What is business ethics? An essay about it can be a task in your class. For that, you need to understand the term and what it implies.
Running a successful business, negotiating a contract, or simply dealing with clients is impossible without understanding and applying business ethics and its practices. It is a study of appropriate policies that companies and employees can use. They are vital in controversial situations that involve corporate governance, fiduciary responsibility, corporate social responsibility, etc.
That’s where the importance of business ethics comes from. For a company to be successful in the modern world, it should implement techniques and practices of business ethics. Customers and clients expect firms to behave appropriately. Operating this way is more than not breaking laws.
Our team came up with some tips that can help you write your business ethics essay. Additionally, you will find topics for different academic papers, and you can check our free samples.
How to Start a Business Ethics Essay
Let’s start with learning the basics of a business ethics essay. Here we will explain how to approach such a type of academic paper.
First of all, you need to see how this essay will differ from other assignments. That’s why we’ve prepared a step-by-step plan for you:
Pick an idea.
As you can imagine, you need to have a solid idea. It does not have to be defined at the very beginning. However, you need to know what direction you want to take. You need to come up with an assumption that you will later develop in your essay.
Research your topic.
The next step in starting your business ethics essay is to research the case carefully. The Internet, non-fiction books, interviews, business journals can become great sources for your paper.
Take notes.
While doing your research, you should always write down key information. It will ensure that you will not miss any vital data and keep track of good thoughts.
Craft a thesis statement.
After you’ve conducted your research, the next step is to explain your message and position. A thesis statement usually appears at the end of your introductory paragraph.
Think of your introduction.
After step number four, when your thesis statement is ready, you can develop your introduction. It has to catch readers’ attention and adequately introduce the topic of your essay. Additionally, think about the way it can be connected with your conclusion.
Outline your essay.
One more step before writing is organizing your text. Like any other academic paper, an ethics essay follows a structure. It consists of an introduction, body, and conclusion. The opening and the closing take about twenty percent of the entire article, and the rest eighty percent is left for the body.
17 Business Ethics Essay Topics
Now that you know how to start your business ethics paper, we’ve prepared a list of seventeen topics for your assignment. They can help you compose a fantastic essay about business ethics or use them to inspire your homework.
How does social responsibility connect with business ethics?
Can moral principles guide business decisions?
Ethical issues in business law.
Advantages and disadvantages of Confucian business ethics.
The role of ethics in purchasing decisions.
Ways to eradicate unfair treatment due to race or religion at a workplace.
Walmart business ethics and ethical standards.
Social media in business ethics.
Ways to reduce business’s environmental impact.
Concept of corporate social responsibility.
CSR trends in 2021.
A balance between profit and CSR.
Ethical dilemmas people face every day at the workplace.
5 Business Ethics Research Paper Topics
We also came up with five high-quality business ethics topics for the research paper. Good luck with your essay and with learning more about business ethics!
List major ethical issues that business faces today.
Kantian approach to business ethics and morality.
How utilitarianism ethics can be used in companies.
The role of ethics in international business.
Applying Aristotle’s virtue ethics to business.
Thank you for reading the article till the end. Do not hesitate to share it with your peers who may need our tips or topics. Now, you can also look at our business ethics essay examples below.
The accounting anomalies have led to the downfall of several empires which places the responsibility on the accountants. The accountant has to work in the best interest of the stockholders and they want financial returns.
On the other hand in non-consequentialist theory the determining factor whether an action is right or wrong are the properties attached to the action and not based on the consequences as in consequentialist theory.
Business ethics are closely related to the culture and the identity of a firm From the general business ethics point of view, whereby a firm has laid down its own principles and objectives, the firm [...]
The traditional approach to studying justice is prescriptive, which is defining what is just. The components of organizational justice include distributive justice, procedural justice), and interactional justice.
In case of any case of sexual harassment by the employee, get off with probation and a warning for a non-severe offense and even termination if the offense is considered grave.
The first problem to be solved is the underrepresentation of women in the workplace. At the moment, the proportion of male and female employees is 29 to 21 out of 50 accordingly, compared with 22 [...]
