Introduction Ethics refers to moral values that define the behavior of an individual or a group of people. It defines the perception of the good or wrong things in a society. Business ethics thus define the ethical values that relate to a business environment. This paper seeks to discuss business ethics. The paper will look into a case of an employee who is stranded between reporting a friend whom she has caught stealing from their employer or protecting the friend. Case John and Joanne are employees in an organization in which John has been working for the past ten years. John is quite frustrated with the organization as it has seemingly failed to acknowledge his efforts and hard work. He is then caught in an act of stealing by his friend Joanne who is then torn between turning John in or risking being charged for being an accomplice. Advice to Joanne The basis of ethics is to differentiate between a good and bad thing. When an individual is faced with an issue, the first step of application of ethics is the determination of whether the issue is morally right or wrong. The first step in helping Joanne is therefore to aid her perception of ethics or morality with respect to John’s act. She must identify the act as either ethical or not in order to make her decision. She must therefore be brought to ethical values to help her gain insight into the issue. Joanne should for example be asked whether or not John was being honest with the organization or even with himself when he resorts to steal from the company. She should also be asked to determine in her opinion whether John’s act of attempting to steal was lawful. Was John under any conflict of interest in stealing? Was he acting in the benefit of the organization at all? Was John being fair to the organization and his fellow employees who may be depending on the office supplies for their work in the organization? These questions will help Joanne to actually understand that John’s action was not ethical at all in terms of “basic honesty and conformity to law, conflict of interest and fairness” (National 1). Although ethical dilemmas are common issues in business environment, an individual is expected to apply critical reasoning together with “moral creativity, negotiating skills and personal values to solve such dilemmas” (Weiss 96). A consideration of ethical values reveals that John has acted unethically and thus Joanne ought to act in accordance with the values of honesty to her employer and avoidance of conflict of interest. Ethics dictates that the interest of her employer comes first before that of her friend. Joanne should therefore use her “moral creativity and negotiation skills” (Weiss 96) to convince John not to attempt stealing again. She needs to help John in understanding moral principles and better ways through which his problems in the organization can be resolved such as negotiations to promotions. Joanne should however take no action towards John’s supervisor especially if John is remorseful over his act and if he doesn’t have a history of such behavior or otherwise report him. Failure by Joanne to take any action will promote the act in John. The key terms related to this case that are associated to