...GLEANER THE IMPORTANCE OF BUSINESS ETHICS published: Sunday | April 11, 2004 [pic] [pic] FITZ-RITSON and LOPEZ Ayanna Kirton, Staff Reporter IN RECENT years the term 'business ethics' has taken on new relevance in the wake of accounting scandals that have discredited some of the world's largest and well-respected companies. The list includes WorldCom (now MCI), Tyco International, Parmalat, and Enron whose financial executives have faced charges and possible jail time for financial misdeeds. Now, the Business Roundtable (BRT) aims to restore public confidence in Corporate America with a US$3 million initiative to educate future CEOs on business ethics. According to an article published by Business Week, on January 14, 2004, the BRT, an association of 150 chief executive officers of leading United States companies, announced it was creating a new business-ethics centre. The Business Roundtable Institute for Corporate Ethics will be housed at the University of Virginia's Darden Graduate School of Business Administration. The BRT hopes to deflect criticism of CEO excesses by developing a business school ethics curriculum as well as train executives and conduct research. Ethics education and training are important elements in the creation of ethically sensitive business cultures. In a presentation on Jamaican Business Ethics, Dr. Michael Witter, senior lecturer and head of the Department of Economics at the University of the West Indies (UWI), said to understand business ethics...
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...CHAPTER 1 – THE IMPORTANCE OF BUSINESS ETHICS 1. ------------------------------------------------- What are the potential ethical issues faced by Acme Corporation? By Frank giving gifts to Otis to entice him into purchasing more inventory, the ethical issue of bribery arises. If consumers or potential customers learn about Frank giving gifts to get sales, it could cost Acme Corporation fines and declined consumer trust. Outsiders could perceive Acme’s misconduct as a bribe or the impression that the company has to give bribes because their products are inferior. In addition, the fact that Frank is concerned about management finding out about the gift giving to Thermocare; despite Amber’s approval of his actions, means Acme may not approve of the gift giving, or the misappropriation of corporate funds. 2. ------------------------------------------------- What should Acme do if there is a desire to make ethics a part of its core organizational values? An ethics program should be created and an ethics officer assigned to oversee it. The program should include the values, beliefs, and established and enforced patterns of conduct that employees will need to have in place to identify and respond to ethical issues. The company may also want to include a section in the ethics protocol that bans gift giving to attract sales. 3. ------------------------------------------------- Identify the ethical issues of which Frank needs to be aware. The ethical issues...
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...INTRO Business Ethics (also known as corporate ethics) is a form of applied ethics or professional ethics that studies the ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that arise in a business environment (source: Wikipedia). This applies to all aspects of business conduct and is relevant to the behavior of individuals and organizations overall business. Applied ethics is a field of ethics dealing with ethical questions in many fields such as medicine, engineering, law and business ethics. Business ethics can be a discipline both normative and descriptive. As the practices of the company and a career specialization, the field is primarily normative. The scope and quantity of business ethics reflects the degree to which its business is considered contrary to the social values of non-economic. , For example, today most major corporate sites put pressure on the commitment to promote social values of non-economic under various posts (eg code of ethics, social responsibility). In some cases, companies have to reformulate their core values in the light of considerations of business ethics....
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...The Importance of Business Ethics Business ethics has been described as a social science; it is a vast field and can often be problematic as it tends to mean different things to different people. It generally addresses the entire scope of responsibilities and obligations that a company has to each of its stakeholders. The term ethics can have many different definitions in a broad context and it can be difficult to find common understanding of the term which will be later discussed. Business ethics poses many different advantages and opportunities for businesses once correctly done. Business ethics refers to “managing corporate citizenship and sustainability in the age of globalization” (Crane, A., Dirk, M. 2004). Ethics is broadly concerned with the values underpinning action or behaviour’s for the individuals, organisations or societies. Being ethical is an aim of corporate governance and should be supported by the framework of controls within an organisation, however it is often a very complex problem which requires an in-depth understanding of the many factors which contribute to employees’ decisions to behave ethically or unethically (Stead and Worrell, 1990). Ethics within a business are often the moral standards which are relied upon in order to reach a conclusion and make decisions; they are implemented in order to ensure that a certain required level of trust exists between consumers and various forms of market participants within a business. Public interest has...
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...secondly, it the decision has to consist of a question of morality. Morality is referred to as the society’s highest standard of behavior and it is widely accepted (Dessler, 2010). What is Business Ethics? According to various individuals, each has their own meaning of Business Ethics, but generally it is the understanding of knowing what is right and wrong in the workplace in regards to the effects of products, services and the relationship with stakeholders. According to Wallace and Pekel, the attention to business ethics is condemnatory throughout fundamental change, i.e the circumstances that businesses now face both for non-profit and for...
