Ethics in Business Ethics and Human Resources Ethics commonly refer to the rules or principles that define right and wrong conduct. In the United States, many believe we are currently suffering from an ethics crisis (Ricklets, Robbins & Coulter, 1996). Behaviors that were once thought unacceptable -- lying, cheating, misrepresenting, and covering up mistakes -- have become in many people's eyes acceptable or necessary practices. Managers profit from illegal use of insider stock information and members …showed first 75 words of 1953 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1953 total…of ethics can be extremely costly. A company that finds a way to change the system so people can be influenced to act ethically and responsibly is far more likely to succeed. As one Texas Instruments executive so accurately stated, "Trust is the foundation for any solid business relationship. You can't form a close and candid relationship with suppliers, customers, and the public if you don't have a track record of integrity or ethics." (Greengard, 1997)