Bill Gates Research Paper

Business Ethics and Bill Gates: Considering the Good and the Bad Bill Gates is the wealthiest man in the world, and is equally well known for his work in computer software and programming and his charity work. His business prowess, innovativeness, and high expectations for employees and peers have driven a company that is ruthless, in its practices. However, since shifting his focus toward charity, he has gained a reputation for his compassion, empathy, and focus on social issues that matter. This ultimately paints to very different picture of Gates virtues, and the role he plays as the leader of both his company, Microsoft, and his charitable foundation. He can be said to be both wise and knowledgeable, in both arenas, but is greedy and ruthless

Insensibility is acting without the sting of conscious, or outside of both logic and virtue (Mcilavaine, 2016). Gates was a coward and driven by greed, not only as demonstrated by the way he treated employees, but also as it relates to the way that he managed intellectual property. Gates never actually invented anything new. Rather, most of his money was made by refining and perfecting ideas that were already in existence (Mcilavaine, 2016). However, in spite of the fact that he really shared creative value with others, he sought to protect his intellectual interest in all design, instead of allowing it to be free, and open to improvement by the public (“Bill Gates” n.d.). As a result, opponents, who believed many of his software developments should have been “Open source” accused him of being jealous, greedy, and of hording ideas and resources that were not necessarily his to claim. This lacks virtue and readily displays a kind of cowardice

Unlike many rich men Gates has not flaunted his money. He has instead demonstrated great integrity, by living a modest lifestyle while donating a significant percentage of his wealth to charities, thorough the foundation that he set up (“Bill Gates”, n.d.). The foundation has focused, specifically, on disease and poverty, managing billions of dollars in charitable funds, through an established foundation for that purpose (Piller, 2014). As a result of this work, some have gone so far as to say that this, even more than his company, is his key legacy. That ultimately, he will be remembered as virtuous, and invested in humanitarian concepts, rather than being remembered as a ruthless, or “toxic” boss (“Bill Gates”, n.d.; Piller, 2014; Mcilavaine,