Introduction
Practical philosophy has always sought to narrow
the gap between theoretical concepts and practical
aspects of rightful living and conduct. Over the
years, philosophical concepts have either been
categorized as too theoretical for the common
man to comprehend, or they have been described
as crass and unenlightening by the enlightened
philosopher when it modified to specifically suit
the common man. When ethics began being incorporated
into business, it created further complications.
The importance of applying management principles
in the workplace assumes great significance, thanks
to the increased importance that employees and
staff are receiving in today's business environments.
The application of management theory is not just
restricted to the higher levels of the business.
Managers have found out that management principles
have to be built from ground up, in order to ensure
that the whole organization adheres to the vision
of the company
Analysis
Beliefs on what is right and wrong
Many are of the opinion that business and ethics
do not go hand in hand because adherences to ethical
practices do not accrue profits to the firm. They
believe that a perfectly ethical company will
not be able to reap the benefits offered by the
business environment and so will not be able to
capitalize on the opportunities that are provided
by circumstances. However, real life examples
have shown that business ethics do create high
returns for the company. For example recent research
have shown that companies that follow ethical
practices provide double the value to their shareholders
than companies that do not adhere to ethics [Salopek,
2001].
Good, Bad, and Unethical behavior
It is very difficult to define and good and bad
behavior within a business sense because good
and bad are arbitrary attributes and varied from
one person to another. A person may view the activities
of a company as good while another may believe
that the activities of the company are bad. For
example a company that makes pesticides may be
considered as bad by environmentalists, while
the company may help environmental restoration
in some part of the world where the local residents
may consider its actions as good. However, there
are certain actions that may always be considered
as unethical in spite of the regional differences
in perspectives. For example it is considered
unethical to influence people in power in order
to get things done, or for political favors. This
has been taken very seriously by governments that
have initiated measures to discourage companies
from resorting to unethical practices. For example
the cost of unethical practices in the United
States may be a corporate fine of more than 290
million dollars which is a sufficient excuse for
companies to not to indulge in unethical practices
[Salopek, 2001]
Business behavior
Management gurus talk of a few cardinal values
that every executive must practice in order to
administer good business ethics. They are justice,
temperance, courage and wisdom. If fully developed
in executives, these virtues guide them to make
not just ethical, but morally superior decisions.
That means that virtuous executives will advance
employee interests if it is possible to do so.
These values in a business perspective are not
inherited. These virtues are developed in by being
exposed to testing times. These characters develop
when people make it a habit to act morally and
learn from their past mistakes
Business and managerial Ethics
An organization is characterized by group interaction
and mutual respect. Hence, the importance of a
team and the effort that is invested in the team
building process is very important to ensure the
growth of a good organization. Without a good
team that is able to perform on its own, a great
organization never comes into existence. Organizations
work on synergy and delegation. It is the feeling
of oneness with the company, which is called as
feeling of ownership that enhances the sincerity
of a worker to an organization. Organizations
cannot work in a manner where the employees are
not given due importance in the affairs of the
organization
Behavior toward the organization
An organization is essentially a team and so the
dynamics of ethics in an organization can be considered
as ethical relations with many people. It has
been argued by many management experts that good
teams are vital to the success of any business
venture. Only good teams can raise the standard
of the work that it is assigned to. A bad team
with members at loggerheads with each other will
soon destroy the initiative of the team and cause
irreparable damages to the whole team. In fact,
team building is considered in the management
circles, as a very effective motivational technique
because it encourages the following qualities
in the employees
Collaboration
Communication
Recognizing individuality and appreciating it
A goal oriented approach to tackling tasks
[Greenberg, 1999]
Hence, it may be seen that the closeness that
one feels to the organization is very important
to further the interests of the organization and
to ensure that the employee feels one with the
environment in which they are working.
Behavior toward employees
The ethical behavior of the company must not be
restricted to its partners or business associates.
In fact the attitude of the management to its
employees also matters a lot when considering
the ethical status of the company. Of course ethical
perspectives are varied and subject to much criticism.
In the recent times ethical attitudes of companies
and employees have been much discussed and commented
upon. In their Book Moral Issues in Business,
Shaw and Barry refer to the morality and ethics
of professional obligation of employees to their
company. The authors mentions that such a mentality
of putting the company first before any other
personal or professional interest is not required
because in today's world, the equation between
the company and the worker has changed a lot.
The employee in the modern context is just a resource
and hence the employee also need not dedicate
himself entirely to the firm. Ethics in the work
place is important because it reflects on the
internal organization of the company. Work Ethics
is a wide domain that covers a large number of
specific subjects. It is involved in the creation
and maintenance of company policies and strategies.
Business ethics is also used to model human resources
activities in a company. Since the human resources
are the most vital asset of any firm, it is only
natural that the company concentrates on developing
a strong HR policy based on strong ethical values.
It therefore can be seen that work ethics affect
the internal as well as external image of the
company and hence is very important for the firm.
Behavior toward other economic agents
In a world where competition decides the quality
of employees it is but natural that people are
tempted to stretch their limits and do anything
to gather enough recognition in the organization.
Hence, people often bypass rules and appropriate
behavior to attain goals that are not ethical
in nature.
Assessment of Ethics
As mentioned before, it is not easy to assess
ethical behavior owing to the fact that good and
bad qualities are arbitrary in nature. However,
there are some basic guidelines that can help
one to assess whether the path taken by him/her
is ethical or not. Many experts believe that ethical
dilemmas occur not because of lack of compliance
with accepted rules and stipulations. On the contrary,
ethical misdemeanors happen because people fail
to place professional needs above personal needs.
Hence, ethical misappropriation happens when there
is a strong conflict between personal wants and
official restrictions. Many behaviorists believe
that one simple test to check one's ethical content
is to ask whether one is placing the interests
of the company above personal needs. Secondly
one need to check one’s past and proposed
actions to see if there is some serious ethical
slips in it. In most cases an ethical decision
is one which does not cause harm to others and
is utterly selfless [Bauer, 2004]
Making a judgment
More often than not, managers get themselves into
a quandary on the ethical side of their actions.
For example a decision to halt a process in a
company because of concerns for the environment
may backfire on the manager because the company
believes that profits are more important than
the environment. Here the manager will have to
make a careful analysis of whether the proposed
action is in terms with the vision and mission
goals of the firm. If that is not so, he need
not do a job even when pressured by some managerial
position above him because ultimately a man is
responsible for his actions.
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