A major reason for the efficient operation of these markets is that their organizations have made their financial statements available to individuals and institutions, and investment and credit decisions are based on the confidence of [...]
A more comprehensive definition of privacy is that it is a value that enables the individual to control the access that other people have to him/her and the person's choices and expression.
Despite the moral obligation of companies to attend to the matter, corporations are often reluctant to take steps to react to the problem since the laws concerning the issues are lagging.
This is illustrated as a form of ethics that is applied and normally examines the entire problems that may arise in a business environment that is ethically based.
The 40% of his $210 million dollars in his exit package or even the $84 million was for the reason that there was an acceleration vesting in the options as well as the stock awards.
On the other hand, business ethics and values are concepts that touch on the obligations of the employee, the employer and the clientele in the field of business.
Those involved in the dumping might have argued that the people receiving the pajamas would not have otherwise had access to such clothing and were notified of the health and safety hazards.
There is nothing surprising in the fact that the genetically tested employees counted the testing as a violation of their human rights, and The Americans with Disabilities Act was adopted in 1990.
In this case, it is likely that the investigator called the telephone companies pretending to be the customer and asked for a copy of the telephone toll records - records of calls made and received.
Under business ethics, this is a form of art which is said to examine the ethical principles or even the moral problems which might tend to occur as a result of running the business and [...]
In conclusion, I have explored the obligations of the system administrator and why it is important for him to act ethically as he is the only person with superuser powers of computing systems in an [...]
As for the background check, the individuals are also stating that the information on the paper is true and that the employer is allowed to verify such information.
Following Gogoi, the main limitation of ethics is that codes, by themselves, cannot provide the means for a thorough enough scrutiny of professional responsibilities. While codes of ethics in business and professions have their use, [...]
The information is made a matter of public record and is about a possible or actual non-trivial wrongdoing in an organization, and the individual who performs the action is a member or former member of [...]
The company expanded in its operations due to the fact that it was the only company that was exporting coffee and it was able to make high sales and it monopolized the market it later [...]
The paper aims to understand the ethical issues involved in the making o a fan employment contract of a company. This paper tries to evaluate the employment agreement of Convergys Inc.and find possible ethical issues [...]
According to Ian Maitland's article In Defence Of International Sweatshop, in today's illusion society, the thought that the clothes that we wear, and the products that we use every day are made by hundreds of [...]
The facts of this case have been that DWI has been a threat to the lives of its guests and properties, in the light of which it had to provide additional layers of security covers [...]
The goal for students would then be to learn to study circumstances by keeping in mind the general expectations of the public or the stakeholders of a company and then arriving at the right judgments [...]
When employees feel that Elegance Clothing is socially responsible, they are inclined to experience a greater sense of identity with the company; therefore, they will be more engaged and perform better.
Therefore, the best option from the viewpoint of utilitarianism is for John to withhold information from Patty and the controller. The principle of confidentiality would encourage John to withhold information from Patty and the current [...]
It is sad to say that various forms of unethical behavior are common in the workforce, and specific analysis is required to determine the impact of this phenomenon on the business industry.
The idea that spouses are not able to separate work from home affairs has been used over the decades to explain the unprofessional nature of employment of spouses.
The purpose of this paper is to focus on the specific case of tobacco exports to Taiquat and analyze the legal and ethical environment of the business operations related to the case.
As such, its developments will be used to explain parts of the analysis and to put the different cultures discussed in this essay into the same framework.
Market morality is established by the regulations, codes of conduct, principles, and values that offer direction for morally suitable conduct in managerial choices concerning the practices of organisations and business connections with the community.
According to the authorities of Haiti, Oxfam violated the laws of the country and the principles of human dignity and has no right to continue working there.
In particular, the discussion is focused on the conflict between the interests of shareholders and stakeholders. This approach does not force businesses to reject such priorities as financial performance and the needs of owners.
The concept of corporate social responsibility rapidly gains popularity, implying the voluntary participation of companies in the formation and development of the social sector.
Although the theoretical framework of FD may seem like a rigid focus on the promotion of financial goals while neglecting people-oriented ones, with the introduction of the principles of CSR and a set of people-oriented [...]
