Business Studies Argumentative Essay

The issue of ethics in business has been of major interest in the recent past. A significant number of American organizations have faced the problem of unethical businesses. The conduct of companies and organizations has come under great scrutiny especially in the wake of ethical scandals in international companies based in the United States. This paper seeks to investigate the problem of unethical business and the potential solutions to curb the issue.

Cases of fraud and unethical practices have rocked big corporations such as Enron and Lehman Brothers in the recent past. One of the ethical issues that have faced many companies is the issue of bribery and incorrect reporting of financial status (Amos, 2011). The reasons for the unethical practices by big business are due to insatiable financial greed and lack of transparent reporting structures. Big corporate such Wal-Mart were implicated in bribery scandals that were aimed at netting more business opportunities and imperatively more profits (Ferrell & Fraedrich, 2012). It is also evident that other companies engage in practices that are unfriendly to the environment such as dumping industrial wastes into rivers and areas inhabited by human beings. It is unfortunate that businesses put profits first before ethical practices that will offer greater good for the society.

Unethical business practices have eroded the public’s confidence in most business. Due to the widely reported unethical business practices, most people have a negative perception of American business. In fact, the prevalent notion is that most businesses are only interested in making money at the expense of all other social values (Pimentel et al, 2010). This notion is harmful to the overall image of businesses both regionally and globally. It is therefore necessary for a viable solution to be implemented in order to eliminate the issue of unethical business practices and redeem the name of American business among the members of the public.

Alternative Solutions

One of the viable solutions to eradicate unethical business practices is through the change of business models. Most companies do not have ethical policies that govern their business. On the contrary, organizations take ethics for granted and it is only the individual employees who determine what is ethically right or wrong. In order to prevent the occurrence of unethical business practices, it is necessary for organizations to implement clear policies and guidelines that offer direction on matters of ethics. Organizations have to change their business models and make all the business processes transparent (Svensson et al, 2010). The policies of a company should uphold integrity and provide clear mechanisms of holding all employees accountable for their actions within the organization. Suffice to say, organizations should create an independent integrity and ethics officer that is charged with implementing ethical policies throughout the organization. The ethics office should also be empowered up to the topmost levels of management so as to have an impact on the organization. All employees should be subject to frequent ethical audits irrespective of their position in the organization.

The other alternative solution to the problem of unethical business practices is to minimize the influence of politicians on businesses. In the current settings, businesses often offer financial support to politicians to aid their campaigns and buy their loyalty. For instance, some businesses bribe politicians so as to vote for laws that the businesses favor. Also, politicians may be enticed to vote against laws that call for more transparency and integrity of businesses. By minimizing the influence of businesses on the politicians, there will be sufficient oversight over business practices (Amos, 2011). The political system can be in a better position to create a legal framework that is conducive for ethical business practices.