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Why would it be so important for businesses to practice proper ethics? Fundamentally, ethics form the reputation of a business. The ethics help lead the business to the elite tier of the business world. An intriguing thing about business ethics is that they are decided by an individual's behavior. Our behavioral style is developed early in our lives and it will affect what type of decisions we make. Business ethics is the application of ethical reasoning to business situations and activities, so that moral issues that arise in business can be resolved. A company can set the standards of business ethics with a code of ethics to lay out the foundation of professional conduct. However, illegal activity seems to be a regular practice these days. On the news, there is an avalanche of coverage on how a certain business is participating in illegal actions. It is then all downhill once they get caught and it is out in the media. Public embarrassment ensues and the reputation of that business heads down the drain. Soon enough, the stock plummets and the business goes bankrupt. After reading Fast Food Nation, it seems to one that unethical practices seem to be a trend in fast food. Major factories have their way with smaller chains and working conditions are rather dreadful, to say the least. Unethical practices can lead to turmoil for a fast food business.
One negative effect of poor business ethics is that it could lead to the closing down of a franchise. For example, a pizza place in Philadelphia was shut down, because it had been operating illegally after having its license revoked. After a Board of Zoning Adjustment ruling that prohibited its continued operation and an order to leave the premises failed to shut the company down, it got taken to a Superior Court, where a two day hearing concluded with ordering the establishment to remain closed, or else find itself in neglect. Their license was revoked, because it was performing activity that was violating their license. There were also three Pizza Hut restaurants that were closed down by the Greenwich Village health department. This occurred after television cameras recorded a crowd of rats running inside. The closings caused Yum Brands Inc., the parent company of Pizza Hut, to announce it was shutting down 10 other restaurants owned by the franchisee until they pass health inspections. The three Pizza Huts that were closed were found to have several infractions, including mice infestation and proof of cockroaches. Yet another example is a McDonald's closing down in Orange Grove due to numerous complaints from the Department's Environmental Health Division. The restaurant was told to close after a Health Enforcement officer determined that the business was in violation of food code provisions.

Another negative effect of unethical fast food business practices is that a corporation will see its reputation take a hit. One good example of this is what is happening with McDonald's. McDonald's has been dealt with several cases of unfavorable publicity in recent years. One setback occurred when it won a libel case against two British campaigners. It continued its lawsuit against two unemployed activists which gave the picture of a David vs. Goliath legal battle, in other words a poor image for McDonald's. Then Fast Food Nation, which was critical of McDonald's targeting of children and how it treated its employees, was made into a movie. Moreover the movie Super Size Me detailed a man who ate nothing but McDonald's for a month and ended up gaining 25 pounds and left one doctor urging him to stop. It was yet another public relations nightmare for McDonald's to have. As of recently, Toyota has had a ton of bad publicity to deal with. Toyota has dealt with several months of recalls related to sudden acceleration in nearly 8 million vehicles worldwide. If that was not enough, Toyota is now dealing with another safety issue with the Lexus SUV. Consumer Reports distributed its "Don't Buy: Safety Risk" endorsement on the 2010 Lexus GX 460. This is the first time the magazine has done this since the 2001 Mitsubishi Montero Limited. Back to McDonald's again, they have developed a reputation of a leader of producing waste. As a result, they have formed a reputation of not being "green." Organizations such as Newsweek, the Environmental Defense Fund and Greenpeace, have long attacked McDonald's environmental practices. All of this criticism has forced McDonald's to begin changing its ways. While attempting to change, they still have a long way to go before reaching the sustainability level of smaller food chains.

Last, bad ethics in the fast food industry lead to legal issues. One such example is illegal immigration. Many illegal immigrants go to find employment in the fast food industry, because it does not require having special skills and it is a form of income, regardless of how low the pay is. Because fast food is infested with fat, then there is the issue of obesity and there are many who feel that fast food companies are deliberately doing it. Take for example this New York City lawyer who filed a lawsuit against McDonald's. He said that their food was responsible for his client's obesity and health problems. Ultimately the argument here was that the fast food companies were irresponsible in their nutritional information and they should offer healthier options on their menus. If that were not enough, it was also argued that they create an addiction in their consumers, especially the poor and children. Finally, Taco Bell was sued for libel in 2007 for linking a farm's onions to an outbreak that caused more than 70 people to get sick even though they knew the produce was not contaminated. The connection cost the farm millions of dollars in business.

Following the proper business ethics must be a focal point of every fast food business. If a company decides not to obey proper business ethics, they end up being sued and risk having their business shut down or have its reputation ruined. Even though some fast food companies have broken ethical laws and have incurred fines worth millions, the amount of money these major companies are making outweighs the impending fines. Because of this, the demand for more ethical business processes and actions is necessary. It is something that every business manager will have to know and follow by in order to gain the respect and reputation of peers and customers. No one will want to work with workers who do not follow proper business ethics. However, many executives only see profits as the only thing in life, and while it does have major implications in daily lives, should they not follow legal standard to do it. You can get people to conform to good ethics by creating an incentive structure which can influence positive behavior. Creating good ethics will allow a person to confront problems with their own moral beliefs and develop fundamentally sound people skills.