A cinematograph of moral principles: critical values for contemporary business and society

This paper presents snapshots of moral principles which can inform current thinking on values that will positively affect business in contemporary society. It is aimed primarily at the management practitioner who may not have the time, or the interest, to pursue this area in the current literature. Values (moral, ethical and social) are mentioned, but the main focus of the paper is on values which drive the Western World; e.g. the free enterprise system with its ideas of fairness, competition, honesty, trust, integrity and justice. Instances of unfair, unethical, unscrupulous and presumably illegal behaviour are regularly reported in the press, and the current scandals regarding members of the Olympic Games Federation are examples. This paper is a synopsis of some current thinking about key values in contemporary business and society; values which seem to have been conveniently forgotten, at best, or deliberately flouted, at worst.