The field of business ethics includes all issues related to business conduct, business values, and the ways in which the operations of a business affect members of communities and employees of a business. This is a broad term that includes empirical study, issues of legality, and even questions of morality. People who tend to be interested in business ethics can range from professionals who want to know how best to practice in the world of business to scholars and legal professionals who are interested in answering broad questions based on empirical data, as well as on histories of legal and moral questioning.
Business ethics resources vary by subject since some books, videos, and audio recordings might concentrate on general issues, such as basic introductions to business ethics, or on more specific issues, such as employer-employee relationships. It is common to find business ethics resources that have been developed for certain contexts, such as professional use, classroom use, and general knowledge applications. These can vary substantially.
It is very common for business students to use business ethics resources. People who are just beginning their business programs might receive textbooks that act as general introductions to issues in business ethics. These books generally are approved by business faculty and focus on issues that instructors believe are important. It also is common for business ethics resources to feature certain perspectives on business ethics, so instructors might choose resources that are in agreement with their own perspectives on this field.
Active professionals continually engage in conversations about business ethics, so they might also utilize business ethics resources. For example, human resource professionals might wonder about the best ways to improve employee performance and therefore might read business ethics books about dealing with problem employees. An accountant or financial manager, on the other hand, might use business ethics resources that enable them to learn which auditing practices are legal and which are considered to be outside the bounds of legal compliance.
Scholars use business ethics resources that enable them to complete their research. If a researcher is interested in learning about how the relationships between managers and stockholders have changes over the years, he or she might read business history books that explore the ways ethical arguments have changed as these roles have developed. A scholar who is interested in learning about how government regulations have impacted issues such as labor relations and environmental health, on the other hand, might use business ethics resources that use statistical data that illustrate the effectiveness of laws and regulations.
