An Ethical Analysis of a Conflict in Seller-Buyer Relationship in the Marketplace: An Aristotelian Perspective

Abstract

The overlapping concerns of business and professions are increasingly becoming commonplace because more and more business considerations pertaining to for-profit are entering into the working of professionals and professional organizations. Earlier business considerations in the practice of professions were confined to, for example, engineering and media organizations but with the passage of time such considerations have also entered into the provision of certain medical facilities and educational institutions. With the result, the possibilities of ethical conflicts in the working of businesses and professional organizations are not only on the rise but appearing to be more and more a cause for problem-situations. The reason being the primary ethical obligation in business is owed to the owner or the shareholders whereas in professional organizations such an ethical obligation is owed to the client or the community. The difference in primary ethical obligations leads to various possibilities of ethical conflicts.