The Social Conscience of Business

The attempt to concentrate on "business" and its principles in the treatment of ethical behavior will inevitably mean that the issues of ethics will be compromised by the principles of business. In this paper there is an attempt to start with an ethical direction of thought and apply its principles and process to business principles and processes. The emphasis will be on ethics. As we begin this analysis there are important issues to be kept in mind. There is a distinction between success and ethics. Business success is not the formal object of ethics. The definition of good and bad behavior is the formal object of ethics. Nor is the issue of "fairness" in outcome the issue of ethics or ethical behavior. Therefore, there is a caveat for any respectable manager or thinker: ethical behavior may actually deter from success in a business environment where the end of success takes such a high priority that the means become insignificant and unimportant. However, if this is the environment of business where ends rationalize the means, then it should not be surprising that a very large percentage of the population has a low perception of the sense of responsibility of business and the dignity of business itself. Ethics is about behavior that is considered good or bad. The character of ethical premises and processes lies in the "welfare" base of definitions which are larger than the individual person or the individual firm. Namely, the normative and prescriptive theory of ethics places individual behavior in the context of its broader impact in adding to or taking away from human welfare. These judgments come from such philosophical schools of thought as deontology, utilitarianism, religious philosophy and humanistic philosophy.