Ethical Relativism

PHIL320-1204A-07

Ethical Relativism

Jamie Youngs

October 23, 2012

In this assignment I will define ethical relativism and then will chose a form of corrupt behavior I discussed in a previous assignment. Once I have chosen a behavior I will identify whether it is considered normal behavior or not as well as whether it is good or bad. I will look into whether or not there is a majority rule when it comes to corruption or if everyone has their own views on it. Finally I will go back to the corruption I have chosen and using ethical relativism decide what was could help prevent it from happening again or if there is another way. Corruption is something that happens on a daily basis all around the word the more we know about it the better we can help prevent it.

According to the BusinessDictionary.com ethical relativism is defined as a tendency to make ethical choices only on the basis of what looks right or reasonable according to one's own belief or value system. When it comes to ethics it is always based on what you believe is right or wrong which most of the time comes from what you have been taught throughout your life. If you were taught that being a thief is a good life and it is all you know in your eyes it may not be unethical while in others it will be. Ethics is something that is based on someone's religion, friends, family, social atmosphere and even work environment. What may seem ethical to you may not be to your neighbor. All in all ethical relativism makes perfect sense.

One incident that I witness corruption was when I was at work in retail. When the company I was working for offers their supplier a generous amount of "commission" that was not agreed upon by the suppler boss in order to make sure that they get a little extra product and time is not something that is okay. Not only does this type of corruption affect the company because they are putting out more money than needs to be but you are effecting the suppliers hours. Having the suppler stay longer to do extra for your company puts him behind in his other duties at other companies and therefore is costing his company more money. This type of corruption is a type of bribery and is not good behavior and just about everyone knows bribery is wrong but whether they take into account ethics is a whole other story. If the majority of people saw this type of behavior as acceptable then it wouldn't be corrupt because it would be something that everyone did and The Merriam-Webster Dictionary (n.d.) defines corruption as the "impairment of integrity, virtue, or moral principle," or "inducement to wrong by improper or unlawful means (as bribery)." So the law and everyone else views it as acceptable then it wouldn't be unlawful or improper.

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