Ethics in Business and Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Ethics in Business and Society - Essay Example It will explain why the candidate was rejected and why one of them was chosen for the post. The problem with a discussion on ethics is that it could cover a diverse area that includes personal beliefs, religious beliefs, social practices, and legal statutes and provisions. In most instances, ethics is about making choices. According to Devettere, ethics is choosing the good over the bad in a particular situation. So, â€Å"ethics is not concerned with what people do accidently or unintentionally, even if these behaviours cause bad things† (Devettere 2000, 1). The consequences of an accidental or unintentional act cannot is not relevant in such instances. There are also other who identify ethics with morality. What is moral is ethical and anything immoral is unethical. So, a conscious and intentional decision as in this case of appointment of receptionist has ethical dimensions. A decision, whether it is ethical or not, may turn out to be easy in most circumstances. But in this instance (for appointing the receptionist), the attributes do not have a clear identity as to what is good and bad. For example being obese or having certain religious preferences cannot be considered good or bad unless it is harmful for the self or others in the society. The concept of absolutism may be no longer relevant in a democratic setup. It deals with the divine right of kings as opposed to general ethical behaviour. The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy and the rule of law and democracy prevails even though the country is headed by a Queen. Absolutism is also related to autocratic behaviour in the sense that an employer can behave in any way he likes to his employee. Even though this is possible here, there are many laws and statutes that an employee can resort to in case of unethical behaviour by an employer. Utilitarianism, a concept primarily developed by