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2.3: Identifying Ethical Issues

  • Page ID
    3981
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    Learning Objective

    1. Identify ethical issues that you might face in business, and analyze rationalizations for unethical behavior.

    Make no mistake about it: When you enter the business world, you’ll find yourself in situations in which you’ll have to choose the appropriate behavior. How, for example, would you answer questions like the following?

    • Is it OK to accept a pair of sports tickets from a supplier?
    • Can I buy office supplies from my brother-in-law?
    • Is it appropriate to donate company funds to my local community center?
    • If I find out that a friend is about to be fired, can I warn her?
    • Will I have to lie about the quality of the goods I’m selling?
    • Can I take personal e-mails and phone calls at work?
    • What do I do if I discover that a coworker is committing fraud?

    Obviously, the types of situations are numerous and varied. Fortunately, we can break them down into a few basic categories: bribes, conflicts of interest, conflicts of loyalty, issues of honesty and integrity, and whistle-blowing. Let’s look a little more closely at each of these categories.


    2.3: Identifying Ethical Issues is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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