Question

Some argue that government needs to increase its regulation of business for the good of society as a whole. Others believe that the marketplace is self-regulating and that government intervention through needless regulation places an unfair, costly burden on businesses in general and on small businesses in par­ticular. What role do you believe government regulation should play to ensure ethical conduct by businesses? How do different political viewpoints potentially shape the answer to this question?

Answer 1

In my opinion government regulation plays a vital role in ensuring ethical conduct by businesses. Though there is a long-nurtured view that the lesser the government intervention in the free market the better the economic outcome, it must be admitted that “government plays an important role in encouraging businesses to behave in an ethical manner, both by encouragement and coercion, as it cannot be assumed that all businesses will behave ethically without enforcement of regulations”.It is an undeniable fact that whenever a large business organization starts possessing a substantial market share or a monopoly, acquired to acquisitions and mergers, it tends to act in an unethical manner and such action can be detrimental for the common public.Hence, in order to prevent the emergence of such conditions the government must “monitor and supervise such mergers – which are subject to antitrust law – to ensure that they are acting ethically and are not abusing a position of dominance” It is a matter of fact that though some political views like that of the Republicans that favor the boosting of free market may argue in favor of less governmental interference in matters of the market, it should be kept in mind that government regulation must be given importance in controlling the ethics of businesses adhering to the political views like that of the Democrats. And this is because without the active regulation on the part of the government and “without explicit laws restricting cheating, small businesses that do not engage in illegal activities would be placed at a competitive disadvantage”. So, judging from all such perspectives I think that government regulation is needed to enhance ethics in businesses.