Ethics
Business ethics was one topic brought up in our debate on Jonah Creighton. It was suggested that there are certain laws which are habitally broken due to societal laws. Equal opportunit laws was one examples given in class. If a society as a whole does not follow these laws, are they really laws, and should they be followed by all?
It is true that if you go against the societal norm of a culture you may be committing business suicide. The question is whether or not you put you business above such issues. This is how the whole concept of business ethics came about.
Discrimination laws, despite whether or not they are typically followed by a society, are still laws. It is up to the individual company to decide whether or not to follow them, as long as they understand the possible consequences. The ethics of the company's decision makers is what matters here.
I am not suggesting that all companies follow, or even attempt to follow, all laws. All I am saying is that if one choses to disobey one, they should not be allowed to make excuses for such an action because it is "exceptable" by the society in which it thrives. This arguement was made in defense of Coulding-Henson. Yes, the arguement can be used to better help us understand their reasoning behind allowing such actions to take place, but it can not be used as a defense since it is a clear violation of such a law.
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