The term "business" is ambiguous, so it seems necessary to consider some of the definitions of the term, if only to dismiss them from the context of the present study. "Business" is sometimes applied to connote an entire industry - all businesses that sell clothing are said to be in the "clothing business." "Business" is sometimes applied to connote the commercial sector - all businesses in a given country or economy, or even the world.
The problem with such uses of the term is that it is most often used when an individual is unable or unwilling to identify the specific firms involved. That is to say, the behavior of a few specific firms (even an imagined behavior that is not evidenced in action at all) are used to imply those of all firms of a similar nature.
While ethics deals in generalization, with the intention of application in specific situations, it applies to the decision making process - which itself may bear further consideration - which is done on the level of an individual firm. Even in situations where a cartel or industry group arrives at an agreement for a given course of action, it is the decision of each firm to abide by this agreement, and the decision is revisited each time the firm is faced with the situation in which such a decision must be made.
Arguably, considering ethics even on the level of a single firm may be too ambiguous and abstract. The "business" does not make a decision, nor does it undertake action, as an indivisible unit. An individual within the business makes the decision, others support the decision. This merits further consideration.
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