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...who faces this kind of situation has think if the action that they are about to do it is right, the reason for thinking about that are personal ethics which result in good or bad decisions, in this essay, author focuses on ethics in business organisations and discriminations within which is one of the main problems inside companies. Ethics in Business Words like “morality” and “values” are associating with word “ethics”. Ethics is differencing and thinking between right or wrong choice. it is making choices that...
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...that of sovereignty but that of supply and demand (Kinley, D., & Joseph, S., 2002)". Sometimes this means that a business needs to grow to accommodate these needs and wants. To keep customers happy and fulfill their requirements of getting it promptly and at a reasonable price, corporations have been expanding their business to other countries or outsourcing many of their operations. A significant issue that has become...
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...Importance of Ethics in International Business Executive Summary Ethics in the business world is important and global. Ethics indicate what is right and what is wrong in business branches and also lead employees and stakeholders with moral values. Due to the globalization of markets and production processes, business people have to deal with ethical issues in cross-cultural settings at an increasing number. The purpose of this paper is to explain the importance of international business, emphasise the ethics of a business and the significance of ethics in terms of expanding internationally. Ultimately, creating and maintaining acceptable organizational ethics will become beneficial in international business. Why do businesses expand internationally? Expanding a business to an international level has a huge upside. In a broader sense, without international trade, countries could only consume what they produce domestically, making it harder for every single country. An international business opens new opportunities such as new markets and more jobs. Today, developing countries represent about 80% of global population. Uncertainty and legal applications are sometimes great sources of concerns in international business operations (Hewhorn, 2008). Therefore, an international business has to take into consideration and become aware of the countries in which operating in. Today, companies are affected by global events and competition whether the corporation is enormous or...
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...Discuss the importance of business ethics in an organization We hear about this word ‘Ethics” almost every day. We are all aware of the fact that there is a public consciousness which is related to ethics that is way much more important than it was few years back. It is obvious that business ethics are important throughout every area of the business. Most businesses are often more likely to become successful when they are known for dealing honestly with people from its employees and customers to shareholders and vendors. What does the word ‘business ethics’ really mean? Business ethics are nothing more than the code of values and principles that govern the actions of an individual, or a group of individual, regarding what is right and what is wrong. Business ethics are not just about the difference between right and wrong, but they are the actual application of that knowledge to business. Their absence in an organization can be harmful to the progress of any businesses or organizations. Every time a new business is launched, whether it is business of a sole trader or an enterprise, the owner or owners must first legally adopt a code of ethics. For small businesses, the code of ethics is usually unwritten and sometimes not even discussed and decided upon, but still it exists. Where as, for larger businesses such as a full-blown brick-and-mortar corporate enterprise, they often have written codes of ethics and employees are trained and required to adhere to it. It is...
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...BUSINESS ETHICS Name Institution of Affiliation Introduction The business environment is changing to embrace ethical conduct in the performance of duties and activities of individuals in professional setting. Nowadays, companies are exposed to public scrutiny where their corporate social responsibility and social accountability are assessed. A shift towards rethinking the various functions of a business entity to encompass ethics into their daily management activities has been undertaken as entities seek to be market leaders. Business ethics encompasses the relationship the company has with the employees, customers, shareholders and the community. Business ethics is the analysis of business activities and situations where issues pertaining what constitute a right or wrong act are dealt with through institutional processes (Jennings, 2011). Consequently, ethics involves ascertaining good practices from bad practices based on the context of morals. On the other hand, moral conduct is the behaviour exhibited by human beings that can either be right or wrong depending on the context whereas business ethics. Business ethics can be viewed from two distinct perspectives; descriptive ethics and normative ethics. Normative ethics ascribes to the justification of moral systems whereas descriptive ethics depicts what ethical practices are. Ideally, the paper will delve into more details concerning what business ethics entails and the importance of business ethics...
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...Personal Ethics Development PHL/323 January 23, 2014 Personal Ethics Development “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.” Proverbs 22:1 When growing up, most of us are taught morals and values by our parents or guardians. We are taught to conform to society’s norms, and to behave appropriately, or as others call it, “morally ethically”. When I was growing up my parents took it upon them to teach me good morals, values, and principles. Their views on these were a bit different but somewhat the same. Coming from similar backgrounds and sharing the same culture helped them to agree with what they had in mind my behavior should be like. According to my parents I was to behave like a good moral character. One who does not blurt out her opinions but shares it when asked, always in a respectful way taking into consideration every person in the room. It was kind of hard growing up not knowing when I had to be discreet. One organization in particular that helped me a lot was my local church. The people there gave me great examples to follow and not to follow. The teachings our pastor gave were helpful as well. The stories that old book kept were great and gave me a perspective on so many things. When making decisions on what examples to follow, I always looked to my parents. No one else was ready, as they were, to explain why they did the things they did; a child always needs explanations. In my line of work, I...
