Ethics obviously seems like it should be the most important thing to consider when you are making any kind of major decision or are working for a large business. Unfortunately this is usually not the case. It is quite obvious that most people and businesses are only out for themselves and generally do not care what happens along the way. I think this is seen most with larger companies more than the average person or small business. It is pretty obvious when you look at the way they treat their customers or their attitude towards the environment.
Ethical dilemmas are an interesting concept to consider. It seems that there is never a clear cut and simple solution to any kind of ethical dilemma. While the five questions that the reading presented are a good strategy for dealing with ethical dilemmas the decision ultimately comes down to your own personal opinions and views. The concept of the ethical dilemma has been drilled into us since we were little kids. Just look at the classic Dr. Seuss about the Once-ler and the Lorax. This is a pretty straight case of conservative ethics and how businesses ignore the environment and the community.
The main ethical system that would have to be considered for my group’s white paper project would be conservative ethics. Since our project is dealing mainly with the environment and different forms of energy we have to consider the environmental impact that our topic will have. Another thing that needs to be considered is copyright and plagiarism. I believe that copyright problems are could be a major concern with the white paper project because pretty much every aspect of the project as to be researched. It could be real easy to use an image or concept that the original author or owner never meant
Business Ethics
I like the point you made about most businesses not caring about people and only about themselves. Unfortunately, it is all too true in today's society. Another place that I noticed this same kind of thing is with some Professors. All they care about is trying to complete their research and could care less about their students. Most likely this is because most of their money comes from doing research. Don't get me wrong, I think research is important, but when researching for a University where you are also required to teach students, you should also care about your students. Especially since those same students are likely the future researchers in that same area. This can also be seen in the textbooks that we have to buy. Many professors change textbooks yearly (kickbacks?) and could care less about the piles of money we have to shell out to buy brand new books every semester. These people had an ethical decision to make, and chose personal gain over the needs of the majority. But of course these are the same professors that will tell us to be ethical and not plagiarize. Just another example of ethical dilemmas not being quite as clear-cut as most people believe them to be.
Money Money Money
I too see this issue quite often. Yes they are required by the university to do research and write papers and such but who is going to write the research papers in the future. Some of my best professors have been ones that don't have to do a lot of research. They are able to focus more of there time on their students. While it may sound selfish, I'm shelling out uber boat loads of cash to be taught not to have to teach myself every thing. Also some the the most useful text books have been ones that the professor wrote themselves (I don't remember if they were more or less expensive than other books). The book include exactly everything that the professor needs and nothing they don't. I also had a professor that used a bunch of excerpts from other books (I'm assuming with permission) and just had the CopyMat copy and bind them. The good news though is that I think more and more professors are becoming acutely aware of the highway robbery that happens at the beginning of every semester as the following conversation shows.
First day of class...
Professor: [Holding textbook up] This will be the required text book for the semester. It was written by Professor So-and-So who teaches [class].
Student: How much are we going to be using the textbook this semester? It's like $120 and I don't want to buy it just for a few chapters.
Professor: What?! Wow, even though Professor So-and-So wrote this I wouldn't pay more than $40 for this book. Alright let me start over. [Holding book up] This will be a suggested reference book for those that want it.
Andy
Faking it
Your first paragraph hits home for sure. What's really disappointing is that often even when a large company is "ethical", when you read between the lines its motivated by complying with the law and avoiding lawsuits. There's no element of care other than caring about the company not getting punshed. And then they get to dance around and call it "ethics" when really it's just as selfishly motivated as cutting corners to boost profit.
It's a sad but true fact of life. I guess we just have to let the end justify the means. After all, I'd rather deal with a big company that at least cares enough about the well-being of society to fully comply with the law than one that is willing to cut corners at the expense of its neighbors and the environment.
Ethical Business
That’s one thing I can’t stand, shady business. I think there are some companies who don’t watch where to draw the line close enough. This does lead to big issues they could have avoided. You hit it on the dot. For some large companies it’s all about the bottom line. They try to just ignore when something unethical is going on because it helps their company. On a lighter note, for those who watch The Office, this made me think about when Meredith has been sleeping with a Hammermill representative for 6 months in exchange for lower paper prices and Outback Steak House coupons. HA
-Chris
Close our wallets
You implied that many companies treat their customers poorly and I would have to agree with you. There are websites like the Consumerist where customers complain about being treated unfairly. Most businesses are looking for that bottom line, it is all about the money to them. Unfortunately for them I am getting sick of that. Many of us should tell them how we feel by not opening our wallets to them. Poor ethics should be a hint for us not to give our money to them. Would they treat their own mother like this? Well hopefully not, but there is probably a company out there that just sees her as a dollar sign.