Business Ethic (Case study) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Business Ethic (Case study) - Essay Example The term ethics loosely refers to a distinction that is made between something that is morally good from bad in the way individuals behave. On the other hand, business ethics refers to the values, principles and standards that operate within an organisation and these attempt to make a distinction between business practice that is morally good from bad (Rossouw 2004). From this assertion, it can be noted that the concept of business ethics mainly derives from the value system that is used by a particular organisation in its operations towards the attainment of its set goals. Thus, DesJardins (2006) defines values as â€Å"essential and enduring tenets that help define the company and are not to be compromised for financial gain or short term expediency,† (p. 5). In view of the above definition of ethics, it can however, be noted that at times there is no universal agreement on what constitutes something that is good or bad. Thus, certain incidences arise at times in business wh ere some people are no longer certain whether some actions should be considered as right or wrong (Hiti, 1999). People may look at the same thing but some may view it as morally bad while others will have a different view. This constitutes an ethical dilemma in business when people have conflicting views over a particular issue. In as far as business is concerned, it can be noted that the main objective is to gain profits and at times the issue of ethics is compromised for financial gains. Against this background, the ethical dilemma facing Gerald Smarten, CEO of Kaspa Financial Services is making a decision whether or not to offer assistance through providing the lobby and cafeteria of their building as temporary shelter for the victims of the fatal subway bombing as requested by the police department which is disputed by Ben and others. Ben the general counsel could not imagine the first floor of the Kaspa Tower being transformed into a shelter of bleeding victims and bodies of th e dead citing that the facilities will suffer bad damages and create a bad image to the investors who may pull out their money as there would be chances that they may link the firm to the terrorist attack. The dilemma here is whether they can be humane by offering the requested shelter against the need to safeguard the business interests of the firm with regards to the long term relations with the investors. Of notable concern is that the bombing has taken place very close to their office building and 23 of their employees are missing which entails that they may also have been caught up in the attack. Legally they may say no, but morally, they also ought to show a humane face by offering assistance during an unprecedented crisis. 2. The utilitarian, virtue, deontological and libertarian ethics perspectives will be used in this section to compare and contrast the dilemma(s) that have been identified in the given case study. According to the utilitarian theory, â€Å"the choice that yields the greatest benefit to the majority of people is ethically correct compared to the choice that only benefit the organisation as well as its financial gains,† (Rainbow, 2002). This ethical perspective actually encourages people to work towards the outcomes that will give an advantage to the majority o