The article’s site: http://www.economist.com/node/18928406
It was reported that the News of the World broke into the voicemail of a murdered girl, Milly Dowlers, which has exerted a numerous and widespread negative influence in the UK’s media. It would be a stain on the UK’s media history and the News International. It seemed that the News of the World was a habitual criminal who used to hire private investigators to hack into others’ phones. The issue was also concerned with the complete UK’s media world , Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, the police and the politicians. Apparently, the newspaper media in the UK was a depressing mess, which was considered rude and excessive.
In this case, the method using by the News of the World is defined as a crime, which concerns to the ethics. This raised a question. What is the appropriate relation between business and ethics? For businessmen, the fundamental incentive is profit, but they cannot be unscrupulous and greedy. Since firms are playing a vital role in the whole society, they are supposed to take the social responsibilities as their duties. Generally speaking, business cannot run out of the law. A successful enterprise is not only about making profits, but also about taking social responsibilities, keeping a good reputation and devoting themselves to the whole society.