¶ … justice as it applies to ethics. Justice is a social issue and a part of character, as noted in the lecture. There must be another party involved that requires justice, along with an obligation, and that is why it is a social issue. Justice is also a major portion of ethics, because of the choices made involved with justice.
In business ethics, justice is extremely important, because justice is necessary for a business and an individual to become successful. The three types of justice all pertain to business in some way, but the interpersonal type of justice is probably the most important in the business relationship. In interpersonal justice, there is a contract either real or implied, between two parties. One creates goods or services and offers them to another, who accepts them with the obligation to pay for the products. In an ethical situation, both parties will conduct their business ethically and justifiably, leading to justice served for both parties. This leads to reciprocal justice that ends well for all parties and an ethical solution to the situation.
These are obligations that people owe to their community as a whole, like taxes, obeying laws, etc. In the business arena, reciprocal justice is an important part of business ethics, because if a business acts unethically, does not obey the law, does not pay taxes, or acts unethically in any other way, there are ramifications for the business (such as bankruptcy, lawsuits, etc.). That leads to injustice to the employees of the business and the people who did business with the business and did not receive the products or services they asked or contracted for and desired.
Finally, there is distributive justice, with is what the state or community owes to a person. This allows everyone the same rights under law, no favoritism. The state protects the rights of the people, by providing courts, by providing military protection, by devising laws that regulate society. There has to be some kind of common good uniting the people, or you do not have a community, and the state has to…