To answer the question of whether it is possible or not to create a set of universal standards for businesses in different countries and cultures, one must remember that the term "culture" in itself is [...]
Here, the disaster of the Deepwater Horizon can be considered as an example of unethical decisions that bring negative effects to the economies and nature of multiple states.
The professional dress code consists of business casual and formal business attire, which depends on the format of the meeting and the formality level of the overall work process.
As with many public services, management of public administration in healthcare holds the responsibility and objective to provide for the public good at the highest ethical standards.
The ethical and legal questions surrounding the development of self-driving cars are at the center of the discussion in this area of the automotive industry.
The ability to notice and resolve complicated business ethics issues is considered as a major requirement for the 21-st-century organizations. A particularly prominent place in this model is given to impediments as the potential means [...]
Indeed, their cooperation is attributed with the features of gray zone business conduct where the boundaries between the personal and the business issues are blurred.
For instance, the decision to add news articles to the platform's features led to claims against Facebook and its political involvement in the last U.S.elections.
To make sure that conduct in the workplace is compliant with the present Code of Ethics, both staff and the managing board members are assigned distinct roles. The Organization defines disrespect as a type of [...]
Maximizing profits should not be the only aim of a business because it encourages the exploitation of consumers and employees, abandonment of long-term business goals, and abandonment of social wellbeing. One of the shortcomings of [...]
A conflict and a dispute might appear to be fully synonymous at first, yet the further analysis of the two notions will show that they are quite different.
It is not only about the number of people who may gain access to personal information, but about the ability to control access to this kind of information and make independent decisions whether to expose [...]
The International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions offers standards and guidelines to dictate the practices of audit institutions. Code of Ethics: This refers to a document or policy that informs the actions, initiatives, behaviors, and [...]
This has been attributed to the assistance they are likely to need and the lack of political background. This article has effectively described the pros and cons associated with the practice of corporate social responsibility [...]
However, the legitimacy of the existence is governed by the overall effects of the business on society and the ability to meet the set standards of operations.
In the case under consideration, the hypothetical conditions are the following: the size of the firm is too small for statutory auditing; there is cheating in the sales, and the company gets a part of [...]
Different workers will focus on the concept of research and development in order to produce superior equipment that promotes the idea of sustainability. The use of this model will encourage different stakeholders to identify desirable [...]
The article fails to demonstrate the shortcomings of sustainability to the corporate world in terms of cost. The author offers a triangulation of both theory and practice to interpret a situation in the organization.
Seeing that the lack of control over the production process has led to exposing the consumers to a massive threat to their health, it will be crucial for Gupta to reconsider the current approach toward [...]
Utilitarianism stresses the need for individuals to follow the rules developed to ensure their efforts yield the greatest good for the majority of the people in the society.
However, the judge followed the ethical conduct of fulfilling the fines payments despite the media influence on the matter. The globalization of labor opens investment opportunities for individuals and countries, which creates international business relations.
For example, hiring managers and giving them the responsibility of turning the company around without fully compensating them, would be tantamount to wanting the best from the managers, and not willing to compensate them for [...]
Insider trading is a form of trade that involves parties who have the advantage of access to materials and information that is not available to the public.
The Ethisphere Institute points out that CH2M Hill is among the leading companies in the world that encourage a culture of transparency and ethical practices throughout the company's departments. CH2M Hill allows its employees to [...]
The second sacrifice to be made by a company for the sake of ethical restoration is the staff. The company should also ensure that they use a policy of openness and honesty to potential customers.
In the long run, conscious capitalism contributes to profit making in a win-win scenario for the stakeholders on one hand and the shareholders on the other hand.
It is a well-known fact that the customers and clients evaluate the firms and the distributors they would like to co-operate with or buy from according to the level of trust they feel towards these [...]
In this case, the focus should be made on the outcome of a situation, and the very fact that the matter was solved by forcing a chief executive out means that Terris was wrong and [...]
Moreover, with the present social costs in our society that have arisen through the use of wasta, it is impossible to justify the use of wasta in hiring and performing business transactions.
