ETHICS IN BUSINESS NEU

Kiều Thị Phương Anh
Finance 56C

ETHICS IN BUSINESS: Counterfeit products
Nowadays, when considering about one business, the economists look at not only the
equipment, the capital, the labor,... but also take notice of the business ethics. According to
wikipedia, business ethics is a form of applied ethics or professional ethics that examines ethical
principles and moral or ethical problems that arise in a business environment. It applies to all
aspects of business conduct and is relevant to the conduct of individuals and entire organization.
It is also created in order to protect the interests of both buyers and sellers. However, some
people, irrespective of rights and safety of their costumers, intend to violate their business ethics
only to increase the profit which can lead to illegal business. One clearest evidence is counterfeit
industry.
The business of counterfeit goods is one of the largest underground industries in the
world and growing rapidly. According to my knowledge, a counterfeit good is a product that
closely resembles another product in order to trick customers intro buying. Or it can be defined
that counterfeit goods are illegal copies of products that are passed off as being original.
Counterfeiting steals the identity of trademark owners and robs the customer number of things
including comfort, reliability and their personal safety.
Counterfeit products may have some good impacts on consumers. These producers
understand their customer’s behavior and know how to meet their needs. They produce products
which have the same appearance and sell at a lower price in order to attract more buyers. It can
be seen as a good strategy in doing business. However, this idea has spread out to many other
fields and become dangerous to consumers.
With cheap costs, high profits and undisciplined testing procedures, buyers’ health and
money as well as business revenue are greatly impacted by fake products. Fake children’s toys,
clothing are not safety-tested have been known to cause severe allergic reactions, counterfeit
mobile and appliance batteries have been known to explode. Another example is electrical
counterfeit goods can cause fire risks due to overheating or incorrect wiring. Other counterfeits
like counterfeit alcohol may contain methanol, a hazardous substance that the Food Standards

Kiều Thị Phương Anh
Finance 56C
Agency maintain can cause blindness and can lead to comas or more seriously situation may
result in even death if consumed. Besides, fake products may also harm the economy and cost
the economy through lost sales revenues and lost tax revenues.
To conclude, fake products are not only harmful to the economy but also to each
individual’s well-being. We can do no thing but protect ourselves by learn to be aware and only
buy the genuine article as counterfeit products can not be erased on the market due to many other
people’ demands.

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