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The Role Of Business Ethics Within A Community Essay

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Morality and values are contingent on the community’s view and opinions of the issues at hand. As time passes, the community will evolve and the popular interpretation of an issue will influence the acceptance of behavior by the community at large and, in a business setting, it is no different. Business leaders must adhere to accepted cultural and community code of conduct in order be accepted as contributing members of the community. In analyzing the role of business ethics within a community, Joseph Betz (1998) wrote:

To live together beneficially, we must act decently or morally with one another. There is no social, economic or political institution which can exist if the participants in it unrestrainedly lie, cheat, steal, injure, threaten or physically endanger one another. (p. 694).

As a group, the community must analyze and criticize the behavior of its member in order to arrive at a consensus on the tolerance of business practices and behaviors. However, the community’s inclinations may provide an obstacle to the entry and continuation of business activity within the community. Governments, as representative of the community, will attempt to influence and regulate the behavior of companies to reflect the expectations of the community in which they operate, as is the case of government mandated. “The main idea behind CSR is also known as the triple bottom line principle, implying that businesses (should) not only serve as economic, but also social and

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