BUSINESS ETHICS

Impact of Corruption and Greed on Business Ethics

Writer's Name

Writer's university

Abstract

In the wake of recent fraudulent practices by Enron, Xerox, WorldCom, Global Crossing, Merck, Qwest and Arthur Andersen, many people are amazed by the fact as on how people who are so well educated and were considered one of the best leaders in corporate America, lacked the moral courage to seek and state the truth. Business Ethics has been thrown to the side, as the wild-west form of capitalism has taken hold on our corporate leaders. This corporate malfeasance has costs thousands of jobs, trillions of dollars in stockholder value, and skepticism of our once revered free economic system. This research paper discusses the concepts of Corruption and Greed, and their ethical implications and consequences. It also illustrates the case of Enron as an example of the subject under discussion.

Table of Contents

Abstractii

Introduction1

Brief Review of the Basic Concepts1

Corruption in business practices1

Corporate Greed3

Business Ethics3

Ethical implications of corruption on business activities4

Corporate Greed leads to unethical business decisions5

Consequences of Corruption and Greed- a case of Enron6

Conclusion8

References9

Impact of Corruption and Greed on Business Ethics

Introduction

We reside in a world where growth in monetary terms and money is seen as a sign of success. Many people are not prepared to do what it takes to be financially successful that is hard and smart work. They want instant success and take short-cuts for the purpose. It often starts out small and then swells into horrendous proportions. The Enron Scandal is a perfect example of this, in which Greed and poor ethical decisions influenced the life and deeds of top executives. They could not follow their self made policies, and within months, world 7th largest and powerful company filed the largest bankruptcy in the history of bankruptcy. Apparently very colorful and inviting, but in reality, success that is attained through greed tends to be hollow, not sustainable and it can have grave consequences.

Brief Review of the Basic Concepts

Before proceeding in the discussion and analysis of the impact of corruption and greed on business ethics, it is imperative to refresh the basic concept of these terms.

Corruption in business practices

Corruption, in its simplest form, is the abuse of public power for personal interest and gain. Corrupted practices refer to the decisions made by an individual or a group in their self interest that have the potency to harm the stakeholders and related parties. The major problem in identifying corruption arises when a corrupted person makes self serving decisions in the name of public's interest.

Administrative corruption includes acts of bribery, kickbacks or activities in which the authorized person extracts payment, other than legal and mentioned fee, for the approval of the decision or project. Example may include a recruitment officer who takes a certain percentage from the candidate before hiring him or a school principal who approves admission after taking money under the table. Such type of corruption disturbs the resource allocation and deprives the deserved person of his or her rights. It is a monster that ...