Critically understand and explain the social and philosophical nature of ethics within a business context

Critically understand and explain the social and philosophical nature of ethics in a business context.
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Ethics is a branch of philosophy that seeks to find answers as to the moral issues and concepts such as good and evil or right and wrong (Russow & Vuuren 2010). Ethics is applicable to business practices in light of how businesses relate to consumers through the selling of their products or services. They continue on to say that ethical and moral issues in such cases involve concepts of how the business markets its products, the policies it employs in hiring and treating its workers as well as its practices in manufacturing. Increasingly, companies have shown interest in how the public perceives it in terms of ethical practices and how the company responds to social responsibility issues.
Jeurissen (2007), points out that many businesses have gained reputation because of how they gave importance to issues of corporate ethics and their responsibility towards societies and communities in which it operates. He observes that in contrast, other businesses have lost their reputation through employing bad business practices. He argues further that to such businesses, undertaking the business activity is purely for maximizing profits and has no regard to ethical business practices. This paper seeks to explore the ethical issues that have cropped up recently in the field of business and consumer relations in light of social responsibility of the company and the ethical consumerism on the side of the consumer.
In the past, consumerism has been a matter of buyer or consumer receiving a product or services from the manufacturer or business without having the choice as to how the product is made (Odies, Fraedrich & Ferrell 2011). They continue on to argue that however, with recent advancements in globalization and in the technological fields, consumers have more say in what services or products they buy and use rather than being passive receivers and accepting whatever companies think is best for them.
Archie and Bulchoz (2011), argue that recent advancements in 3-D printing technology have meant that consumers can now design their own products like designer shoes and many other products. They argue further that consumers can shape perceptions that others have of a particular product through sharing their opinions in such platforms as twitter, blogs or other social media sites. Companies had grown used to a one-way relationship between them and the consumers but this is changing. Factors that influence this perception involve advancements in digital technology, the decentralization of corporate power as well as the advanced individual tastes in products and services by the modern consumer (Xiaoli & Heo 2007). Increased population has also been important in how consumers are able to share their opinions about certain products and services with their peers.
Jeurissen (2007), argue that b...