THE 101 QUESTIONS<br >AND RESPONSES<br > Q. 1. Isn t "business ethics" a contradiction in terms?<br > This is a frequently asked question， typically the first to arise in<br > any discussion of this kind. It doesn t have to be a contradiction in<br > terms or an oxymoron. However~ for many years people in " " ，，<br > business<br > have had the reputation of needing to be ruthless in order to succeed.<br > We ve all heard remarks and jokes that perpetuate such stereotypes and<br >caricatures， to the effect that there is no such thing as an honest person<br >in business. And， frankly， such comments would never be made unless<br >there were at least some truth behind them on many occasions. This<br >sort of thing was addressed at a business oriented club I belon to，<br >Comm. onwealth Club of California g . the<br > ~ ，umo me scanaalous atmosph of<br >American business in the late 1980s: ere<br >