Unedited
10/11/11
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Business to Business Ethics

When two businesses engage in business there is an expectation that the two parties will behave in an ethical way. However, the definition of ethical tends to vary considerably when the two trading partners have very different skill sets. In theory, a business can behave unethically in the absolute sense of the word yet conform to standards of behavior customary in that particular business. There can be unethical actions in the supermarket selling vegetables which just go with learning to be a savvy shopper. As such it can be said of businesses that it is a learned or acquired skill by way of considerable experience. First time buyers of cars and houses are not as skilled as those who have bought many times thus they tend to be taken advantage of in small and large ways. Small businessmen do not have the resources large corporations have thus it is incumbent to be wary in transactions.

Rising to prominence in business is much akin to learning a martial art. A businessman must learn patience and emotional restraint. Without the two they simply fall prey to a more skilled player. The question is is "who is to blame?" The blame falls to the naive, the unskilled, the impatient and the emotionally unstable person.