Advisory Review on Business and Management Ethics

Management and Business Ethics

Managers play an important role in establishing a company’s ethical tone. A company's leaders are responsible for setting standards for employee behavior.

It's important for managers to play an active and positive role in creating a working environment, where employees are encouraged and rewarded for acting in an ethical manner.

Managers should show in action by following ethics themselves, so that in turn employees may emulate and follow them.

They should remember the fact that leading by example is the first step in fostering a culture of ethical behavior in their companies.

Importance of Ethics

Ethical behavior improves the atmosphere at work and motivates the employees. Following ethics evokes a sense of pride for the company and improves its image in the eyes of the employees.

From the outer point of view, ethical behavior improves the public image of the company, and sets an example for others to follow.

Companies and business persons, who wish to have long term business, must adopt sound ethical decision-making practices.

Knowing the difference between right and wrong and choosing the right is the foundation for ethical decision making.

In many cases, doing the right thing is what leads to the greatest financial, social, and personal rewards in the long term.

Image credit: ReadytoManage

Management ethics are the ethical treatment of employees, stockholders, owners, and the public by a company.

While a company needs to make a profit, it should have good ethics also.

Employees should be treated well. By being respectful of the environment in the community a company shows good ethics.

Ethics and ethical behavior are important parts of healthy management. From the point of view of management, behaving ethically is an integral part of long - term career success.

Organizational ethics

• The company should care for the consequences of its actions on the society.
• The company should expand its activities apart from required legal obligations or formalities.
• The company should adjust its policies according to the social conditions, demands and pressures.
• The company decides to concentrate on its long-term goals for the benefit of society in general.

Ethical decision-making  

When taking a decision the management should following criteria of ethical decision-making:

• Legality – what will be the legal consequences of the decision?
• Fairness – What effect does the decision have on those involved in decision making and those involved?
• Effectiveness – Decision once implemented and takes the form of action will it be able to achieve the goals and results?

Any decision that is illegal, not fair and not effective should not be taken. If a business or a company is built on strong foundation of business and management ethics, no one and nothing can stop it prosperity and progress.

Read the rest of this entry

Ethics in Business Are Just Passing Fade

If we ask someone from the business field today, they will say these words won’t blend together. Business and ethics, two different worlds, Yes, that is what business has become today. This kind of stuff used to work once upon a time but not today, may be these will be the kind of answers we get from self centered business people. People who can compromise on anything, for profits in the business.

In today’s business world, what matters most is how much you have earned, or how much profit did you make at the end of the year, by what means no one is bothered, compromising on what factors, no one is bothered. Just the percentage of profit or may be the name of the company in the fortune five hundred, or may be the name of the entrepreneur in the world’s most wealthy people this is what, matters to most of the business people now a days.

Ethics in business are for those people, who care or bother to think about the welfare of the people. There is absolutely no doubt that, at the end of the day, why a person would do business would be to generate profit. But in that process, there are things which should be done and which should not be done, there are things to compromise on, and there are things which you cannot compromise on.

Times may change, thinking of the people may change, but there are certain things, which stood the test of the time, and if followed, would take you on the path of success and inner contentment at the end. Every profession has some ethics to be followed, and no one can ever imagine a profession or field without ethics. All the successful people in the business, exemplary people, people who have raised business empires, have followed ethics and stick to them till the end and left them, to their heirs, to follow them and benefit by them.

So, when people realize the value of business driven by ethics, definitely, everyone would follow it, and implement it in business, for the benefit of all.

Read the rest of this entry

Who is a Real Business Man?

If we go back to the roots of business, we will know that business, is a medium of providing services to the people, If practiced in a real sense, business is not a profit making system, profit does come when you are into business, but that is not the sole motto and that should not also be the, sole purpose for establishing or starting a business. As rest all systems, business is also, a part of society’s functional and essential system, for it to run properly.

The main purpose of a business establishment should be to provide qualitative and then qualitative services to the people of the society. People put in their faith and trust in us, when they come to us for services or for products. We should keep up their faith and trust in us and provide them with qualitative services or products. If now a day’s business people are looked down, it is only because of the corrupt practices, which have become, quite natural and normal, in most of the business establishments.

The only thing that comes to mind, when we talk of any business, would be only profit profit, and profit. The thought of society, the good we are going to do, to the society, the good we are going to do, to the people of the society, through our goods or services, these are the things that should inspire us to start a business establishment, but not just profit making. It is the duty of the, business people to help people, in whatever way they can, when some perils occur, or some huge loss occurs to the people of the society. Even in normal situations, they should regularly contribute some present of their profit or income or the betterment of the people and for the society.

Big companies like, Reliance, Tata, and people like Bill Gates have contributed a great deal of their fortune, for the betterment of the people of the society. Every business person should feel, a sense of social responsibility, and should give or do something in return to the people and to the society that is responsible for his growth. Every person need not be another Bill Gates, or Tata, to contribute, if your are making a profit of 100 Rs. You can keep aside at least 10%, or whatever you can, towards contributing for a better cause, or you can by yourself, spend that money for some good work or cause.

Leave alone all the talk of, charity, and good, f we are not able to do this, no problem, but there is definitely one thing that we can do, and that is, to provide, quality services and products, to the people. If we can at least do this much, society will be better and business will become better. When each business person, thinks like this, they will become the most respected people in the society. Not for their fortune or for their riches. But for their goodness, and humanity.

Read the rest of this entry