BUSINESS PROFIT AND ETHICS
Abstract:
The relationship between ethics and profit is regarded to be very crucial in the business world. In most of the cases business ethics and profits are considered to be at conflict, where we get to choose one and lose the other. There have been instances of both where a company attains profit by establishing ethical values and a company making profits while employing unethical methods. The ultimate motive of running any business is the maximization of profit, so people tend to forget the ethics which are vital while trying to make profits. Experts believe that it is not always necessary to forgo our basic ethics to attain the goal, though it may seem as a very subjective thing. How ethics can be followed
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A solid marketing strategy can grow a brand, magnetize consumers and ultimately build profits. Nevertheless, in attempt to maximize profits, companies often overlap the line of what's ethically right and wrong when it comes to marketing. Examples of questionable ethics in regards to marketing include the placement of sexual ads in an attempt to attract people to a product or service, targeting children in advertisements and using violence as a means to draw attention to a product or service.
Environment
The production of most items has some type of environmental impact. Companies that want to grow profits may use unethical environmental practices by increasing pollution, contaminating water supplies and destroying forests. It's often less costly to negatively impact the environment than it is to positively impact it. For example, a small business that's still growing may not have a lot of extra funds. It's less costly for the business to continue operating with a plant that produces a lot of pollution than to remodel or build a safer plant. These companies often have to adhere to certain environmental laws in the United States and other developed countries, but the laws often just prevent excessive environmental damage, not mild or moderate damage. We can consider the Example of the Bhopal gas tragedy of 1984 which is considered as the worlds worst industrial disaster which we witnessed in our very own
When turning away from a quality to a profit focus only created far more problems. “Toyota, once the world’s most profitable automaker, suffered its first losses in its past two fiscal years; the turning away from a quality to a profit focus only created far more problems.” (O’Brien, 2010)
Some who are only chasing for profit regards ethics as barrier. However, lots of researcher approve that managerial ethics are not mutually exclusive with profitability.
The author Robert Solomon argues that ethics has to an integral part with regard to business management. He does not believe that business management must include unethical or illegal methods to be able to succeed. Solomon preaches that business management is not as simple as obtaining revenue. “Businesses need to abide by fair policies and their owners have to be ethical in dealing with their customers” (Shaw p. 37). The author acknowledges that while illegal practices in business management could bring positive results at first, eventually the business is bound to fail. This is why Solomon recommended eight important policies that can help businesses in integrating ethics into their operations.
Ethics in business addresses the ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ behaviours of business practises, and how these practices impact the employees, shareholders, the general public and the environment.
Everything in life has a trade off. "Ethics is defined as the moral principles that govern a persons behavior." Ethics is constructed by society, and personal values, the purpose of code of ethics is that it gears all organizational conclusions, creating a groundwork in which all conclusions are drawn. This can benefit to build a sense of barriers through the organization. A well thought out code of ethics can assure a companies standing. Looking at the world of business and ethics, it is clear to see that there are many possible tradeoffs. One can be loyal to the company, and not have the best success, or one can be deceiving and manipulating in order to become rich and successful. The motivation for researching this topic is to see how the
This will be an over view of ethics as it relates to business in our society. Concepts from Philosophy will seek to describe the correlation between actions that are classified as morally right or ethical in our dealings with each other as human beings. Clear and concise examples will be given as well as ways in which to improve upon business ethics.
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.
This paper primarily consists of a personal response to a few questions about ethics in business. Describing the meaning of ethics sets the criteria for evaluating if actions are ethical. Looking at current and future career work, the concept of ethics is applied to predict ethical challenges. Based on this coursework, and outside research, resources will be identified that may be beneficial when business ethical challenges arise. The coursework on ethics covered law, conflict of interest, accounting, environment, finance, marketing, management, reputation, and corporate social responsibility. All of these topics are corporate concerns. Some topics may present dilemmas during the course of business. The responses in this paper
Business ethics refers to the consideration of moral decisions and responsibilities in the process of operating a business. Business ethics, practiced throughout the deepest layers of a company, become the heart and soul of the company 's culture and can mean the difference between success and failure. Values drive behavior and therefore need to be consciously stated, but they also need to be affirmed by actions. Ethical business environments are created with foundations of integrity, accountability and commitment.
Business Ethics is another important college textbook written by Peter Stanwick. The book is filled with real world case studies on different businesses and business situations. Understand the ethics of business helps students, employees and managers to make ethical decisions in today’s complex world. The writer has focused on adding the importance of leadership, decision-making and strategic planning while examining the changing trends of business ethics. The chapters of the book covers important topics like role of morals, foundation of ethical theory, global business standards and business
1. The Sales Rep. A sales representative for a struggling computer supply firm has a chance to close a multimillion-dollar deal for an office system to be installed over a two-year period. The machines for the first delivery are in the company’s warehouse, but the remainder would have to be ordered from the manufacturer. Because the manufacturer is having difficulty meeting the heavy demand for the popular model, the sales representative is not sure that the subsequent deliveries can be made on time. Any delay in converting to the new system would be costly to the customer; however, the blame could be placed on the manufacturer. Should the sales representative close the deal without advising the customer
(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.
Ethics meaning in simple way for average person is what is right from wrong. According to Chris MacDonald (2010)” Ethics” can be defined as the critical, structured examinations of how we should behave - in particular, how we should constrain the pursuit of self-interest when our actions affect others. “Business ethics is the applied ethics discipline that address the moral features of commercial activity (Business ethics, 2008).Working in ethical way in business has a lot of benefits which can attract customers, employees, investors and suppliers. “Now a days shareholders know that the company they are dealing has morals values and ethical and responsible behaviour and their money is being used in a proper way. When working for a company with strong Business Ethics, employees are comfortable in the knowledge that they are not by their own action or inaction allowing unethical practices to continue (Joseph, 2013)”.
According to Michaelson (Michaelson, 2016), business ethics involves the relationship that exists between different parties in business and refers to the current organizational principles, standards and values that manage the conduct and action of individuals in the business society. It often focuses on the moral principles guiding the behavior between consumers and businesses on multiple economic and social levels. As a result, it can be defined as the relationship between the business and the customer, an aspect that can apply to the employees, community, or various aspects of the government. Business morals have expressive and normative scopes. As a career specialist as well as corporate practice, business moral value is mainly normative. Researchers attempting to understand business ethics use illustrative methods. The quantity and range of ethical issues in an organization reveals the interaction of income-exploiting behaviors with non-economic apprehensions. The principles that limit the actions of an individual also apply to business. This paper will talk about business ethics and its advantages success business.
Business ethics is where moral rules help guide business decision making. It is useful in a business as it helps them decide if a decision is right or wrong, honest and fair, even if the business is profitable or not. An ethical business decision may not always be the most profitable decision as the one that has the most benefit to the society could be at the top. (Connolly, 2011)