What started this course

After teaching business ethics for many years I began to realize that a person's view of business affects their view of business ethics just as much as their view on ethics.  The thought struck me as I was watching the film Goodfellas.  In this clip between 24 and 42, the narrator explains how the mob boss can take out loans he has no intention of repaying, using a legitimate business as collateral. This is how you buy a 200 dollar case of booze on credit and sell it for 100 dollars and keep the cash.  At 41 the narrator tells us this is pure profit.

Nonsense.  Profit is a value adding activity that takes place through trading.  What this clip is describing is no more profit than mugging an old lady and claiming the quarter you got was pure profit.  It does, however, indicate that criminal activity likes to pose as business activity because, in some way, the language of business provides some sort of moral defense e.g. "don't blame me, I'm just doing business".  This lead me to want to investigate more of what business is and, very importantly, what business is not.  The beginning thought that led to this course.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPtjyqgZAUk&feature=related