The topic of business ethics has been in the news because of all of the scandals surrounding large corporate businesses.  These scandals would not have occurred if the participants would have behaved ethically.  Ethics are important for the proper functioning of business activities.  This includes value-added agricultural businesses.

For more information on this topic, see the links listed below of articles posted on related Web sites.
 

Importance of Ethics

• Business Ethics – Small Business Administration -- With everything from insider trading to employee theft on the rise, it is no wonder that businesses are beginning to focus on the impact of ethical leadership.
• The Moral Dilemmas of Young Professionals – HBS Working Knowledge – What influences the moral compasses of young professionals.
• Where Morals and Profits Meet: The Corporate Value Shift – HBS Working Knowledge -- Although recent headlines focus on business boondoggles.  Research shows a rising standard of corporate performance that includes moral and financial dimensions.
• A Debate on Moral Authority: What It Is, What It Isn't – HBS Working Knowledge -- How should aspiring business leaders approach deep moral issues, especially issues that collide at the intersection of religion, business, law, and government?
  
• Shareholder Value versus Corporate Responsibility – HBS Working Knowledge -- It's a delicate balance: Can companies provide good returns to shareholders while being socially responsible?

Practicing Ethics

• Exploring Ethical Leadership – West Virginia University Extension – Virtually all human activities has a ethical dimension.
• Character Counts – Trustworthiness – West Virginia University Extension – Many of our leaders are asking us to take another look at ethics.
• Character Counts – Responsibility – West Virginia University Extension – Responsibility means being accountable.
• Character Counts – Respect – West Virginia University Extension -- Respect is to show solemn regard for the value of others.
• Character Counts – Fairness – West Virginia University Extension – If you follow rules consistently, it is likely that you will treat everyone in a like manner.
• Character Counts – Citizenship – West Virginia University Extension – Being a good citizen means going beyond your own self interest and demonstrating a concern for the needs of others.
• Character County – Caring – West Virginia University Extension – Caring includes human virtues such as compassion, kindness, benevolence, altruism, charity generosity and sharing.
• The Five Steps of Corporate Responsibility – HBS Working Knowledge -- As society changes, we must constantly rethink how we do business. Most corporations pass through five stages as they move toward social responsibility.
• Does Spirituality Drive Success? – HBS Working Knowledge -- Is there a place for spirituality in the workplace? Executives from Silicon Valley to Boston tell how they twine their business leadership with religious and personal values.
• Becoming an Ethical Negotiator – HBS Working Knowledge -- Think you negotiate fairly?
• Doing the Right Thing the Hard Way – HBS Working Knowledge -- What does it take to be a leader in the E-Age? Guts, perseverance and an understanding of public ethics in a world of instant communication.
• ‘Good Work’: When Ethics and Professionalism Meet – HBS Working Knowledge -- In the ethical, moral, and legal quagmire surrounding the Enron collapse, the concept of "good work" rings true.
• Secret to Success: Go for “Just Enough” – HBS Working Knowledge – Being the very best in your chosen field is, paradoxically, a matter of accepting your limitations.
• Do the Right Thing – HBS Working Knowledge -- How does a commitment to "do the right thing" as it's applied to customers, employees, and other stakeholders affect an organization's daily decision making?
• Paul O’ Neill: Values into Action – HBS Working Knowledge – If you want to know whether you are part of an organization that has the potential for greatness, ask yourself three questions.