The Concept of Business Ethics

The concept of business ethics has tried to change the way businesses operate over the years. Business ethics is a form of ethics that governs the actions of businesses to circumvent the affects business has on every day society. But some question its effectiveness in the application of capitalism. Several case studies have shown that this is the case; many companies place the pursuit of money in front of the pursuit of virtue. Although, the majority of companies are not in the spotlight of acting unethically, can we conclude that they follow the ethical norms? It is natural for normal human beings to act ethical but businesses are on a completely different playing field. But could business ethics be clearly possible in capitalism?

In order to understand the debate of business ethics, one must understand the concept of capitalism. Capitalism in its purest form is free enterprise, meaning that the market functions with minimal interference from government and other forces. If this is possible then businesses compete with each other on an equal playing field and whoever has the upper hand can gain much of the market. Each business will