In 1990, O' Sullivan said that business and personal ethics are ripe for a comeback as the era of the Me- generation and its obsession with greed and profit at any cost draws to a close. The presumption she made a decade ago has seemed to come through in the new millennium, as companies are now increasingly wonder not only what constitute ethical corporate behaviour, but also how to get their employees to observe it both locally and globally. Management schools nowadays teaches courses on the subject to their students and you can even study at any number of good schools for a graduate degree in Business Ethics as revealed in The Economist (22nd February 2000) and the article written by Clive Crook in The National Journal (24 April 1999). .
The change of the perception towards business ethics is so apparent today. The business community in the 1980's perceived business ethics as a contradiction in terms. Those who practise them were oftenly seen as nave and worst, unambitious. This is totally vice versa to the current thinking. For instance, Professor Richard DeGeorge of the University of Kansas shatters the myth of business ethics being a contradiction in terms by using simple logical analogy. He stated that if business is viewed a amoral i.e. it is not expected to behave according to the moral rules and it is not appropriate to do whatever necessary to increase profit, then there would be no surprise when a business acted immorally. The uncovering of bribes and corruption would not be news. .
The presence of business ethics is so apparent today. According to the article entitled "Doing Well by Doing Good- published in the Economist, in the United States there are various ethics industries including consultancies, conferences, journals as well as corporate conscience awards. Accounting firms like PriceWaterhouse Coopers offers to audit the ethical performance of companies. The Ethics Officer Association USA with 650 members today began with only a dozen members in 1990.
