Personally, I agree that Solomon's ethical fundamentals are a good moral foundation for a business. “Business ethics is the study of what constitutes right and wrong (or good and bad) human conduct in a business context.” (p25) From the lecture, we know that ethics matters because “how organizations behave have important implications for how they fulfill their social and economic roles” and “their success as well as the success of their employees, customers, etc.” Thus, running a business ethically is good for business. Applying Solomon’s three C’s of business ethics and the eight rules of thinking ethics in business make good sense.
The three C’s of business ethics include compliance, contributions and consequences.
The first C is …show more content…

Let’s have a look at the following example. Once, Sanlu was one of the oldest and most popular brands of infant formula in China. It went into bankruptcy after the “Sanlu milk scandal”. Based on the media, “By November 2008 China reported an estimated 300,000 victims, six infants dying from kidney stones and other kidney damage, and a further 860 babies hospitalized.” Since the Sanlu Group didn’t solve the problem and recall the products in time, it leaded to a horrible incident. Doubtlessly, what did organizations do may affect their development and even the well-being of the public. Organizations should not blindly pursue for profits only but also be responsive to society. To become successful, a business needs to be driven by strong ethical values. If a corporation fails to adopt ethical values and cannot be responsive to society, it will fail, just like the Sanlu Group.
Besides the three C’s of business ethics, Solomon also stated the eight rules of thinking ethics in business, which are also good moral foundations for a business. The eight rules include “consider other people’s well-being, including the well-being of nonparticipants; think as a member of the business community and not as an isolated individual; obey, but do not depend solely on, the law; think of yourself—and your company—as part of society; obey moral rules; think objectively; ask the question