1. Development of Business Ethics

2. A Timeline of Ethical and Socially Responsible Concerns2

3. Before 1960: Ethics in Business
Theological discussions of ethics emerged.
The Protestant work ethic encouraged hard work 3

4. The 1960s: The Rise of Social Issues in Business
Societal social consciousness emerged
JFK’s Consumer Bill of Rights- A new era of consumerism
Consumer protection groups fought for consumer protection legislation
Ralph Nader
Source: Hisham Ibrahim 4

5. The 1970s: Business Ethics as an Emerging Field
Business professors began to write about social responsibility
Philosophers became involved
Businesses became concerned with public image
Conferences were held and centers developed
Issues:
Bribery – Product safety
Deceptive advertising – Environment
Price collusion 5

6. The 1980s: Consolidation
Membership in business ethics organizations increased
Ethics centers provided:
Publications, courses, conferences and seminars
Firms established ethics committees
Corporate support for ethics 6

7. The 1990s: Institutionalization of Business Ethics
Guidelines for Organizations
Set tone for compliance
Preventative actions against misconduct
A company could avoid/minimize potential penalties 7

8. The 21st Century: A New Focus
Continued issues with corporate non-compliance
Growing public/political demand for improved ethical standards
Sarbanes-Oxley Act (2002)
Most extensive ethics reform
Increased accounting regulations
FSGO reform (2004)
Requires governing authorities to be well-informed regarding business ethics programs
Firm’s greatest danger is not discovering misconduct early
Basic assumptions of capitalism being debated
Fears in the wake of global recession and financial meltdown 8