The Importance of Ethics in Business Communication.
Esteban Cano.
Florida State College at Jacksonville.
Abstract
A company or organization may reach decisions that affect the public by using a set of norms or ethical standards that are usually governed by law, protocol, or precedent. This paper seeks to discuss the importance and advantages of maintaining ethical norms and communication standards in both profit and non-profit organizations. It will also discuss the importance of maintaining organizational accountability by adopting a responsible and ethical decision-making process. By adopting a set standard of ethics in communication that is responsible and accountable for the needs of internal and external clients, an organization can increase longevity and stability while increasing business outreach.
The Importance of Ethics in Business Communication.
Most Businesses and Non-Profit organizations adopt ethical standards that help normalize transactions between the company and a client. This set of ethical standards often define appropriate means of communication between internal and external customers. By adopting and maintain an updated ethical code of standards in business communications, companies can create stability, develop longevity and increase current business interactions.
First, setting ethical standards of communications may help an organization create stability in the workplace as well improve client transactions. For example, a code of ethics is an
A code of ethics is a vital for any business, because if breaches of ethics accrue it can put companies in serious trouble with consumers, other organizations or government authorities. Making a code of ethics helps decision-making easier at all levels of an organization by reducing doubt and considerations of individual viewpoint in ethical standards.
The goal of communications is to make ethics a live, ongoing conversation. If ethics is something that is constantly addressed, referenced frequently in company meetings, and in personal conversations among managers and employees, then people are more aware and more willing to defend the company’s policies when they see or hear of problems. Employees will hold other employees responsible and accountable for living the company’s values.
We as business owners, management and or in a role of authority must set, address and comply with a solid foundation of ethics. “A code of conduct is the single most important element of your ethics and compliance program. It sets the tone and direction for the entire function. Often, the code is a standalone document, ideally only a few pages in length. It introduces the concept of ethics and compliance and provides an overview of what you mean when you talk about ethical business conduct.”
I and two other individuals have agreed to start a business that will provide management consulting services to nonprofit organizations. Because of the increased scrutiny on actions of corporations and those who act on behalf of organizations, we have determined that it would be essential to have our ethics program developed before we start offering our services. A business as a moral agent must prove that it has an effective ethics program to protect employees, the corporation, and businesses that the company will serve. It is also important to have an ethics program to support the ethical values of our corporation and to make it clear to employees what is acceptable behavior, and to make clear what policies and standards are to be
Healthcare organizations have a moral and social responsibility to ensure that their communications are conducted using an outlined code of ethics. Whether the communication is an internal message to employees or mission outreach in the community, it must reflect the values and beliefs of the organization. Therefore, in order to establish and maintain the standard of ethical behavior and social responsibility, our organization requires all employees to complete new employee orientation sessions that define the policies and expectations. This orientation introduces our mission and values and it develops the foundation for our success as an organization. Our focus on encouraging and communicating ethical practices helps to reinforce our values to employees and the community. Furthermore, there should be a process in place that monitors and enforces the policies to safeguard against potential errors that would reflect poorly on the organization’s mission.
Effects of products/services and in relationships with stakeholders. That attention to business ethics is critical during times of fundamental change -- times much like those faced now by businesses, both nonprofit and for-profit. In times of fundamental change, values that were previously taken for granted are now strongly questioned. Many of these values are no longer followed. Consequently, there is no clear moral compass to guide leaders through complex dilemmas about what is right or wrong. Attention to ethics in the workplace sensitizes leaders and staff to how they should act. Perhaps most important, attention to ethics in the workplaces helps ensure that
Ethics are values and principles that individuals use to govern his decisions and activities. Ethics are about moral judgment of an individual about right and wrong. In an organization, code of ethics refers to set of guiding principles and organizations use these principles in their policies, programs, and decisions for business. Within organizations, decisions are taken by groups or individuals and these decisions are influenced by the culture of the company. Decision making and relevance of ethics may also differ for nonprofit and for profit organizations. In contemporary business environment, organizations must have a clear ethical policy and implement it in proper manner. There are many social, legal and economic outcomes that company has to face in case of any ethical dilemma, so there must be a smart strategy to deal with ethical dilemmas. In this paper, we will address the ethics for nonprofit and profits organizations, ethical dilemmas being faced or faced by each of these companies and the outcomes of these ethical dilemmas. Critique of actions of each of these companies will be provided from the point of view of applicable philosophical theories of organizational ethics.
Ethical standards in business are important for every leader to know and understand. The book Ethics 101: What Every Leader Needs to Know by: John C. Maxwell discusses ethics in the world today. When people make unethical choices, the reason they do because of three main pitfalls. People do what is most convenient to them, people tend to do what they must do to win, and people rationalize their choices with relativism. In this summary, Maxwell’s definition of business ethics will be framed, examples of ethical standards and guidelines, the meaning and contrast of ethical thinking and ethical behavior, and how to avoid these major pitfalls to live an ethical life. The
(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.
Today’s business world presents numerous ethical issues. In today’s world above board/moral ethics in organizations do not often materialize intuitively. Organization must strive to provide employees with a clear understanding of the overall company vision. This will aid employees in practicing the code of ethics, policies and procedures in the workplace. Companies must be unwavering in continuously delivering the uppermost ethics of provision in which customers, applicants and employees are entitled to under fair business practices. One major core value is to uphold responsible and fair business practices.
When working in an organization, it is usually important to establish professional ethics while following consistent ethical principles. Professional ethics are personal and corporate standards of behavior that are set by businesses, associations, and organization. It creates an institution that reflects our own values and make us feel more confident about what is an acceptable behavior and what is not. This type of ethic could vary depending on the various types of situations, professions, and personal values. Many professionals that are trusted by the public like doctors, accountants, engineers and even an information technologist all have a Code of Ethics, which sets out expectations of the member’s behavior and how they operate internally and externally.
email, websites etc. Employers at the same time strive to make their employees focus on work,
Every organization also has a profession responsibility to conduct business honestly and ethically. Our readings reported, “Experts estimated that U.S. companies lose about $600 billion a year from unethical and criminal behavior” Kinicki and Kreitner (2009). The organization could avoid having ethical issues by meeting the
Business ethics, social, and environmental guidelines frame the expectations of an organization's stakeholders including customers, employees, and regulatory bodies. An organization's ethical guidelines encompass how the organization and its employees embody ethical principles in their dealings, with each other, and other stakeholders. Therefore, Ferrell, Fraedrich, and Farrell (2008) have defined Business ethics as "The principles and standards that guide behavior in the world of business" (p.6). In many situations, individuals must incorporate their personal ethics to match those of the organization's ethical culture. For this reason, business ethics theory indicates that an organization's ethics are evident in its organizational mission and vision (Hummels & Timmer, 2004). This is because the mission and vision determine organizational structure and culture, and thereby organizational and individual behavior.
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.