Example research essay topic: Unethical Behavior Profit Motive - 1,330 words

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... e lives in small communities where they encountered the same (agreeable or disagreeable) individuals over and over again. They had to learn how to behave towards those other individuals so that they could encounter them again and again without embarrassment. They were able to see the long-term effects of their behavior on others, that there were consequences to their actions. This forced them to reflect on how they should treat others.

Now many Americans dont worry about their relationships with others, since they are not likely to last long in our highly mobile society. Although we may have ethical obligations to ourselves (this is a subject of debate in ethical theory), for the most part (if not entirely) our ethical obligations arise out of our relationships with others. If we dont take our relationships with others seriously enough, then the result will be that we wont feel the need to be concerned about ethics. The seventh feature concerns the asymmetrical, hierarchical structure of Big Businesses. Heres how Frederick Bruce Bird describes the problem in his book The Muted Conscience: Moral Silence and the Practice of Ethics in Business: Certain patterns of organizational direction and accountability, more so than others, foster moral silence, deafness, and blindness. Many organizations adopt patterns of direction and accountability that tend to be asymmetrical and one-way.

The basic pattern is for directives and policies to begin at the top and to be disseminated down through the organization. Subordinates report on how well they are performing. Superiors hold them accountable but are not in turn held accountable by subordinates... problems arise because the relationships between superiors and subordinates are not two-way and interactive.

Superiors are thought of as establishing the conditions with which subordinates are expected to comply... A major problem with this administrative pattern, which is indeed widespread, is that subordinates are expected to remain comparatively mute with respect to many moral issues that concern them. 12 If one combines this feature of Big Business with the driving force of the profit motive, this is the result: Subordinates are... counseled to raise and highlight moral concerns only insofar as these are likely to affect the financial measures of corporate performance... As a result many... concerns are likely not to be raised at all, unless they can be construed as improving marginal returns. 13 In this way, the very structure of Big Businesses tends to stifle ethical concerns individuals may have; over the long term, these concerns tend to fade away as workers are trained to focus on improving job performance (i. e.

helping the company to make a profit). Those whose concerns dont fade away and who dare to break the code of silence by speaking out to others when they cant get their superiors to take their concerns seriously so-called whistle blowers are treated harshly. In a recent issue of Business Week, the last item on a checklist for potential whistle blowers was: Think through the impact on your family. Be prepared for unemployment and the possibility of being blacklisted in your profession. 14 Finally, the eighth feature of Big Business that I would point to as having contributed to the current moral crisis in America is Big Business involvement in some would say stranglehold on the American political process, which has magnified the impact of its moral deficiencies on the American culture. Big businesses have used their huge resources to get candidates who are sympathetic to their interests elected and, through lobbying those they have helped to elect, further their agendas. Money is power in our society, and Big Business has so succeeded in imposing its values on the way Americans think in large part due to its involvement in the political process that the health of our nation is often characterized solely in terms of the Gross Domestic Product, and we are happy with our political leadership just in case the economy is good. (Its the economy, stupid! ) Related to this, there is another way in which Big Business has succeeded in imposing its values on Americans and helped to get candidates elected who will support their practices.

Through the control of mass media -- which, after all, are big businesses themselves -- they are in the position of exerting at least indirect coercion on the way in which stories are presented to the public. 15 Sadly, philosophers too have contributed to the current moral crisis caused by Big Business stranglehold on our society by neglecting to discuss the realm of business and its impact on our society. According to Alan Malachowski: Most philosophers have probably bypassed the commercial realm because they high-mindedly believe business activity has little or no intellectual foundation, and certainly none of much philosophical interest. In doing so, however, they have overlooked one of the more dramatically important examples of how theory can influence behaviour. They have, in effect, sat out a revolution in thought that may turn out to be more morally momentous than any other in our history so far. 16 Malachowskis complaint that philosophers in particular seem to have resolutely turned a blind eye as much of western society began to transform itself into a corporate theme park 17 does seem to have merit. It is particularly critical, at this time in history, that we think about our values.

Increasing globalization has caused the behavior of countries particularly the United States, since its the most visible and powerful country in the world to be scrutinized by others. Clashes in values concerning how people ought to live have been revealed, where once cultures having conflicting values were able to coexist, having little contact with one another. It is, therefore, more important than ever that we think carefully about our national values and the image we present to the world. We cannot afford to be seen as being on the wrong side of ethical debates.

Our very survival as a country might be at stake. It is, therefore, critical that we spend time now thinking about our values as individuals and as a society. The stakes have never been higher. Although I have been critical of Big businesses, in what I have said so far, I am not against Capitalism. But we need to put our economic system into perspective. Capitalism should be seen as a means of improving our standard of living, but not as determining what is most important in life.

I would like to end with some thoughts about how business executives and philosophers need to respond to the moral crisis that America is currently facing Many have argued that we need to pass more laws that would impose a certain level of ethical behavior on businesses. I think this is not the best way to approach the problem of how to get businesses to be more ethical. Its difficult to get such laws passed, they would probably be watered down, and there would undoubtedly be those who would look for loopholes in the law. As a congressional panel report on the Enron scandal, released February 13, 2003, maintained: Enron's behavior illustrates that a motivated corporation can manipulate highly technical provisions of the law. By using advice from sophisticated lawyers, investment bankers and accountants, corporations like Enron have an inherent advantage over the IRS. 18 Furthermore, passing more and more laws would do nothing to help the image of Big Business, which would be viewed as a vicious dog that has to be muzzled. It wouldnt change the fundamental problem that Big Business is driven by a force the profit motive that is often at odds with Ethics.

Also, in this age of globalization, where there are many multinational corporations, the laws of a single country will not be able to contain unethical behavior. I would rather see a movement towards more ethical behavior in business coming from within the business community itself and I think businesses would prefer this, as well, to trying to curb unethical behavior through legislation. I would hope...

Research essay sample on Unethical Behavior Profit Motive