Ethics is important not only in business but in all aspects of life because it is the vital part and the foundation on which society is built. A company / society that lacks ethical principles is destined to fail sooner or later. According to the International Register of Ethical Businesses, “there has been a dramatic rise in ethical expectations of businesses and professionals over the past 10 years. Increasingly, clients, clients and employees deliberately seek out those who define the ground rules. of their operations. We have today … “
Ethics refers to a code of conduct that guides an individual in dealing with others. Business ethics is an art form of applied ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical issues that may arise in the business environment. It deals with issues relating to moral and ethical rights, duties and corporate governance between a company and its shareholders, employees, customers, media, government, suppliers and distributors. Henry Ford said, “Businesses that stand out but money is a bad kind of business.”
Ethics is related to all disciplines of management, such as accounting information, human resource management, sales and marketing, production, knowledge and skill of intellectual property, international business and the economic system. As Joe Paterno once said, success without honor is an unseasoned dish. It will satisfy your hunger, but it won’t taste good. In the business world, the culture of the organization sets standards to determine the difference between good or bad, right or wrong, fair or unfair.
“It is perfectly possible to earn a decent living without compromising the integrity of the company or the individual,” wrote business executive R. Holland, “Aside from the issues of right and wrong, the fact is that ethical behavior in business serves the individual and the company much better in the long run, ”he added.
Some management guru pointed out that ethical companies have an advantage over their competitors. Said Cohen and Greenfield, “Consumers are used to buying products despite how they feel about the company that sells them. But a valuable company has earned the kind of customer loyalty that most corporations only dream of because it attracts to your customers more than a product. “
Ethical issues in business have become more complicated due to the global and diversified nature of many large corporations and due to the complexity of regulations and the economic, social, global, natural, political, legal and governmental environment, so the company must decide whether to adhere to consistent ethical principles or conform to national norms and culture.
Managers must remember that leading by example is the first step in fostering a culture of ethical behavior in companies, as Robert Noyce rightly said: “If ethics is bad at the top, that behavior is copied throughout the organization. “. Other methods may be the creation of a common interest through a favorable corporate culture, the establishment of high standards, norms, the framework of attitudes for acceptable behavior, making the written code of ethics implicable at all levels from top to bottom , decide the recruitment, selection, training and induction policies. , promotion, monetary / non-monetary motivation, compensation and employee retention. “Price is what you pay. Value is what you get” – Warren Buffet
Therefore, a manager must treat his employees, customers, shareholders, government, media and society in an honest and fair way by knowing the difference between right and wrong and choosing what is right, this is the basis of ethical decision making. REMEMBER: GOOD ETHICS IS GOOD BUSINESS. “Noncorporation with evil is as much a duty as cooperation with good” – Mahatma Gandhi.