Which of the following is NOT a component of business ethics?

The correct choice revolves around the distinction between the primary components of business ethics and profit-driven motives. Business ethics involves establishing moral principles, adhering to legal standards, and setting ethical guidelines for conduct within an organization. These components focus on ensuring that business practices align with acceptable moral and ethical standards.

Maximizing employee compensation, while it may be a goal of some businesses, is not fundamentally a component of business ethics. Instead, it falls under the realm of compensation strategy or human resources management. Business ethics is concerned with how decisions impact various stakeholders, including customers, employees, and the community, rather than focusing solely on maximizing compensation.

Thus, the choice that does not fit within the framework of business ethics is maximizing employee compensation, as it does not inherently involve the ethical considerations linked to establishing moral guidelines and legal compliance.