Discussion Board Forum 1: Business Ethics
Reagan Ream
School of Business, Liberty University
BUSI 561: Legal Issues in Business
Dr. Maria MacMeekin
November 7, 2021
Business ethics is an essential part of every business, but it is often overlooked and
assumed to be an unimportant part of business. Unethical actions of business practice can make
or break the future success of any business or company according to an article in the Journal of
Business Ethics (Bertland, 2009, p.27). There have been many companies over the years that
have experience various degrees of unethical scandals that have resulted in large fines or the
depletion of the company in general.
According to the Oxford Dictionary, ethics is defined as the “moral principles that govern
a person’s behavior of the conducting of an activity” (Simpson, 1989). Each and every single one
of us hold our own moral principles. We allow those principles to dictate how we hold ourselves
and present ourselves to other in a variety of situations. On an Earth that is home to over 7 billion
people, each who believe in different things, there are bound to be different moral compasses and
perspectives on every single situation that may occur. What some may consider a major issue
that needs to be addressed, others may not look at that situation in the same capacity to come to a
conclusion that is unethical. That is also not to say that not everyone is correct in what they
determine is right or wrong, but it is important to determine your “code of ethics” whether you
are putting it place for yourself or your business.
A code of ethics, when it comes from the business side, is an important thing to have in
place when you start. A code of ethics is how your company will conduct their daily business
activities, the treatment of their customers, employees, and anyone who may be involved with
their business. Every company or business has a code of ethics that they have set in place when
