Philosophy ESSAY 2 - Business and Professional Ethics

Philosophy 2 - Business and Professional Ethics - Essay Example This paper will refute this argument in the pursuit of justifying whistle-blowing as a social and moral duty to secure the interests of society. Renowned American economist Milton Friedman offered a landmark statement when he suggested that corporate social responsibility means, primarily, making money for stockholders and implying that ethical behaviour is therefore good for shareholder wealth (Nickels et al, 2005). Friedmans suggestion indicates that business maintains a duty to those who invest in the success of an organization and must work to ensure that it bases its activities chiefly to secure the financial well-being of shareholders. Enron Corporation, a now infamous American company which was bankrupted virtually overnight for eliciting false accounting practices, offered global business a learning lesson on truth in financial disclosure, insider trading, and the ethical fiduciary responsibilities of corporate managers and directors (Berenbeim, 2002). Enron Corp. failed in its duty to sustain its responsibility to its employees and shareholders, thus offering a blow to all of society, and was publicly exposed for it s corruption by internal employees who blew the whistle on Enrons false activities. In the situation with Enron, the whistleblowers infringed on the precept of employee loyalty and, most likely, felt it was their social duty to expose corruption within the organization. However, loyalty is a feature of special, mutually-enriching relationships in which self-interest may be forfeited without anticipation for reward (Powerpoint, 2006). The key words are mutually-enriching and in the case of Enron, the whistle-blowers witnessed the firms failure to fulfil its duty and thus viewed exposure as more than merely a right, but a duty to act in a morally responsible manner to reclaim a sense of business ethics and protect investors from fraud. Thus, the whistle-blowers enacted their perceptions of justice against Enron. The term justice has been