Unethical Business Practices (university of Phoenix)

Introduction

Business and its development power the economy both nationally and globally. It is for this reason that the development of business is so important to the growth and prosperity to every countries economy. Every company ever created all share one common goal to make as much money as possible. So the question should be asked what is to stop a company from making unscrupulous decisions to increase the company's profit margin. There are two things to stop this from happening, laws which provide legal security to the consumer and the company's business ethics which should provide a sense moral security to both parties involved. The business ethics of most companies is usually defined by the moral character of the companies' founder and executives. Business ethics are in place to set a moral standard for business deals with no legally clear defined line between right and wrong. The business ethics of a company could serve as a benefit or a detriment to a company's reputation in the community. Companies with good business ethics usually are successful and reputable businesses. Companies with bad business ethics usually are companies with short life spans and poor reputations. These shows how important having good business ethics is to running a successful business. Even with all the new ways people now have to communicate the most trusted and oldest form of advertising is still word of mouth. While the company I work for does not have a business code of ethics that I can research I chose the school I attend as an example for my paper.

I chose to do my paper on the business ethics of the University of Phoenix. The University of Phoenix is an institution of higher learning, but it is also a publicly traded entity on the stock market which also makes it a business. The University of Phoenix provides a chance for people to achieve a college degree who due some circumstance would not have otherwise be able to achieve a degree. The University of Phoenix is also a business and like all businesses the bottom line is to turn a profit, so inevitably the ethics of this institution will come in to question. The University of Phoenix's mission statement reads as follows "University of Phoenix provides access to higher education opportunities that enable students to develop knowledge and skills necessary to achieve their professional goals, improve the productivity of their organizations and provide leadership and service to their communities."

There is multiple business ethics that the school represents in its mission statement and would like the students of the school to represent, but the main business ethic I interpreted in this statement is duty based ethic. The University wants its staff to accomplish the goal of teaching its students to be successful in the real world. The university staff has the obligation to each and every student to teach the student from not only what they learned through their education, but also what they have learned in real world experiences. This is the goal of the university and should also be the goal of all the university's instructors as well.

Another of the business ethics that I interpreted in the mission statement is goal oriented ethic this ethic not only applies to the employees of the University of Phoenix, but also the student body as well. Goal oriented ethics apply because everyone is there with a goal in mind to accomplish what the university was established for to create and sustain professionals in the business world. It is up to the students to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the university.

With most things a perfect