PROFITS are the “bottom line” for businesses and CORPORATIONs, but should maximizing profits at any cost be the primary motivation of a business? Should responsibility to employees, customers, and the community be a concern as well? Can businesses act in ways that balance the duties they have to their SHAREHOLDERS with the duties they have to their STAKEHOLDERS? Philosophers and other thinkers have contemplated ethics and ethical issues for thousands of years. However, it wasn’t until the post-Watergate era that the development of ethical standards in business practices really began to evolve in response to highly publicized news about ethical issues in business. Some of these issues are: bribes and kickbacks, defective and harmful products, workplace discrimination and other unfair EMPLOYMENT practices, INSIDER TRADING, false ADVERTISING, deceptive accounting and AUDITING procedures, monopolies, whistle-blowing, hazardous work environments, and environmental pollution. These acts of misconduct have resulted in the creation and adoption of ethical standards into the structures of many businesses and corporations. Just as individuals are guided by personal ethics when facing moral and other dilemmas, businesses (which are based on human activities, after all) also face challenges when they strive to earn profits and simultaneously try to maintain integrity in their practices in areas such as employee rights, workplace safety, and social responsibility. Therefore “business ethics” may be defined as the study and evaluation of both the moral implications of business behaviors and activities as well as the standards developed that promote moral policy-making at the individual, managerial, and organizational level. Ethical business practices include acting within the law, providing a safe work environment for employees, treating employees fairly, giving back to the community through philanthropy, making safe products, and protecting the environment. To address these practices, businesses often codify ethical standards into the form of MISSION STATEMENTs, credos, or policies. Employees, managers, and executives may then refer to these policies for guidance when faced with situations that may have moral implications. Additionally, these policies may be applicable not only to existing and current problems but also to anticipated conflicts. These policies are then communicated to employees through handbooks and training, with notice that compliance with these policies is expected of employees, including the management and executives. Many companies also create ethics hotlines, committees, and training programs to further communicate their corporate values. Likewise, many professions and trade associations have their own codes of ethics developed in response to actual or anticipated ethical conflicts. These codes serve as guides for the professional behavior of members and set the standards of their profession. An ideal world is one where businesses self-regulate according to ethical standards they have set and where corporations would always act ethically. However, external authority also exists to ensure adherence to legal standards addressing issues that are ethical in nature. Federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and codes are in effect to regulate business behavior and promote ethical practices. For example, OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION (OSHA) laws protect employees from hazardous work environments. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) oversees the legal protection of women, minorities, and the disabled against discrimination, harassment, and other injustices in the workplace. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA) legislation such as the CLEAN AIR ACTS and the CLEAN WATER ACT serves to protect the environment from industrial pollutants. The U.S. CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION is established to protect people from the risks of unsafe products. The SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION (SEC) has many rules and regulations that govern the financial disclosures of publicly traded companies. With increasing GLOBALIZATION, business ethics must also extend internationally. Therefore the U.S. Department of Commerce has issued its “U.S. Model Business Principles” as a reference for businesses to use when framing their own ethical standards and policies—especially applicable in a global economy. Most recently, and in light of recent corporate scandals, the George W. Bush administration has initiated efforts to combat corporate FRAUD through its Corporate Fraud Task Force, to promote reforms to protect workers’ pensions, and to protect stockholders through the “Ten-Point Plan to Improve Corporate Responsibility.” Today the media is reporting what seem like endless examples of unethical, illegal, and fraudulent corporate behavior by executives at Enron, WorldCom, Adelphia Communications, Tyco, Arthur Anderson, Qwest, and ImClone. These corporate scandals are probably the exceptions to the rule, since most businesses recognize that it benefits everyone to act ethically. An ethical business model will attract and keep high-quality employees, increase productivity, build a positive reputation for the business, inspire shareholder confidence, protect the environment, and make for good corporate citizenship in the form of philanthropy. All of these things have a tremendous impact on that bottom line: profits. It is therefore possible for businesses to adhere to high ethical standards and still please both their stockholders and stakeholders.