companies in the United States and abroad. It's regarded as, "a significant factor which has an influence on both the success and profits of modern companies" (Sroka & Lorinczy, 2015, p. 156). The G2Q case study is one such entity. From inception, the South Pacific business venture appears to be tainted with injustices. There are many layers of inequities in favor of monetary gain in the form of profit sharing and substantial bonuses on behalf of the company, managers, and local officials; with no regard for the indigenous workers or the local community.…

    • 1489 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    Individuals can be challenged to act ethically or morally, as because doing the right thing is not always the easy option. They may find themselves faced with pressures to produce certain profits that cause them to set aside goodness. Self-centered thinking and peer pressure can factor in the challenges in the workplace. Human beings have an inner guide that knows the right thing to do in each situation, including the business world. For some, the ability to act ethically is a simple choice but for others it is a difficult task (Pastin 2013).…

    • 1486 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The three primary ethical issues of the Breakaway project are gambling, violence and sex. The game lured the user in by offering credits to advance in the game. This behavior is very similar to the compulsive gambler. The company was plotting to entice the user to buy more credits to get further in the game just as casinos do luring the gambler in by showing winners receiving millions of dollars. The positive in the game is providing entertainment to the non-compulsive users.…

    • 421 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Code of Conduct Sprint Corporation, Inc. Since the beginning of trade, ethics has played into business. Although codes of conduct have been documented for many years, there still continues to be scandals in corporations concerning ethics. “The very exercise of developing a code is in itself worthwhile; it forces a large number of people...to think through in a fresh way their mission and the important obligations they as a group and as individuals have with respect to society as a whole." A Corporate code of conduct should have these four actions documented clearly: • statement of unacceptable behavior • how the policy will be enforced • how and whom to make an incident report to • training and reference materials for organizers, staff,…

    • 831 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Why Is Aristotle Is Wrong

    • 623 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Miller argues that most business practices are not necessarily unjust. What is up for interpretation are “the actions of a business person” their choices and how it “could be the expression of a moral virtue” (p.45). A “moral virtue” is the choice between behaving in the right manner and wrong manner. It also acts as a mean between extremes of deficiency and excess. Learning “moral virtue” is done mainly through practice rather than through reasoning and instruction.…

    • 623 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Thus, we often see articles about how companies covered up their soon-to-be scandals, how companies assured citizens but ended up hurting the environment (chemical companies and their wastes), and fraud among executives like the ENRON scandal. The ENRON scandal was a big event in American economy history, because such large energy company was doing illegal practices, from the executives to employees, no one said anything before it was revealed. There must be employees who knew about the executives’ action and were against it, but because of loyalty and they were afraid to be fired, what they could have done was limited, and this is just one example among many. In result, to prevent such big problems from happening, companies must guide their members in an ethically way. As Daryl Koehn, author of the article “Is Business Ethics an Oxymoron?”, wrote: “In more general terms, businesses must care about ethics because businesses are part of a human community.…

    • 1291 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Apple Ethics Case Study

    • 1022 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Throughout this paper, the ethics behind the popular Apple company will be discussed and shared. Ethics in business can be defined as “the study and examination of moral and social responsibility in…

    • 1022 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Airport Ethical Dilemmas

    • 1115 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Head lining enterprises and their government often have the authority and the overall power to approve or disapprove of decisions that (in the long run) will obviously affect the public’s well-being, therefore, they practice the art of ethical decision-making. Ethical issues always have a way of showing up in situations where multiple stakeholders, interests and values fuse and rules are ambiguous or terribly enforced. These decisions being made by people we can hardly trust have the potential of an aftermath of tremendous social consequences, mostly with regards to safety, health and welfare of employees, consumers and the entire community (McGuiggan, 2012). It’s no secret.…

    • 1115 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Nowadays, Laws are used to as rules to set the standards of behaviors act by people. As the most advanced mammal on the earth, human beings also have morals to enforce the power of those standards or set up other groups of standards of right and wrong that influence people’s behaviors which are also unknown as ethics. That is the ethics for the society people live in, while there is another term called ‘business ethics’ related to rules, standards and moral principles those are set up in the world of business to guide business related behaviors. An increasing number of companies noticed the benefits of business ethics and the advantage of improving ethical behaviors, but there is always one issue which is profit versus ethics. As businesses…

    • 1369 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays