Ethics_in_Business_(Mgt521

ETHICS IN BUSINESS: PERSONAL VALUES ANTHONY SONOLA UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX The set of moral principles relating to human conduct that will make one to be seen as honorable, decent, upright, honest, proper, just, good, virtuous or righteous is regard as ethics. As individuals are judged by their ethical conduct by the society so also are businesses. The failure to adhere to these ethical behavior by businesses has made government to set a standard of ethical conduct, the most prominent is the Sarbane-Oxley legislation of 2002. The events of Enron and Worldcom also raised the public awareness of how business present their financial standing with all honesty. What effect does all the government intervention through regulation have on businesses' Some business are more exposed to public scrutiny and their actions readily available to be criticized, for example, businesses that uses face to face contact to in selling of products or services are require d to show high level of ethical practice, compare to others that have production assembly somewhere, but the products is all the consumer sees. The purchase of life insurance readily come to mind when face to face contact is needed to market or sell products. A salesperson for life insurance should be decent and honest in presenting the facts about the policy, an unethical sales representative tend to use all means to sell these policy without regard for the consumer. Most sales representatives convince those that already have life insurance policy to cancel their policy for a new one they are marketing, consumer are made to believe they are purchasing retirement product. All these unethical way of doing business has been dogging the life insurance company for sometime. Public trust has eroded because sales representatives used every dishonest, improper method to sell their product. Ethical behavior in business is important in order to survive, business have to be conducted in accordance with high standard of honesty and fairness. The return this will yield is public trust and confidence in marketplace. The company shareholders and the public will benefit when a company adhere to ethical standards. The practice of cooking the financial books and inflating profits to make the company attractive to prospective investors and assure the existing shareholders and stakeholders is an example of unethical practice. Taking the issue of ethics to manufacturing companies, most times the hunger for profit makes companies to take the shortcuts, thereby endangering the life of end users or consumers of their products; is this legal', is this right or honorable'. Of course, this is absolutely legal, businesses can look for ways to maximize profits, it will be unethical to do it when the unaware consumer will get hurt. Greed compromises ethics. A manufacturer of toys for children, that use all cheap raw materials without regard to the lead content, will make profits at the expense of the consumer but not without a cost. The consumers trust will be lost, sales will eventually drop, lawsuits will follow and the cost of recall will run into millions. Goodwill takes time to build, so also is public trust. A company that is without ethical standard or that compromises it, will have to work extra to build public trust. Corporate social responsibility from the general perspective can be seen as the act if generosity to the society by the corporate community. This act does not necessarily bring profits into the coffer of the stakeholders, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is viewed by companies as a moral thing to do and giving back to the society makes consumers loyal to the company. The opposition of CSR want businesses out of charitable and philanthropy circle and focus or making profits. Those that support CSR believes companies will stop giving back to the society when they can no longer afford it. Has Corporate Social Responsibility outlived its purpose' No. Although, the ethical conduct of these companies might be questionable, that should not deprive the society for having the fair share of assistance these companies renders. Boycotting certain companies, how is the origin of the raw the materials determined, it might be from children in cotton farm, exploitation of employee in the diamond mine, pollution in the oil producing communities in Africa, where all the aquatic life has been destroyed. Social responsibility for some companies is a cover up for their unethical conducts or social irresponsibility in the course of their production. According to the Williams institute ethics awareness inventory self-assessment, I base my ethical perspective on an individual’s duty or obligation to do what is morally right, that ethical conduct appeals to conscience in judging whether a person’s action are ethical or not. Sarbane-Oxley act compels business to abide by a set standard, it should be noted that healthy marketplace is the responsibility of the government as a regulator while protecting the consumers. In other hand the creation and maintenance of society trust, confidence and patronage is the responsibility of individual companies within an industry. My ethical perspective is that people must never be treated as “means” to get to a determined “end.” “The end does not justify the means”( Williams Institute ethics awareness inventory self assessment, 2009). Government can set all the rules, Sarbane-Oxley act can be framed and displayed on the corporate office hallway. When faced with complex ethical dilemma, some preset standard of principles of right and wrong will not help, however, what will be needed is the ability of individual to make sound judgment and integrity to attain moral excellence. Ethics in business is a complex issue which requires some regulation just like Sarbane-Oxley legislation did, the legislation put companies on the right path and makes them aware that the public is watching and that there will be consequences for their unethical conducts. Businesses are managed by different individuals with diverse values and moral standard. Ethical business practice at all level is paramount; everyone must be ethical from top management down to the janitor. Ethical conduct cannot come from outside but rather from within the organization. Ethical conduct faces great deal of challenges especially in an organization where rewards and recognition are based on profitability, production volume or number of sales. The incentive or profits driven action make an individual engage in an unethical conduct. No principle solution is adequate for all times, individuals need to continue to make sound judgment because with new knowledge and different circumstance, an individual beliefs and values may change periodically. Reference Atchison, B. K. (2004, January). Ethics, governance, trust, transparency and customer relations. Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance – Issue & Practice, 29(1), 40. Bartkowiak, G. (2006). Practical aspects of a social responsibility in business. Dialogue & Universalism 16(5/6), 133. Williams Institutes Ethics Assessment Inventory Library [Online Ethics Awareness Inventory]. Retrieved from https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/aapd/Vendors/TWI/EAI/