ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The word 'ethics" is often used loosely, and it is not hard to find discussions of medical ethics, business ethics, legal ethics, professional ethics, and various other kinds of ethics. Actually, ethics has been recognized as a branch of philosophy for many centuries. The earliest writings on ethics that we still have available to us in the Western tradition of philosophy come from Plato and Aristotle, and are nearly 2,500 years old. Ethical issues have concerned thinkers and writers ever since, and their efforts to understand the good life for humans. Ethics can be defined as the study of interpersonal or social values, and the rules of conduct that derive from them. The book is intended to help managers reflect on the impacts of their decisions, and to help them in making such decisions ethically.
