The Five Business Ethics Myths Essay

2. Laws must be static and unyielding in order to provide stability for a society.

During the announcement of the seventh annual list of most ethical companies in the world in 2013, Alex Brigham of Ethisphere, noted that more companies find that ethical business practices increase their competitiveness in their respective industries, helping to further substantiate the notion that a culture of ethic is crucial to sustainable excellence (Smith, 2013). Researchers in the field of Organizational Behavior has found that employees are subjected to an environment of ethical dilemma constantly. During such moments employees have a choice either to pursue with ethical conduct or engage in an unethical behavior which results in harming the organization or its stakeholder (Trevino & Brown, 2004). How the employee behave greatly depends

Ethics and moral obligations are issues we all encounter at one time or another. In the professional setting, all people should act in a manner that would uphold the good of society. To be ethical, one has to determine their obligations, moral ideas, and moral philosophy (Boatright, p. 19, 2009). The case analysis involving Jacob Franklin was a perfect example of how an individual can face the dilemma of doing what is right or wrong. Businesses have their own code of ethics, and the employees within the business have to determine whether or not they will follow the company’s code of conduct. I will discuss several ethical issues in the case analysis including; failure to report information, remaining silent regarding faulty equipment,

an action can't be right if the people who are made happy by it are outnumbered by the people who are made unhappy by it.

It finally has been acknowledged that simply taking an ethics class does not provide the same level of experience as providing a more integrated approach to ethics within the learning process of a student within graduate business school. Gaining the ability and competence to understand ethics is only first step to what awaits the new leaders who will be required to live an ethical life but also sustain and encourage a corporate ethical environment from which staff can also make ethical decisions. The recent financial scandals along with the younger generation’s concerns for the environment has elevated and renewed the importance of corporate leadership in providing more transparent and straightforward accounting reports as well as addressing other issues that do not encourage a culture of ethics within their organization. Wrongdoing should be addressed and ethical decisions need to be encouraged and supported instead. CEOs and board members are just beginning to present themselves and their organizations as ethical decision-makers who are responsibly provide good and wise solutions for stakeholders of the company. In the Journal of Business Ethics, “Business Ethics in North America: Trends and Challenges” the authors reviewed and

The problem to be investigated is the application of business ethics. In the business world, ethics are extremely important. Ethics are prime elements that help a business to grow and to become more productive. It is by applying proper business ethics that a business can operate in a moral or ethical business environment and managed to conduct all activities in a manner that maximizes profits while not compromising all other non-economic concerns(Schwab, 1996). Businesses have over the years failed to nurture business ethics in order to fulfill shareholders' interests and to have a culture that is oriented towards profit maximization and high performance(Jennings, 2012; Sims & Felton, 2006). This has led business to have gray areas in their activities. Gray areas are those situations or problems that do not fit exactly into any ethical analysis. These are the activities which may be represented to be immoral as a result of lying and false representations on the part of the business.

32: List and explain Nash’s, Drucker’s, Buffet’s, Blanchard's and Peale’s comprehensive approach for resolving ethical dilemma

This will be an over view of ethics as it relates to business in our society. Concepts from Philosophy will seek to describe the correlation between actions that are classified as morally right or ethical in our dealings with each other as human beings. Clear and concise examples will be given as well as ways in which to improve upon business ethics.

The concept of business ethics has tried to change the way businesses operate over the years. Business ethics is a form of ethics that governs the actions of businesses to circumvent the affects business has on every day society. But some question its effectiveness in the application of capitalism. Several case studies have shown that this is the case; many companies place the pursuit of money in front of the pursuit of virtue. Although, the majority of companies are not in the spotlight of acting unethically, can we conclude that they follow the ethical norms? It is natural for normal human beings to act ethical but businesses are on a completely different playing field. But could business ethics be clearly possible in capitalism?

Business ethics refers to the consideration of moral decisions and responsibilities in the process of operating a business. Business ethics, practiced throughout the deepest layers of a company, become the heart and soul of the company 's culture and can mean the difference between success and failure. Values drive behavior and therefore need to be consciously stated, but they also need to be affirmed by actions. Ethical business environments are created with foundations of integrity, accountability and commitment.

There are several steps corporate and governmental leaders can take to promote ethical behavior to include developing a code of ethics and implementing ethical policies. Maintaining and supporting open communication with stakeholders and employees builds trust so that concerns are brought forward without fear of retaliation. Establishing systems and processes that support and do not sabotage ethical practices is significant to safeguarding against fraudulent and unethical behavior. However, even with the proper policies and reporting mechanisms, companies are not guaranteed that unethical behavior will not occur. With systems in place, a company is able to address issues and take action to discontinue the behavior. The most effective way to promote ethical behavior is through leadership commitment, training and demonstrating appropriate behavior. (Center for Ethical Business Cultures, 2008)

When considering corporate American and its business crisis of integrity many people seem to cerebrate that ethics is mainly about staying out of trouble. Any explication they give concerning the role of ethics in business today will ineluctably feature a discussion of compliance, licit liability, and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. The great cogitators of the past had a very divergent perspective. Ethics is not mainly about staying out of trouble. It’s about engendering vigor: vigor in individuals, in organizations, and in relationships with clients and suppliers.

(Panza & Potthast, n.d.) Ethics is very important to a company’s success. Ethical behavior can bring benefits to a business. They can attract customers, which can lead to a boost in sales and profits. It can attract the right employees and increase productivity. It can also attract investors and keep the company’s share price high. Unethical behavior on the other hand can damage a company’s reputation and make it less appealing to stakeholders. It could also result in lower profits.

In order to be a successful ethical leader there are many activities that can be promoted to encourage ethical behavior in one’s organization. An ethical leader will create programs that endorse integrity in business. Programs can include setting guidelines for dealing with ethical issues, open discussion on ethical issues, and establish a protocol for people to get advice (Yukl, 2010). By establishing programs an ethical leader is really changing and encouraging moral behavior which can affect an organizations work environment and improve moral. By empowering your employees to know how to handle ethical dilemmas you create a new found trust.

Ethics is the branch of philosophy that deals with the principles correlated to human behavior concerning the rightness and wrongness of specific conduct, and to the good and bad that influences and ends those actions (Ditonary.com, 2011). In other words, ethics is the choice people effect in regards to a decision they need to achieve. Without ethics directing the choice an individual makes, moral preferences of what should or should not be done becomes irrelevant. While ethical decisions are made every day there are two different regions in which these choices are made.