Ethical awareness has been and continues to be a debated concept in the business world. The notion of what motivates ethnic consciousness is at the heart of the debate. In other words, are decisions made about business practices driven by an obligation to the community, a sense of corporate responsibility, a leader's view of right and wrong, or political influences. Although views on what motivates ethical consciousness differ among business leaders, ethnic consciousness is fundamental in the decision-making process. This essay describes the ethnic consciousness principles of Drucker, Alahmad, Friedman, and Murphy and how business decisions are influenced by these principles. On the surface, aspects of the principles of ethical conscience of reputable authorities are parallel. In other words, the decisions of business leaders are limited to their behavior. In this regard, ethnic consciousness is how business leaders act or behave. However, the distinction between these principles of ethical awareness concerns what motivates behavior or a business decision. Alahmad states that ethnic consciousness is driven by a person's concept of right and wrong (Alahmad, 2010). In other words, “telling the truth no matter what, respect, punctuality, non-judgment, justice, humility and dignity can constitute an international code of ethics that every leader should follow” (Alahmad , 2010). In other words, decision-making is driven by a leader's conception of right and wrong and its goal is not to harm anyone. However, each individual has their own conception of right and wrong, which may be culturally driven or have no motivating element at all (Alahmad, 2010). Regardless, Alahamad argues that an individual's decisions are reinforced by their conception of right and wrong. Contra...... middle of paper ...... (2010). To be ethical or not to be: an international code of ethics for leadership. Journal of Diversity Management, 5(1), 31-31-35. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/195579458?accountid=28180Drucker, Peter F. (nda) What is “Business Ethics”? Retrieved from http://www.nationalaffairs.com/doclib/20080708_1981632whatisbusinessethicspeterfdrucker.pdf Friedman, Milton. (1970). The social responsibility of business is to increase profits. The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.colorado.edu/studentgroups/libertarians/issues/friedman-soc-resp-business.htmlMurphy, PE (2009). The relevance of accountability for ethical business decisions. Journal of Business Ethics, 90 (01674544), 245-245-252. doi:10.1007/s10551-010-0378-4. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.proxy1.ncu.edu/docview/365453640/abstract?accountid=28180