Ethics in Business

Business ethics (and corporate ethics) affects everyone in business, from the lowest employee to the CEO. Consumers, customers, and communities are also affected. Corporate ethics expand to include corporate board members, shareholders, Wall Street, lobbyists, and government agencies. Corporate ethics have gained much attention recently due to numerous scandals and crises. Corporate ethics affect every business in the world, and world-wide communities.
Business ethics are a set of principles to which a company adheres. These principles include financial responsibility and accountability, Human Resources, environmental protection, and marketing and advertising. International corporations may have international business ethics concerns, such as globalization, child labor, and outsourcing.
Many corporations are now very concerned with corporate compliance, which includes compliance with guidelines and laws designed to induce ethical behavior. This compliance includes the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, Environmental Protection Agency guidelines, Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, Equal Employment Opportunity, and the Civil Rights Act.
Many companies and corporations produce a code of ethics, or code of conduct, that specifies a company’s ethical code. These ethical codes should be available for everyone to see, including customers, employees, and shareholders. Examples of codes of ethics include Google's code of conduct and Bank of America's Code of Ethics. Many codes of conduct include specifics about giving and receiving gifts, contract bids, purchasing decisions, and fiscal transparency.

Business ethics training should be made available to all stakeholders within a company, along with a review of that company’s code of ethics and corporate compliance requirements. Some companies produce an ethics hotline for stakeholders as well, to address real-time concerns.
Business ethics have been a concern in the past, and are currently gaining widespread attention due to the banking crisis and financial scandals (Enron, World Com). More universities and training facilities are likely to focus on business and corporate ethics in the future.
Unethical companies erode the economic base and the communities in which they serve. Unethical companies have great difficulty being successful if they have eroded their ability to re-invest financial and human capital, eroded their growth, or have eroded the public trust.