Abstract

[Editor's Note: The following new entry by Jeffrey Moriarty replaces the former entryon this topic by the previous author.], A business is a productive organization—an organization whosepurpose is to create goods and services for sale, usually at a profit.Business is also an activity. One entity “does business” with another when itexchanges a good or service for valuable consideration. Businessethics can thus be understood as the study of the ethical dimensionsof productive organizations and commercial activities. This includesethical analyses of the production, distribution, marketing, sale, andconsumption of goods and services., Questions in business ethics are important and relevant to everyone.This is because almost all of us “do business”—i.e.,engage in a commercial transaction—almost every day. Moreover,many of us spend a major portion of our lives engaged in, or preparingto engage in, productive activity, on our own or as part of productiveorganizations. Business activity shapes the world we live in,sometimes for good and sometimes for ill., Business ethics is a huge field. Philosophers from Aristotle to Rawlshave defended positions on topics which can be understood as part ofbusiness ethics. At present, there are at least five journals devotedto the field, and work in business ethicsappears in mainstream philosophy and social science journals aswell., This entry summarizes important research on central questions inbusiness ethics, including: In whose interests should firms bemanaged? Who should manage them? What do firms owe their workers, andwhat do workers owe their firms? What moral rules should guidefirms’ engagement with customers? Should firms try to solvesocial problems? What responsibility do they have for the behavior oftheir suppliers? What role should firms play in the political process?Given the vastness of the field, of necessity certain questions inbusiness ethics are not addressed here.