In a free society, it is hard for “evil” people to do “evil”, especially since one man’s good is another’s evil.

-From economist Milton Friedman

When we consider business ethics, some common topics such as pollution, integrity and culture conflicts are really easily defined right or wrong by moral strandards and laws. However,some problems cannot be simply classified as right or wrong in the business world. These situations conduct to one basic question: what are ethics in business?

Maximize company’s longrun profits within legal limits.

-From Economists Adam Smith, Milton Friedman and Thomas Sowell

In other words, companies interpret ‘business ethics’ as they like within legal limits and aim to the maximum profit.  Ethicists do not always agree about the purpose of business in society – some see the main purpose of business is to maximize profits for its owners or its shareholders. 

However, business ethics also influenced by consumer expectations nowadays. These  have been instrumental in bringing about change: consumers expect businesses to demonstrate ethical responsibility in its widest sense – affecting the treatment of employees, the community, the environment, working conditions etc.