Business Ethics (PHY 245)

Assignment Topic: Critically examine the role of

business ethics in the task of building a good society.

Student Name: UKA KALU PETER

Matric No: 06100----

BUS 221 Assignment – Role of Business Ethics in building a good society. – 06100----

Critically examine the role of business

ethics in the task of building a good
society.
The task of building a good society is not a very simple or easy one. All aspects of society need
to positively and vigorously contribute to its achievement. And of all the aspects of society that
need to contribute to the process and achievement of building a good society, the ‘business
world’ as I’d like to refer to it, is one of the most important - if not the most important. It
represents the economic aspect of society. An aspect of society whose importance cannot be
over-emphasized.

But it’s not just the role of business itself that will be examined here – but the importance of how
business is done to the overall process of building a good society. Isn’t profit making via the
creation and provision of needed goods and services enough? Does it really matter how business
is done? What are the possible effects of good and bad business ethics? And how do they affect
the development of society?

Before I move further into the subject and attempt to answer these and possibly other related
questions, I’d like to just quickly attempt to clarify the meaning of business, ethics and business
ethics.

What is business?
Business as an activity may be defined as any lawful, commercial activity aimed at supplying
goods and services for profit. As an institution, it may be defined as a formal organisation
involved in the creation and distribution of goods and services for profit. It may take quite a
number of forms and sizes; from small sole proprietorship to large corporations. It is also
noteworthy that organisations exist which do provide goods and services without the profit
motive (charity organisations). But for the purpose of this write-up, we’ll take business to mean
profit-oriented organisations.

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What is business ethics?

Ethics on the other hand, can be described as a set of principles of right/acceptable conduct or a
theory or system of moral values. Business ethics therefore can be said to be a set of generally
accepted principles of right conduct or a system of moral values, guiding the way business
activities are carried out.

However, it is noteworthy, that ethics, both generally and in business, can be somewhat relative -
what is seen as morally right and acceptable in one society may be frowned at in another. So
what is regarded as ethical business practices in one society may be seen as immoral and
unacceptable in another.

This write-up, in speaking of business ethics, refers to internationally recognized values and
principles, in the way business is done. This is because over the years, all over the world, the
focus has increasingly shifted from businesses’ traditional contributions to society – profitable
commercial activity; to exactly how those profits are made, in terms of morality.

The purpose of business

Businesses are the community at work, be they small, medium or large, national or international
in their scope. They reflect the views, social realities and rules of the wider communities in
which they operate. Those members of society that come together to form a business do so for a
specific purpose: to create goods and services to sell to their community - and maybe beyond –
and, by doing so, to make a profit within the obligations set for them by society.

This profit is crucial to a business: it is used as a return to investors, to invest in new

technologies and develop new products, to meet the wage and career expectations of its
employees, to pay taxes and make other contributions to government and society, as specified by
legislation and regulation.

In other words, without profit there is no business, and without business there is no wealth
creation in society. And without the wealth created by economic activity, the material needs of
the society, which is a very important factor in an ideal society, cannot be met.

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However, in recent years, the way these profits are made and the way business is conducted have
drawn attention due to increase in immoral business practices and has as a result, come under
increased scrutiny.

The effect of bad business ethics on society building

It has been said that business is all about relationship. The relationships between the business and
its consumers, shareholders/stakeholders, other businesses & organisations, the government/law
and the society at large. And like in all other types of human interaction, unethical business
practices can cause a lot of unnecessary losses, chaos, setbacks or even a complete breakdown of
the societal system, if it continues unchecked for long.

Unethical and immoral behaviour has been a major human problem from time immemorial.
When left to continue unchecked long enough, it has even occasionally led to the complete
recession, breakdown and downfall of societies in history. It has sparked off serious
disagreements, disorder, mistrust, loss of reputation, instability… even war.

This is one reason why in developed societies, so much has been put in place to discourage such
behaviour as much as possible, and contain it when the situation presents itself. So for upcoming
societies, the wise thing to do is incorporate proper values and ethics in the early stages of its
development and make it very clear in both word and deed, which behaviours are considered
acceptable and which ones are not.