The authors of the research contemplate investigating the impact of particular scholars and fields of study in 'Ethics', 'Ethics and Behavior' and 'Journal of Business Ethics'.
The company has code of business principles that gives an account of the various ways in which its activities are to be carried out and it ensures that everyone working in the company follows it [...]
Companies adhering to business ethics attract investors, thus boosting the economic growth of the business. It is the change of business boundaries from local to international.
It is caused by many factors, among which are technological development, the growth of the population, and, surprisingly, the increasing power of emerging markets.
Human beings can use different ethical theories to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of capitalism. On the other hand, "self-interest" refers to the positive aspects and characteristics of an individual.
This explains why the government should use appropriate adjustments and regulations to regulate these corporations. This approach will reduce the inequity associated with capitalism and wealth distribution.
One of the identified flaws in the logic of the authors is that while they focus on the ethical issues surrounding sweatshops and the responsibility of multinational corporations in providing decent working conditions, Arnold and [...]
With this CSR process structure in place, the organization will be able to improve social and environmental welfare through compliance with ethically considered virtues and operations like human rights, corporate governance, and Environment Health and [...]
The weight of the ethical issues that the news portended require deep analysis to identify the moral lapses that may have contributed to what some describe as the largest Ponzi scheme in human history.
Additionally, the article focuses on social corporate responsibility as the viable underpinning for gaining social recognition, as well as a fresh insight into a series of activities that produce benefits both to society and to [...]
By analyzing the strategic plan of the organization, I was able to gauge how the alignment of my values and the values of the organization would influence my performance if I were the leader of [...]
Irene Tieh, the author, argues business people need to take time to understand cultural practices observed in different areas before they do any business activities. Cross-cultural communication allows an entrepreneur to learn more about important [...]
The article starts with a statement of the several laws that require disclosure of any conflict of interest in organisations and the implications of the failure to follow such laws.
Their efforts in the area of environmental sustainability are contents of sustainability reporting that show how businesses affect the natural environment and the community in which they thrive.
Disney's guidelines on corporate social responsibility and business ethics have been published online, and have become a model and benchmark for other companies.
I now understand sustainability themes, issues, challenges, and approaches that are critical to businesses and society. It is also important to mention that individual or business sustainability is anchored on availability of capital.
Regardless of the situation where this theory is applied, it is important to try and strike a balance between successfully applying the organizational justice theory, meeting the organization's set objectives, and passing the right information [...]
In this essay, the codes of ethics and business conduct of the Cheesecake factory are examined in a bid to determine the extent to which they can influence the organization's business activities.
Using reverse discrimination can strike the balance between the white populations presenting the majority in business organizations of the United States and the minority groups.
The author of the article argues that India and China are gradually overtaking countries in the west, especially the United States in terms of economic progress.
The second task will look at the standard ways of placing blames in the context of the case study. The production of cluster bombs is a threat to human rights.
The theory of Moral Unity is amongst the fundamental opinions featuring within the age-old debacle of seemingly tolerant morals within the business environment.
The scope of this report brings out the various codes that guide IT security professionals and the validity of these codes in relation to ethical conduct.
In this context, the word frontier is used to describe the situation when the management does not know how a product can affect the life of the community.
It is due to this that my personal code of ethics in any business practices that I enter will be based on the concept of corporate social responsibility wherein the company will ensure its actions [...]
The main theme or purpose of the study is to promote positive morals and worthy behavioural patterns through the study ethics and moral standards in business education.
From this point, social responsibility can be observed with references to the corporations' sponsoring different social events and promoting the environmental initiatives, and the activities of Pfizer and BP corporations can become the examples of [...]
In a sales environment, it is of utmost importance to identify the degree to which salespeople and sales managers differ in their view of what is ethically acceptable.
The collapse of the scheme meant that he had failed to recruit more investors to pay off the already existing ones. The company employees as well as the founders have an ethical responsibility to members [...]
In a real sense, the character is the total sum of cumulative choices and decisions made daily. From these definitions, it is irrefutable that the concepts are interrelated and can indeed be used to define [...]
Understanding the expectations of the consumers by the business proprietors is valuable enough to help in making decisions to attract and retain different personalities of the customers.
