Business Law, Public Responsibility, and Ethics Commons^™

Can Ethical Business Behavior Be Legislated?, Emily C. Owens

Senior Honors Theses and Projects - Management

Throughout the history of the United States, there have been landmark business laws established with the intent to shape business practices and procedures in a way that we as a country deem ethical. In this paper I discuss some of the most important landmark acts passed by U.S. lawmakers in order to establish standards for ethical business practices and values that we strive to maintain and improve upon in corporate America today. My research question is, "Can ethical business behavior be legislated?" There are five dominant themes that emerge from this study. First, it is often a corporate scandal or …