Open AccessBusiness Ethics: Who Are The Good Guys?
Author(s) -
Kent L. Foutz,
Timothy L. Wilson
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of applied business research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.149
H-Index - 22
eISSN - 2157-8834
pISSN - 0892-7626
DOI - 10.19030/jabr.v6i3.6290
Subject(s) - business ethics , scapegoat , profit (economics) , meaning (existential) , business , public relations , point (geometry) , law and economics , economics , marketing , law , political science , neoclassical economics , epistemology , philosophy , geometry , mathematics
The media often includes much concern about profits in business. The term is misunderstood by many lay people and some business people. When the real meaning of the word, and its place in business and society are understood, the question is not whether profits are too high. The question is whether they are high enough, or even exist. Evidence and examples taken from selected common shares show that profit is often too low. In 1980 there was much ado about high corporate profits; especially in the oil business, which was the current scapegoat of the media. A monograph was written that examined corporate profits over a ten year period. The new scapegoats of the late 1980s are corporate raiders. It seems worthwhile to update the 1980 work and look at corporate profits from the popular ethics point of view.