词汇提示

1.ethics 伦理

2.barracks 营房

3.discriminate 歧视

4.ethnic 民族的

5.boasting 自夸的

6.bribe 贿赂

7.tentative 试探性的

8.hazardous 有毒害的

原文

Business Ethics

What do business and ethics have to do with each other?

Business is about making profits.

Ethics is about right and wrong.

Well,business ethics is the study of right and wrong as applied to business actions.

Some businessmen would say that there is no need for business ethics.

If we don't break the laws of the country, we have nothing to worry about.

However,we can do many bad things without breaking laws.

In some countries, it would be legal for a businessman to pollute the land, sea and air, to confine his workers to barracks and to hire children to work in factories.

But,these things may not be right.

On the other hand, it may be illegal for a businessman to do some good things.

For example, his society may expect him to treat people unequally and discriminate against some ethnic or religious groups.

In order to know what is right or wrong, we need a moral rule.

This rule does not come from business itself, but from ethics.

So we need a statement of what we believe to be right.

The American Declaration of Independence in 1776 states an ethical principle: "We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal..…."

The Declaration further tells us that all men have a right to "...life,liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

Principles such as these can be used in American politics and law to decide whether an action is right or wrong.

Many companies have their own ethical guidelines.

IBM,for example, outlines its corporate ethics under headings such as, "Tips,Gifts and Entertainment, ""Accurate Reporting," "Fair Competition,"and "Not boasting."

So each employee knows what to do or not to do in various situations.

Ethical choices are made on three levels.

Individuals,by companies and by societies, make them.

An individual might choose whether or not to accept a bribe.

A company might decide whether or not to bribe government officials.

A government or society might decide whether or not to outlaw bribery.

Similar principles of right and wrong might be used at all three levels.

For example, it might be decided that bribery is simply wrong in all situations.

On the other hand, it might be decided to view the situation case by case.

In other words, there is a strong ethical stand and a more tentative ethical stand.

The strong ethical stand applies when you have a basic moral principle and apply it to all situations.

For example, you might believe that it was always wrong to let workers handle hazardous substances without any protection.

The weaker stand would consider whether it is legal to do so.

If it is legal to let workers handle dangerous materials, and this conforms to social expectations, then the weak ethical stand would say, "No problem."

As long as the law is not broken, and no one strenuously objects, then everything is okay.

However,in ethics there is a principle called the "moral minimum."

This principle means that you should never harm another person knowingly.

The only exception would be to protect some other people, or yourself.

So business ethics would say that the businessman who exposes his workers to hazardous chemicals is wrong.

He is not practicing the moral minimum.

翻译

商业道德

商业和道德之间有什么关系?
做生意就是要赚钱。
道德是关于对与错的。
嗯，商业伦理是对应用于商业行为的对与错的研究。
有些商人会说，不需要商业道德。
如果我们不违反国家的法律，我们没有什么可担心的。
然而，我们可以做很多坏事而不违法。
在一些国家，商人污染土地、海洋和空气，将工人限制在营房里，雇佣儿童在工厂工作是合法的。
但是，这些事情可能并不正确。
另一方面，商人做一些好事可能是违法的。
例如，他所在的社会可能期望他不平等地对待他人，歧视某些种族或宗教团体。
为了知道什么是对或错，我们需要一个道德准则。
这条规则不是来自商业本身，而是来自道德。
所以我们需要一个我们认为正确的陈述。
1776年的《美国独立宣言》阐明了一条道德原则:“我们认为这些真理是不言而喻的:人人生而平等......”
《宣言》进一步告诉我们，所有人都有权“……生命，自由和对幸福的追求"
诸如此类的原则可以用于美国的政治和法律，以决定一项行动是对还是错。
许多公司都有自己的道德准则。
例如，IBM在“小费、礼物和娱乐”、“准确报告”、“公平竞争”和“不自夸”等标题下概述了它的企业道德。
所以每个员工都知道在不同的情况下该做什么不该做什么。
道德选择有三个层面。
个人、公司和社会都在制造它们。
个人可以选择是否接受贿赂。
公司可以决定是否贿赂政府官员。
政府或社会可以决定是否取缔贿赂。
类似的是非原则可以在所有三个层次上使用。
例如，可能会认为贿赂在任何情况下都是错误的。
另一方面，也可以根据具体情况来看待情况。
换句话说，有一个强烈的道德立场和一个更试探性的道德立场。
当你有一个基本的道德原则，并将其应用于所有情况时，你就会有强烈的道德立场。
例如，你可能认为让工人在没有任何保护的情况下处理有害物质总是错误的。
立场较弱的一方会考虑这样做是否合法。
如果让工人处理危险材料是合法的，这符合社会期望，那么道德立场薄弱的人会说:“没问题。”
只要法律没有被打破，没有人极力反对，那么一切都没问题。
然而，在伦理学中有一个原则叫做“道德最低限度”。
这个原则意味着你永远不应该故意伤害别人。
唯一的例外是为了保护其他人，或者你自己。
因此，商业道德会说，让工人接触危险化学品的商人是错误的。
他没有达到道德的最低限度。

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Level 4-Day 84.Business Ethics