The word ‘ethics’ means standards of right and wrong behavior. Another word often used is ‘morality’. Today, things have got more complicated:

1. There is no longer one agreed moral code. Most people have a weak sense of religion or none at all. So their morals must come from somewhere else.
2. There are competing religious and social moral codes, especially for multinational companies ("MNCs") operating in different parts of the world and employing people from different cultures.
3. The pursuit of profit has become a goal in its own right, and this puts pressures on people to compromise their standards.
4. Businesses are only the people who work there; businesses have group cultures with their own norms and standards.
5. Greater wealth in the western economies means people have less tolerance for ethically dubious behavior. So there are higher expectations of how businesses should behave.
6. Businesses have to sell to consumers and employ workers who have their own standards and opinions. There is a competitive pressure for better behaviour from businesses.
7. Many managers and owners have ambitions of social acceptance and recognition e.g. knighthoods or honorary PhD.
8. Modern technology creates ethical dilemmas which never existed until quite recently. Medical products, and gene technologies, are a good example of this.