ABSTRACT
Managers will feel growing pressure from the public and government to behave ethically in all business transactions. This pressure will affect employees of all types of organizations, whether public or private. Ethical behavior is behavior viewed as right and honorable; unethical behavior is behavior viewed as wrong and dishonorable. These straightforward definitions raise tough questions for managers and their organizations. This chapter describes ethical and unethical behavior. It discusses why some scholars believe “it’s good business” to do business ethically and the functions of ethical values and standards for individuals and societies. The chapter describes the various ethics theories and the guidelines each offers. It explains how to manage for ethical behavior in an organization. The chapter identifies some international aspects of ethical behavior in organizations. Ethical behavior is behavior judged as good, right, just, honorable, and praiseworthy. Unethical behavior is behavior judged as wrong, unjust, dishonorable, or failing to meet an obligation.