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...ETHICS NOTES-Outline: 1: Summary of writing intent leading to thesis 2: Define ethics 3: Discuss the importance of ethics in the business environment 4: Connecting Law and Ethics/The role of ethics in law 5: Elaborate on the ethics side of each case. 6: Summary The question of whether an employee can be terminated for off-duty activity can be answered in numerous ways. Some occupations require employee carry a firm moral code even when they are not present at workplaces such as priests, CEOs, and other public or civil servants while other occupations are more lax or do not even require anything more of their employees rather than to show up on time and perform at expected performance levels. The varying levels of standards, in regards to moral code, with the multitude of industries pose the question of what the underlining basis of these rules are. Because as an employer or manager contemplates the reasoning behind the termination of an employee, there must be a general rule of thumb to abide by in order to make the decision. The rules that the employer or manager relies on are called ethics. When an employee is considered for termination, an ethical approach from the employer’s side as well as the employee’s side must be apparent and clear. In order to better understand the role ethics play in employee relations, we must have a thorough understanding of what ethics is and it’s importance in the business environment. Furthermore, in the context of employee termination...
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...RUNNING HEAD: THE IMPORTANCE OF ETHICS IN THE BUSINESS WORLD BY Marie J.Lucel MAN 2604 International Business Submitted to: Professor McFarlane Donovan Department of Business Administration Broward College North Campus Coconut Creek, Florida April 01 , 2013 The Importance of Business Ethics in International Businesses Abstract Keywords: Business ethics, corruption, human rights, conducts employment practices, environmental regulations, conflicts of interests, General Policy and Procedures, and moral obligation of the multinational organization. Introduction Businesses are faced with very real ethical dilemmas where the appropriate course of action is not really clear. Some of these are the ethical obligations of a multinational corporation toward their employment conditions, human rights, environmental pollution .Understanding the nature of ethical problems and deciding what actions to pursue when confronted with .Ethical problems frequently occur in International Business. Basic human rights are not accepted in international business, which include freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of movement, freedom of political repression and so on. In international corruption is so widespread in some countries that politicians and bureaucrats regard it as a benefit of office and openly as break laws against corruption. Corruption is seen and treated as illegal, and when discovered, violators are punished by the full extent of the law. In some countries...
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...Ethics and Organizational Design- A Literature Review Abstract This literature review observes the views of organizational design and business ethics as they relate to one another in business. The first portion of this paper defines organizational design and business ethics to establish their importance and also examines managerial ethics and corporate social responsibility, sources of ethical principles. The second portion pursues to explain the relationship between business ethics and organizational design and how managers shape ethics through use of value-based leadership and formal structure systems. The third portion pursues to review the importance of ethics to organizational design and the structures that support or enforce ethical behavior in organizations. The fourth portion links literature reviewed and published over the past few years together based on their reference to ethics and organizational design. The literatures are linked together based on commonalities found in the opinions of the authors relating to a spiritual perspective, ethics and corporate structure, organizational and ethical theories, and ethical strategy. Last but not least, the review concludes with a summary of the important role that ethics plays in the organizational design and structure of a business and how it applies to members of management. Keywords: business ethics, organizational design, corporate social responsibility Outline INTRODUCTION I. Organizational Design/Business...
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...Business Ethics: The Responsibilities of Employees and Employers Debra J. Scott Columbia Southern University Business Ethics: The Responsibilities of Employees and Employers Ethics are an extremely important aspect of every successful business; they are crucial on the end of the employer as well as every employee. Employees and executives need a clear definition of business ethics and a clear explanation of the significance of ethics in relation to the position and to the business as well. It is shown to be beneficial to employees and executives to use a decision making process in the development of making important decisions; there are many approaches as well as many consequences to making ethical decisions. Good ethics start with the employer and how they handle and execute their ethics and provide a good working example for their employees. There are many viewpoints on what ethics are, especially in relation to business, “Ethical obligations are a set of “ought to” standards that define a moral course of action and draw a line between right and wrong” (Lohrey). Business ethics can be comprised of written and formal guidelines in relation to an organization’s morals. Many businesses use their code of conduct or credo as their guidelines to communicating their organizational ethics, “Business ethics manifests both as written and unwritten codes of moral standards that are critical to the current activities and future aspirations of a business organization. They can differ...
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