Ethics and Governance Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ethics and Governance - Case Study Example The cause for Friedman’s statement is probably due to the birth of ‘Ethical business’, this is where companies will demonstrate a social conscience, possibly to gain support from consumers who buy their products, but will cut the profits of the shareholders in a company. Freidman also assumes that there is a link between the birth of ‘Ethical business’ and the growth of left-wing academia, particularly in the United States, although I am not convinced of the relation between the two and that one affects the other. However, Friedman believes that it is these academics that are making the businessmen act like â€Å"unwitting puppets† who are â€Å"preach ­ing pure and unadulterated socialism†. Still, I believe that Friedman is putting across his biased political views with this statement, where he thinks that anything relating to socialism is automatically bad so he does not really back up this quote. I also disagree with Friedman in tha t he believes that the â€Å"intellectual forces† really have that much influence on businessmen to make them â€Å"unwitting puppets†. The factor which would make businessmen turn to a more ethical approach could be down to a rapidly expanding interest in business ethics and the rise of the middle-class looking to ‘clear their conscience’ by buying ethically. 2. Friedman (1970) discusses whether corporations can have a â€Å"social responsibility† or whether having responsibilities is a uniquely human trait. Friedman argues, reasonably convincingly, that a company cannot have the responsibility since it is â€Å"artificial†. We can see this in his article when he says â€Å"Only people can have responsibilities. A corporation is an artificial person and in this sense may have artificial responsibilities†. This would lead him to the conclusion that corporations have no moral obligation to be ethical since they are not moral beings and that the only responsibilities of a company â€Å"is to increase its profits†.