The Ethical Role of Corporations - Research Paper Example

… Business Ethics and the role of the Corporation Name Institution BUSINESS ETHICS AND THE role of THE CORPORATION According to Jennings (2009), the society recognizes the importance of business ethics.... Experts such as Dr Michael Novak provide insightful thoughts towards this discussion as he explore on business ethics and the role of the corporation.... In examining this, I will answer the following questions as I seek to expound on Dr Novak views on business ethics and the role of the corporation....

Traditionally, the ethical principles were used for defining business rules and regulations and a set of standards which corporations should follow but presently, there are considered as serious issues required for the success of the organization and the top-level management consider them vital issues for the business as they have to be accountable to their stakeholders including their customers who are life and blood for them and the ethical issues are part of their social responsibility (Cavanagh, Moberg and Velasquez, 1981)....

his means that the corporations pay back to the community through participating in community beautification efforts and events, volunteering expertise, donating money to the worthy causes and being a responsible employer.... Therefore, in order to best examine moral corporations and corporate responsibility for the environment let us start by considering issues of the environment we face (McLachlan, 2008).... corporations with moral responsibility for actions are referred to as moral agents....

The purpose of the following assignment is to analyze the application of ethics and moral guidelines in regard to the business world and, specifically, management.... The writer suggests that ethics and laws are significant recipients for the accomplishment of individual and societal goals.... hellip; Ethics, laws, values, and regulations form the foundation for human societies....

[3] The case of handing out free cash to corporations is a big dilemma for the state.... On one side the welfare for the corporation is unjust since (a) the money would be more productive if it were invested in retraining the workforce and (b) free handouts to corporations shield them from competition in the global market, ultimately weakening them.... On the other hand the corporations open avenues for trade and commerce globally.... After all, the corporations ante up the hundreds of millions of dollars needed to win elections....

On a continual basis, heads of corporations must determine whether they should be responsible to their shareholders or to their stakeholders, which would include the community.... In order to try to determine what constitutes the concept of ‘ethics', there are five general ethical standards by which one can compare personal and group ethics in prioritizing responsibilities.... From the viewpoint of three ethical standards, it is clear that the corporation must maintain a level of responsibility toward both their shareholders and their stakeholders if they wish to conduct business ethically....

However, good moral values as well as good business ethics maintain that any business should realize gains, profits or losses from ethical practices across all stakeholders.... It is of critical importance to note that ethics is a combination of values, virtues and morals that are responsible for moral good or moral bad within a given environment....

For example, the code of conduct and ethical behaviour materials are obligatory in most corporations and the ability to follow these regulations and rules ensures that the individual is able to further their career without disciplinary issues and, therefore, it is important to follow the required ethics in the workplace.... Therefore, ethics are important in guiding individuals, corporations, and society in the choices they make on a daily basis.... Ethics play a critical and constant role in the corporation and in an individual employee's career....