What Is Morality - Essay Example

ring of pension plans or their complete termination; reductions in health care benefits; and wage stagnation in spite of increased productivity” (Feldman, 2007). Indeed, it is through these ethical issues that a redefinition of the essence of business is important. Specifically, it is crucial to ask: (1) is the essence of business purely based on profitability and growth? And (2) should businesses be regarded as moral agents (and therefore be responsible for their actions)? While it is true that profit drives the business as it sustains business operations, it is not the sole determinant of profitability.

Unfortunately, most businesses today solely focus on serving one type of stakeholder—their end consumers—that they fail to consider their other publics: employees, society, and the environment. In this regard, the implementation of the aforementioned ways to cut down costs may actually end up costly for the company, as these may lead to: (1) bad publicity affecting product loyalty; (2) lawsuits being filed to address improper employee treatment; and (3) investment withdrawals by image-sensitive shareholders.

All of these examples reinforce the notion that ethical business practices can indeed translate to business profitability. However, it must be pointed out that viewing ethicality as a mere tool for profitability remains conceptually ambiguous, especially when attempting to shed light on their stark differences. This is why revisiting the essence of business is significant in order to glean insights on what the business is and how it should act. To begin, it must be made clear that a company is a ‘separate and self-determining’ entity since it is comprised of human beings who are completely capable of controlling the business—through culture creation, strategic business alignments, and operations planning—in order to achieve its goal of profitability.

In this regard, any company is said to be free, and is therefore given its rights and