1. Ethical and Unethical
Business Practices

2. Ethics
Ethics refers to standards of moral conduct that individuals and groups set for themselves, defining what behavior they value as right or wrong.
To decide whether a particular action is ethical or not, we have to ask questions such as: Is the action right or is it wrong, regardless of what the laws state? Therefore, ethical conduct goes beyond state and federal laws.

3. Ethical
Following are a few ethical business practices that should be followed to build an honest reputation and ensure smooth running of the organization.
Investors: Ensuring safety of their money and timely payment of interest.
Employees: Provision of fair opportunities in promotions and training, good working conditions and timely payment of salaries.
Customer: Complete information of the service and product should be made available. Personal information of the customers should not be used for personal gain.
Competition: Unscrupulous tactics and methods should be avoided while handling competitors.
Government: Rules and regulations regarding taxes, duties, restrictive and monopolistic trade practices and unlawful activities like corruption and bribing should be adhered to.
Environment: Polluting industries should ensure compliance with the government norms regarding air, water and noise pollution.

4. Ethical Examples

5. Unethical Resorting to dishonesty, trickery or deception.
Distortion of facts to mislead or confuse.
Manipulating people emotionally by exploiting their vulnerabilities.
Greed to amass excessive profit.
Creation of false documents to show increased profits.
Avoiding penalty or compensation for unlawful act.
Lack of transparency and resistance to investigation.
Harming the environment by exceeding the government prescribed norms for pollution.
Invasion of privacy used as leverage, for obtaining personal or professional gains.
Sexual discrimination
Race discrimination
Sexual Harassment

6. Unethical Examples Use of child labor and forced labor
Production in sweatshops
Violation of the basic rights of workers
Ignoring health, safety and environmental standards
Among the most common unethical business behaviors of employees are making long-distance calls on business lines, duplicating software for use at home, falsifying the number of hours worked, or much more serious and illegal practices, such as embezzling money from the business, or falsifying business records.

7. Ethical or Unethical?
Capital One offered to give consumers one dollar of new credit if they agreed to transfer the whole balance of a charged off account to the new credit card. This meant that Capital One could re-age debts to get around the statute of limitations, which would start anew.
Capital One issued cards with limits as low as 200 dollars for low-income consumers with poor credit histories. The cards carried membership fees of up to 59 dollars per year. Typically, the annual fees were billed on the consumer’s second monthly statement, leaving the consumer with just 141 dollars of credit when they thought they had 200 dollars. Then, if the consumer mistakenly exceeded the limit, they could face over the limit fees of up to 29 dollars.

8. Ethical or Unethical?
Should a lumber company cut down a forest if doing so would endanger a rare species of bird that nests there?
Should oil drilling be permitted off a coast, thus destroying its natural beauty?
Should a manager accept a request of a foreign official to arrange for his daughter’s admission to an American University if the company wants to land a contract?
Should a business hire a woman to win support from women’s group?

9. Ethical Dilemmas
Your supervisor enters your office and asks you for a check for $ for expenses he tells you he incurred entertaining a client last night. He submits receipts from a restaurant and lounge. At lunch your supervisor’s girlfriend stops by to pick him up for lunch and you overhear her telling the receptionist what a great time she had at dinner and dancing with your supervisor the night before. What do you do?

10. Ethical Dilemma
You have worked as a bank teller for several months when one of the other tellers who has become a good friend tells you that her daughter is extremely ill and that se must have an operation to survive. She also tells you that she has no insurance and the operation will cost $10,000. Sometime later you ask her about her daughter and she tells you she is just fine now. She then confides in you that she took $10, from a dormant account at the bank to pay for the operation. She assures you that she has already started paying it back and will continue to do so until it is all returned. What do you do?

11. Ethical Dilemma
In your spare time at work, you have developed a new spreadsheet program on the personal computer in your office. It is even more powerful, yet easier to sue than anything on the market. You share your new program with a friend who encourages you to market it on your own because you could probably make an incredible profit in a very short time. This is a very attractive option, yet you developed it using company equipment and during time that you were at work. What do you do?

12. Ethical Dilemma
Your newspaper has published a report on a national study, which concluded that bottled water has virtually no health advantages over the tap water in more cities, including yours. The study included comments from local health storeowners and water distributors challenging the study. The AquaPure Bottled Water Company, advertising account worth over $75,000. a year, has threatened to pull its account with your newspaper unless you run another story of equal prominence, focusing on the benefits of bottled water. What do you do?

13. Ethical Dilemma
You are a rookie officer assigned to a training officer for the first six months of your employment. The training officer is a 20-year veteran and is a close friend of the Assistant Chief of Police and the brother-in-law of the Watch Commander. The third day that you are working with him you respond to a burglary call at a local convenience store. It is 2:30 am and the manager has been notified. You are directed to wait minutes for his arrival. A short time later you observe your partner take a soda, candy and a bag of chips. He consumes the soda and chips. When the manager arrives, the two of you depart. What, if anything, should you do?

14. Ethical Dilemma
Your company has a firm policy regarding cases of theft of company property. Used company equipment is on a table to be sold by bid each month. You see a valued employee who is 2 months from retirement slip an electric drill from the table and put it in his car before the day of the sale. What so you do?

15. Ethical Dilemma
A lady from out of town calls you to list her deceased parent’s home in Liberty. She is not sure what it is worth, but says she will be happy to get $50, for the home. You look at the home and feel it is worth at least $75,000, and re4laise it would be perfect for your brother. What do you do?

16. Ethical Dilemma
You are the buyer for a retail-clothing store. Your store has a policy of not accepting gifts. However, over the years, salesmen have offered, and other employees have accepted lunch, theater and baseball tickets. You arrive home from the office and find a new TV and DVD player on you doorstep with a note that says: “A personal gift for out long standing friendship. Enjoy it with you family in good health. The Jones Clothing Company” What do you do?

17. Ethical Dilemma
You have a student who is from a single parent family. The student must work to attend college. However, the job is interfering with the student’s performance and several assignments have not been turned in. You have determined that a “D” is all the student can make when a counselor informs you that the student need a “C” to qualify for an academic scholarship.’ What do you do?

18. Ethical Dilemma
An accountant was asked to “fudge on the books” by her boss. She knew it wasn’t right but if she didn’t she was going to lose her job. She is a single mother with 3 children at home, a mortgage, utilities and a car payment. She gets caught for lying on business statements, should she get the same punishment as her boss? Why or Why Not?