Milton Friedmans Views on Business and Ethical Consideration

Question 1: In the 1960s, Milton Friedman said that the purpose of business was to increase shareholder return and that issues of ethics were not the concern of any business – the law should be complied with, morality should be strived for, but ethical consideration had no place in the business environment. Ø Consider the multiple publics (employees, suppliers, consumers, communities, and shareholders for example) that are involved in all business transactions. Ø Explain why ethical consideration IS appropriate and required when conducting business in the 21rst century. Ø Give some specific examples of ethical issues that confront businesses and how these might be addressed. Answer 1: While doing some research about Friedman’s†¦show more content†¦I believe that companies are responsible to honor their promises and show their good manners to the society, it is very important to look good in front of the world as an ethical company with good manners. Ethical consideration is required when conducting business in the 21st century for many reasons. First of all, there is nothing wrong from being ethical, in the contrary you will gain people’s trust and chances for your company to be more reputable are much higher. When considering ethical issues, we have to consider things in a global prospective, because what may be perfectly right for one nation may be looked in a different way from a different nation. So, people have to be very careful when setting ethical standards, and sometimes businesses are forced to follow morals of another country. Paying attention to details is the key to success, and I have noticed this while living in Qatar, how some of the global companies have changed TV advertisements and they have adopted them to Qatari culture. For example when they are presenting a new softener for clothes they may use a model wearing hijab (a veil to cover female’s hair) and this is very appreciated in Muslim countries and makes them buy that product instead of another products using a normal model. With other words, this would not be an unethical situation back in the States but in the other hand it touches the moral of a different nation andShow MoreRelatedThe Ford Pinto Case Analysis1576 Words   |  7 PagesThe Ford Pinto Case Milton Friedman believed a free-market system, in which goods and services are exchanged and controlled by individuals and privately-owned businesses without government authority, was the only way to achieve personal freedom. 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