Introduction
Business ethics is an integral part of companies’ management, examining the principle moral problems faced in a business environment. This aspect is closely connected with daily dealings within the business organization; appropriate development of ethical norms and rules in business plays a significant role in the company’s reputation and status formation. Ethical issues regulations are of vital importance and should be included in any business management; in case of their ignorance, everyday activities of the company can be ruined because of inappropriate moral choices and behavior.
Unethical Business Behavior
Every company’s success is closely dependant on its employees; it is necessary to underline the fact that business reputation is built on the basis of top service or products’ quality and ethical fashion within organization structure, being an integral part of its reputation in the market. A number of global businesses are not concentrated on the development of appropriate ethics breaking moral business laws; the problem is focused on such aspects as justice, fairness, and rightness. It is necessary to underline the fact that any business functions in accordance with the principles of making a profit; so, the balance between social responsibilities and traditional profitability standards is a sophisticated task for any organization.
For example, the US Company ‘Moto Co’ faced the problem of ethics violation within the staff behavior. The problem concerned the conflict of interest between departments of the organization. It is necessary to underline the fact that financial decisions contradicted the terms of export within the company. The conflict of interest is considered to be one of the most frequent ethical problems in many small and big companies. In accordance with the report developed by Human Resource Department, the problems within the company appeared to make a start to the breakage of moral values leading to distrust on the part of customers. Inappropriate work and agreements between the company’s departments resulted in lower quality of service and customers’ contact. The example of ‘Moto Co’ enterprise disclosed the following possible unethical aspects and mistakes made in the modern sphere of business:
- Reflecting no financial interest in customers’ competitors;
- Organizing the operations of the departments and keeping the information of their work process in the confidential form, without considering inter-department cooperation;
- The weak contact with the customers, disclosing little information as to the safety and quality of the product.
The companies being referred to as industry players are considered to be predominantly blamed by Americans for unethical behavior, in 62% of cases they make mistakes in moral and ethical standards of their business conduct. Thus, the huge price debate appeared to be strengthened between the representatives of policymakers, oil executives, and American consumers. It is necessary to underline the fact that customers consider the rise in oil prices is referred to as the hugest mistake of the gasoline supply chain players. Such a step in economics was explained by-election issues. The US tried to ease the prices of gas by lifting restrictions on the drilling of domestic oil. The necessity to develop oil resources should not be reflected in the customers’ paying abilities. In accordance with the CNN opinion poll, the major part of respondents blamed the companies’ unethical behavior in their policy development (Braverman, 2008).
The analysis of the most problematic unethical issues within the company business conduct demonstrates a close connection between the company status, customers’ perception of the service, and the quality of working staff. Complaints on the part of customers and employees are the central problems of top management. In most cases, chief executives hide their heads in the sand ignoring the significance of the cases. Unethical business practices observed in most companies’ structures and operations are not covered and solved by the management, leading to the gradual decrease in the trust of the customers, the low service quality, and contradictions within the companies’ staff (Lippke, 1995).
In order to avoid such ethical problems it is necessary to follow all moral standards developed for the sphere of business:
- Deal with the customers and suppliers on an honest and fair basis, taking no advantage of the privileged information of unfair dealing practice;
- Avoid the compromised forms of independent business running;
- Provide the protection for proprietary information;
- The employees should ensure the quality of work and protect the assets of the company;
- Company’s business and political activities are to be kept separately, in order to avoid the conflict of interests;
- The information referred to the companies’ employees is to be protected in accordance with privacy laws regulations.
Financial interests in the business sphere are considered to be the significant obstacle to appropriate ethics development; the investors, owners, and partners of the hugely profitable business try to act only in accordance with their personal interests ignoring all principles of morality and ethics (Gibson, 2002).
It is necessary to underline the fact that with every passing year of business and industry development, the question of ethical regulation is becoming a formal aspect in the business standards formation; it means that the near future will show close dependence between criminology and unethical behavior. For example, in accordance with contemporary criminal provisions adopted in the US business sphere, the agreements between competitors as to charged prices are strictly prohibited. It means those grave unethical problems will be punished in accordance with the state laws regulations (Crim, 2005).
Conclusion
Nowadays business is an integral part of human life, turning every aspect of the natural environment into business products. Ethical norms and standards are the basic laws of this sphere dictating a set of values and moral regulations for management structure. The necessity to follow business ethics is considered to be the key step to a company’s success in its impact on the employees and customers’ choices.
The basic issue to remember in the development of ethical norms is to be concentrated on the close connection between the status of the company and customers’ perception of its service. The code of ethics is to become the link in cooperation between employees, partners, and competitors in business development.
References
- Braverman, B. (2008). Unethical Behavior to blame for Gas Prices. Web.
- Crim, S. (2005). How Should We Respond to another company’s Unethical Practices.
- Gibson, D. (2002). Unethical Behavior in Business is Out of Control. The Business Journal.
- Lippke, R. (1995). Radical Business Ethics. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 203.