Business Ethics and Reading Response
The process of making decisions in management sometimes is cumbersome. Choosing to do the right thing in business matters cannot be very easy as the name ‘right’ may depict and therefore, ethical decisions are not simple. It can be asserted that a right thing can be based on principles of moral or depending with the situation. Ethics can be based on values such as respect, transparency, accountability and many more. Therefore business ethics can be termed as knowing what is right or wrong and making the right decision (Carter McNamara, Complete guide to ethics Management). In most circumstances, it is not enough to think of good or bad but making proper and focused decisions when dealing with situations in the workplace. For example, the managers and the supervisors should be in a position to cope with difficulties in management and the best way to address the recommendations to the employees.
Business ethics focuses on the dilemmas where one can judge as either right or wrong. For example, mischief in management and managerial moral misconducts such as failing to honor contracts, misuse of resources, mismanagement and many more. Business ethics has a sense of social influence and therefore must address social problems and interest. The social part in it is that it involves business suppliers, community, employees, and customers and so on. Apart from management business must foster good relationship with the public in order to make a reputable organization.
It is noted that 90% of business institutions have considered business ethics in their curriculum (Carter McNamara, Complete guide to ethics Management). In the workplaces today, ethics are managed by the code of conducts, training and seminars among many more. In a workplace business ethics are achieved through prioritizing workplace conducts and ensuring good behavior according to these values. The management should strictly get involved in sensitizing on the moral values through the means of discussions and making follow up. Therefore a continuous process is usually involved in instilling business ethics. Even if the business is in operation within the law, it is not an indication that it observes the ethics and therefore there is a need to check on the internal affairs before making such kind of a judgment.
There are considerably a good number of benefits associated with business ethics. To start with, the society improves. It is true that without the business ethics, employees can be overworked or fired without reasonable arguments, small business can be outraged due to price fixing, and consumer protection can be violated and so on. At least policies have been instituted to take care of the welfare of the society. Paying attention to ethics in workplace has enabled employees and the leaders to act consistently in cumbersome situations. It cultivates productivity and a sense of teamwork. Discussing issues pertaining to ethics creates openness between the managers and the employees as well as good relationship in the place of work.
Since the employee is trained to face reality, he or she gets development and life attains its meaning. Cases of criminal have been curbed since mistakes are addressed as early as possible and rectified. Managements have been made better since there are no much cases of misappropriation of organization funds. The image of the organization in public improves since effective and fair markets as well as opportunities are properly observed. Relationship between members in the public as well as individuals is improved as there is a balance in the culture of organization. Businesses with strict observation of ethics can be characterized of being organized. There is free and open interaction, fairness, individual responsibility, purpose focused intentions and so on. The management decisions are clear and well focused and therefore the output is highly increased (Carter McNamara, Complete guide to ethics Management).
In conclusion business ethics needs to be implemented in a more reasonable manner. Its benefits are quite enormous not only at the workplace but also to the wider community. It can be recommended that the existing institutions and businesses involve the ethic culture in order to improve their welfare and that of the community.
Work Cited
- Carter McNamara. Complete guide to ethics Management: An ethics toolkit for Managers (Accessed 11April 2009) <http://www.managementhelp.org/ethics/ethxgde.htm#anchor26548>
