Objections to Business Ethics

Be sure to read chapter 1 from the Velasquez text and familiarize yourself with the Loyal Agents Argument. According to Velasquez (2018), The Law of Agency states, “The law of agency is that part of commercial law that specifies the duties of persons – ‘agents’ – who agree to act on behalf of another party – ‘the principle’.” (p 13) Read the Friedman article, “The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits” (shareholder theory). Bearing in mind that it’s difficult to not judge yesterday’s actions by today’s standards, comment of the relevance of Friedman’s position.

Are there recent examples of the Law of Agency being used by company management to rationalize or justify their behavior and decision making in the marketplace? For example, the Wells Fargo customer account debacle.

Are the arguments ‘Profit benefits all’ or ‘If it is legal, it is ethical’ sufficient to support the objection to applying moral standards to business activities?

As a reminder, your response should be well crafted and consistent with college level writing. There is not a specific word count required, however your response should be substantive enough to provide a meaningful response.

ATTACHED YOU WILL FIND CHAPTER 1 AND FRIEDMAN ARTICLE