Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Business - Essay Example Needless to add that the consequences of such actions on the part of the management were met with widespread criticism and public outcry, with the result that the companies lost their brand image and reputation in the eyes of their consumers. Examples such as these, further tend to substantiate the above mentioned quote, and at the same time, illustrate the significance and impact of ethics and morality in business. The twenty first century is witness to a rapidly transforming business approach, which has popularized the concepts of ‘triple bottom lines’ and corporate social responsibility, making ‘green business’ an increasingly fashionable trend. The scope and extent of a company’s contribution towards social and environmental causes, almost guarantees successful results, which is why, every other company, today proudly flaunts its commitment towards such causes, in its annual reports. In today’s highly competitive world, coinciding with the emergence of a knowledge society, the awareness among the public regarding their rights and the availability of products has increased considerably. In such a scenario, any company which strives to maximise their profits without giving back to the society or with a total disregard for business ethics, would become a soft target for a strong public backlash. It is thus imperative for the global businesses to put the common global – social and environmental interests ahead of their own selfish motives, and strive for the betterment of the society we live in as well as the environment around us. The emergence of a new global information society driven by economies of cross-border trade, liberalization and globalization has led to the development of new business practices with a growing emphasis on the adoption and application of innovative business approaches such as the assimilation of morality and ethics with profit and protection of shareholder interests both at the same time (Nissanke and Thorbecke, 2005). This new philosophy or approach towards business has found greater public support and is being increasingly incorporated by giant multi-national firms world-wide. It is widely believed that, the assimilation of ethics and morality as well as corporate social responsibility by global businesses is a positive step towards building a better, safer and healthier business environment where organizations are taking conscious decisions to protect and preserve the larger interests of not only its consumers but also of the society at large (Brownlie et al. 1999). The significance of incorporating ethics and morality in ‘mainstream’ business has been argued and debated over the years, with the result that issue has gained widespread support among researchers, management professionals as well as the general public. It is on account of such growing popularity of the practice that has made it inevitable, for global businesses to adopt such strategies and policies within their corporate agenda, and rethink their global business approaches (Sheth and Sisodia, 1999). Business ethics refers to the ethics of power and deals with the manner in which companies acquire, enhance and implement it for the betterment of their own corporate agendas as well as of communities at large. The need for and significance of incorporating ethics in business is growing like never before (Mahoney, 1997). Nature of business ethics within national and international context: The term ethics