(Reid, environmentalleader.com)
Believing that there are such energy sources or consumption policies which would allow the planet's resources to be maintained for a longer period, while making sure that all the nations are provided with a comfortable living is rather naive. Under these circumstances, it has been argued that doing the moral thing means choosing the least terrible solution. The problem is that this implies a relativistic evaluation of the matter which impacts the manner in which the moral principles are conceived.
Before stepping into a debate regarding the character of the moral principles, we may state that we agree with the opinions which state that there is no such thing as objective moral principles."Ethics can be seen as a system of principles or judgements which state whether something is good or bad, right or wrong" (Amberla, T, Wang, L., Juslin, H., Panwar, R, Hansen, E., Anderson, R., 45).
In other words, there are no universally valid moral principles existing somewhere and waiting to be discovered and applied by man. On the contrary, it is man who judges the reality in which he lives in order to understand what is moral and what is not. Reading between the lines we understand that an objective evaluation of the sustainability issue is required, evaluation which is likely to lead to some relevant conclusions regarding the ethical "things to be done": "At the macro level, the definition of business ethics particularly encompasses the moral evaluation of the economic system of free enterprise, as well as possible alternatives to and modifications of it"( De George in Amberla, T, Wang, L., Juslin, H., Panwar, R, Hansen, E., Anderson, R., 46)
There is no action that man can perform which can bring advantages exclusively. All the choices imply renouncing to something. It is the same with the smart use of the environmental resources. Therefore, what companies fond of the sustainable approach need to do is make a smart choice- from which a maximum of parties can benefit. But, if there are no universal laws which can guide this decision process, then the subjective side of the matter might become dominant. Since the matter is represented by ethical issues, it is easy to understand the complexity and the importance of the discussion.
All actions and decisions are based upon values and interests. Ultimately it is safe to say that even interests are guided by values. In the attempt to understand what values are, we could define them as "concepts of beliefs about desirable end states or behaviors which transcend specific situations, guide selection or evaluation of behavior and events and are ordered by relative importance." "Schwartz introduced four universal value categories present in all cultures: 1) self-transcendence, 2) self-enhancement, 3) openness and 4) conservation" (Amberla, T, Wang, L., Juslin, H., Panwar, R, Hansen, E., Anderson, R., 45). Ethics, including business ethics ought to reflect the considerations mentioned above.
However, the purpose of businesses is that of making profit. It is likely for a contradiction to occur between the declared purpose and the ethical values. What are companies then supposed to do? Since companies are not machines, but are managed by people, it has been argued that the decision process will be influenced by the personal values of the managers (some cultures being oriented towards individualistic values, other being focused upon community values). (Hans, 25)
It has also been suggested that the societies which are dominated by collectivistic values are more likely to be green-oriented, just like individuals with collectivistic values are more concerned with having their businesses respect the social norm instead of achieving certain economic performances. Since ethics tells what is good and what is wrong, providing us with the rules that we need to follow in order to have a god behavior and lead a life with a strong moral character, we can consider ethics to be normative (it imposes norms of behavior) (Hartman Laura P. & Joe DesJardins,13)
However, taking into account the fact that sometimes the best solutions are taken depending on the circumstances, we can ask ourselves whether there is a difference between ethics in general and business ethics in particular. Since the moral values are the same for everybody, the answer should be "no." The value of the individual derives from his actions and not from his declared values. Nevertheless this does not imply that people will always act according to their values. The social circumstances and the pressures coming from the social environment...
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As the proceedings of the past few years have shown, these labors, regrettably, have not prevented companies from engaging in unethical behaviors that lead to larger corporate disgraces. As a result there is augmented force to make accessible more structured power and ethics programs so that companies are more accountable to the societies in which they function. Understanding the setting of business ethics can be very difficult. The field is
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