Introduction to Business Ethics: Ethics, Principles, and Moral Values

Ethics involves learning what is right or wrong and then doing the straightforward thing.

Many ethicists believe there is always a right thing to do based on moral principle.

Ethics is often considered the 'science of conduct' according to Doug Wallace and John Pekel.

Philosophers have been discussing ethics for at least 1000 years.

Values guiding how we behave are referred to as legal values.

Establishing an ethics management program in the workplace can help guide decisions and behavior in ethical dilemmas.

According to Brian Schrag, most organizations are fully aware that they have ethics programs in place.

Business ethics are mostly disregarded during times of stress and crises.

Values that were once unquestioned are now strongly supported in times of fundamental change.

Attention to business ethics is only important for for-profit businesses and not nonprofit organizations.