Ethics and Social Responsibility Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ethics and Social Responsibility - Essay Example The insufficiency of research became evident long before 2003; the scandals only highlighted the neglect of the topic. The author of the article believes that the scandal around Enron was a kind of â€Å"crest of an already rising wave of interest†. However, we may say that the scandal, in fact, was a consequence of the inadequate focus on the issue. Indeed, only Arthur Andersen was involved into several court examinations of their fraudulent transactions since the end of 1980s. Those cases turned little attention to the problem. The stir was quickly calmed down, while it was not beneficial for many influential people of the country. There is no surprise that the â€Å"wave of interest† started rising. The Aspen Institute and the Financial Times were among first institutions that started ranking business schools on the basis of their emphasis on the issues of environmental and social responsibility, greeting the introduction of relevant changes in curriculum and the est ablishment of specialized journals. One could also observe an upsurge of academic journals and books, as well as professional societies, dealing with the issues. Business ethics has long become an obligatory component in business schools curriculum. It has been recognized as vital by most of U.S. and European corporations, which would like to develop and prosper in future. Fortune 500 companies are among the most disciplined business institutions, able to present their codes of ethics and ethics officers. The article enumerates the key issues being discussed by corporations, including: sensitive payments abroad, corporate governance, diversity, effectiveness of compliance systems, environmental responsibility, executive pay, and the definition of corporate obligations to stockholders (p. 364). It is high time the scholars took to the advance research in the area of business ethics and corporate responsibility. Yet, in 2003, when the article was published, little was done in