America is home to the free, proud, and prosperous. How did we come to achieve these three great intangibles? That question can be answered with one word: business. It is business that keeps our families fed, a roof over our head, and, most importantly, our constitutional rights in check. Business dictates the rise and fall of our economy. Business makes our capitalist society turn round and round.
             Conducting business in its purest form is the exchange of money for services rendered. In "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" the businessmen behind the dance marathon gave the audience entertainment, and the audience gave the businessmen its hard earned cash. The couple that won the two thousand dollar prize, and took part in creating the entertainment, pocketed less money than the businessmen. Although the couple made less money than the businessmen, the enterprise is not immoral or unethical. No one forced the contestants to sign up.
             On that note, when conducting business, there is a certain code of conduct a business owner should follow. The term "business ethics" refers to a guiding philosophy – the principles of conduct which govern a business. In the movie, the times were tough (The Great Depression) and people would do anything for a little income. So maybe a dance marathon was heartless, but the participants knew what they were getting into, and
             for that matter, could have stopped anytime they wanted. Therefore, the business was ethical. It may have been immoral from an individual standpoint, but from a generalized standpoint, it was ethical. Every day, young women take their clothes off to pay their bills. The U.S. government considers that business and occupation ethical, while some people consider it an indignity to society.
             Consider Microsoft. Bill Gates built that software empire from the ground up. His operating systems can be found on 9
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