Business Ethics: Busybody or Corporate Conscience?

The study of business ethics is growing apace. The ethical dimension is increasingly seen as an integral aspect of organisational culture. Ethical issues are explored starting with international business, then narrowing the focus to domestic business, and finally narrowing it still further to professional ethics. In so doing, areas such as bribery and corruption, social marketing, ethics education,capitalism versus socialism, Free‐masonry, the religious dimension and professional codes of ethics are touched on. Survey evidence is presented on the relative ethical positioning of major professions. An analysis of real‐life ethical situations leads to the formulation of three models of corporate codes of conduct, and to conclusions as to the pivotal role the ethical dimension can play in corporate life.