The reason is simple. The business aspect of society would be less efficient, unpredictable and
chaotic if it were completely immoral. Imagine a society where everyone cared only about his
own interest (profit, in this case) that they’d do anything and also go to any length to try and
cover it up, just to increase profit. Even if it meant cheating someone else or as it may be,
another business. Even if it meant cutting corners, reducing the quality of the products or
services offered to increase profit at the detriment of unsuspecting consumers and customers.

Imagine a society where promises are not kept, substandard or even dangerous products are
knowingly sold to unsuspecting consumers, clients don’t get the full value of services they paid
for etc. Sooner or later, such practices if left unchecked will begin to spill over into other aspects
of society. The effect of this on societal development would be very tragic as business is a

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critical factor in the economic and social development of all societies. It can be regarded as the
principal engine of growth and development for any society.

And just like an engine when something goes wrong with it, the vehicle or whatever it is that it
was powering begins to malfunction or even grind to a halt, depending on the seriousness of
what went wrong.

The effect of bad, unethical business practices on society-building can also be compared to the
effect of crime on society generally. It at least, stalls progress, or when left to continue, will lead
to a ‘deformed’, immoral society, which I’m quite sure, was never the original intention or
destination. So when business is not conducted ethically, huge losses are incurred, causing
unnecessary setbacks and delays.

It obstructs the normal flow of business/economic activities. Immaterial and monetarily priceless
assets such as trust, goodwill, and integrity… are lost. Relationships, which should be at the very
heart of business, suffer or are completely broken.

Take for example, the issue of promise-keeping (simple as it is), which most (if not all)
businessmen recognize as morally valuable. It facilitates planning ahead, making contracts and
commercial activity, which in turn increases wealth through cooperation. The reverse is the case
when promises are not kept – planning ahead (a very important phase of business) becomes
almost impossible, contract agreements are no longer adhered to, the regular flow of commercial
activity is disrupted and the wealth that should have been created in the process is only partially
realized or even lost altogether.

Another simple example is when substandard/dangerous products are sold to unsuspecting

customers by businesses that would rather not bear the loss of withdrawing and or destroying
those products, thereby endangering the lives of members of the public. Even if those products
really didn’t pose any risk to people’s health and lives, it’s still unethical to cut corners and sell
substandard products (for the price of the standard one?). Period!

But private organisations are not the only ones who need to retrace their steps ethically, for the
overall good and future of society. Many times, the governments (public officials) themselves
are just as guilty, even worse. Public funds are misappropriated stolen. Contracts are awarded

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without following due process, to phony, unqualified or even non-existent contractors, at

exorbitant rates.

In such cases, the public officers who were in charge of awarding the contracts already have a
deal with the contractor - a “cut” as it is called. It is not uncommon for the contractors after
having ‘won’ the contract and “settling” the public officers involved, to start and abandon that
project, do something shabby, something grossly substandard or even do nothing at all!

These practices are extremely counter-productive to the goal of building a good society and must
be suppressed or stopped at all costs. The popular football maxim “attack is the best form of
defense” seems to apply here. If that is true, it becomes imperative that the governments of all
societies must find ways to discourage and even punish unethical business practices - and not
just punish the bad but also reward and encourage good, ethical business practices at levels. The
benefits are enormous. It’s the reverse case of the effects of unethical business practices.

Effects and role of good business ethics on society

Good business ethics promotes better business relations which lead to cooperation, societal
integration and ultimately, wealth creation, a very important feature of a good society. Good
business ethics makes up the moral foundation and economic stability necessary for the take off
of any society and the achievement of the long-term goal of building a good society. Any society
without this foundation will most certainly crumble in time.

For as long as bad business ethics are allowed to continue, the dream or objective of building a
good and stable society will never be realized. Only the promotion of good business ethics can
lead to the proper development and stability of any upcoming society. Already established
societies must also take all necessary measures to ensure that proper business ethics remain the
norm, if they’re to continue enjoying the benefits of a good and stable society or else they too
stand the risk of going into a recession and possibly, a complete breakdown.

Conclusion
In conclusion, the importance of business ethics (good business ethics) in the course of building
a good society cannot be downplayed. No society that aspires to develop into a much better one
can afford to play around with it, and no already established society can afford to let go of it, else
it may lose its position.

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