You did not help a person who met with an accident in front of you?

Have you ever bribed someone for getting your work done? Have you ever discriminated someone because of his caste, creed, sex or any other thing?

Business Ethics

Concept

There is a big difference between what you have a right to do and what is right to do. - Justice Potter Stewart Man is a social animal. Though rules of nature control humans as they control other living beings, man himself has derived certain principles to govern his own individual and group behavior. These rules, in the form of behavioral standards may differ across cultures and times, but their basic objectives are always mutual existence and peace within the particular community or the social group.

Never let your sense of morals get in the way of

Ethics is all about what is:

Right
Propriety

Wrong
Impropriety

Good

Evil

Introduction

The word Ethics is derived from the Greek word Ethicos which means- Character or manners. It is the study of morals and moral choices.

TERMS Ethics- moral principles by which people conduct themselves personally, socially, or professionally. Business Ethics -rules based on moral principles about how businesses and employees ought to conduct themselves.

Definitions.

Ethics-Relating to morals ;treating of moral questions ;morally correct ; honorable Oxford Dictionary.

Business ethics are moral principle that define right and wrong behavior in the world of business.

Business Ethics are the application of general ethical rules to business world. The value of what should be done and what

What are business ethics?

Ethics are moral guidelines which govern good behavior So behaving ethically is doing what is morally right

Behaving ethically in business is widely regarded as good business practice

Law and Ethics

An important distinction to remember is that behaving ethically is not quite the same thing as behaving lawfully:

Ethics are about what is right and what is wrong

Law is about what is lawful and what is unlawful

Need of Business Ethics

Protection of Consumer Rights-B.E. can be used to check malpractices like adulteration, unfair trade practices Social Responsibility-Public accountability, protection of workers interest ,proper utilization of resources. Concept of Socialism Success should be shared by all concerned as Employees, shareholders ,consumers etc also contribute to the success of the business Interest of Industry- Ethics are necessary to safeguard the interests of small scale business firms. S.S.Is can establish their positions & fight for

Benefits of Business Ethics

Ethics helps the market do its best. Law cannot alone protect society but Ethics can. Attention to business ethics has substantially improved society. Ethics programs help maintain a moral course in turbulent times. Ethics programs cultivate strong teamwork & productivity. Ethics programs support employee growth & meaning.

Ethical Objectives
Study of Human Behavior :makes evaluative assessment about that as moral or immoral. Establishes Moral standards /norms or behavior.

Ethical Objectives

Makes Judgment upon Human behavior based on these standards & norms.
Prescribes moral behavior; makes recommendations about how to or how not to behave. Expresses an opinion or attitude about human conduct in general

Concept of Business Ethics

The Business Ethics code of an organization may contain the following aspects: Business Ethics towards Employees : Payment of right wages & salaries Provision of proper facilities Proper personnel policies relating to promotion, performance appraisal etc. Towards Customers: Right pricing Proper information about products Ethical promotion including advertising. Towards Government : Payment of Taxes & dues. Timely Filing Returns & other records . Supporting government in social development activities. Towards Competitors : Fair competitive practices , Restraining from instigating employees,suppliers or dealers or competitors etc.


Towards Stakeholders: Provision of proper information Timely payment of dividend etc. Towards Financial Institutions: Proper information about firms financial position. Timely repayment of advances & interest etc. Towards Society: Contribution towards welfare of society. Fair practices health, safety and environmental standards etc.

Ethical Practice-what cos. Should do

Creating safe products

Creating jobs

Fair treatment of employees

Environmental protection

Truthful about financial status

Typical Problems in Business Ethics

Ethical issues in business

Lets take one of the above suppliers.

A business cannot claim to be ethical firm if it ignores unethical practices by its suppliers Example: Use of child labour and forced labour Production in sweatshops Violation of the basic rights of workers Ignoring health, safety and environmental standards
An ethical business has to be concerned with the behaviour of all businesses that operate in the supply chain i.e. Suppliers Contractors Distributors Sales agents

Environmental Issues

Marketing & Consumer Protection

Human Resource Practice

Finance

Competition & Business alliances

Unethical practices of Companies

D&G, Giorgio Armani and Roberto Cavalli refuse to ban it.

Unethical Practices Of Companies

Other Issues

Personal Gain-Business sometimes wrongly

employs people those personal values are less than desirable. These type of people sometimes put down their own welfare ahead of all others.

Individual values vs. organizational goals- A

company if it pursues goals or uses methods that are not acceptable to some of its employees will create ethical conflicts in business, however sometimes the protesting employees in these companies were not trouble makers .Instead ,they wanted to correct the internal co. procedureThis was a ethical dilemma.

Competitive Pressures- were not When

companies compete for a similar product, they sometimes engage in unethical activities. Also rivalry between employees for advancement can motivate some kind of unethical behavior.

Cross cultural contradictions- Ethical problems

may occur when certain corporations cannot do business at home ,would try to enter other societies where ethical standards differ. Also intra organization cross cultural dimensions can cause conflicts.

Ethical actions-Morals ,Morality, Beliefs

Morals- Relating to,

dealing with, or capable of making the distinction between right or wrong conduct -Principles, standards habits with respect to right or wrong in conduct

It seems fair to boil the definition of moral values down to: Beliefs and personal opinions about: 1) what is right (honest, ethical, true) conduct and 2) what is wrong (dishonest, false, harmful) conduct held by individuals and held collectively by socially cohesive groups of individuals.

Morality

Morality is a sense of behavioral conduct that differentiates

intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are good (or right) and bad (or wrong).
A moral code is a system of morality (for example, according to a particular philosophy, religion, culture, etc.)

And a moral is any one practice or teaching within a moral code.

Immorality is the active opposition to morality, while Amorality is variously defined as an unawareness of,
indifference toward, or disbelief in any set of moral standards or principles.

Beliefs
Belief refers to a state or habit of mind .In this state one places trust or confidence in some person or thing . Belief is a notion or idea which has the same value as statement of knowledge or truth. EgReligious beliefs refer to a religious tenet or body of tenets held by a group. Rituals are the way of expressing Beliefs or values or culture.

Value & Ethics

Values are beliefs that affect an individuals judgmental ideas about what is good or bad. Ethics is the way the values are acted out. Values provide the basic foundation for understanding a persons attitude ,perceptions and personality. Values contain judgmental element as to what is right,good,or desirable.

Nature & Characteristics

Values are inculcated Well accepted principles Time-tested Existence Values reflect Character Values change Gradually

Importance of Values

Values foster Economic Progress Values foster social Development Values improves social relations Values facilitate Regional cooperation Values generate Love, Peace & Happiness Values improves standard of living.

Types of Values
Allport and his associates categorized values into 6 types: Theoretical: Interested in the discovery of truth through reasoning Economic: Interest in usefulness & practicality. Aesthetic: Interest in beauty, form & artistic harmony. Social: Interest in people and love as a human relationship Political: Interest in gaining power and influencing people Religious: Interest in unity & understanding the cosmos as a whole

Beliefs