Introduction
Ethics can be defined as a philosophical treatment of a moral order or the values that relate to human conduct with respect to the rightness and wrongness of a specific action. There are various codes of ethics established to govern different practices for example nursing, teaching and business codes of ethics. Business ethics entails the behavior adhered to by a business enterprise in its day to day activities and practices especially in relation to its interaction with the clients, fellow employees, the local community and the world at large. The main interest of most businesses is that of making money or profit and it is common for them to undermine business ethics at the expense of making money through the manner in which the business activities are carried out. Business ethics are however very essential in any form of business as it determines the relationship between people within the business enterprise and also between the business enterprise and the entire world. This paper discusses the various aspects that are associated with business ethics and their effects in the running of business and also on the society served by the business. It gives an insight on the various concepts of business ethics that accompany most of the business activities and also gives some personal experiences in the field of business and how business ethics affect business decision making.
Aspects related to business ethics
Business ethics and the codes stipulated to govern the practices and activities in any given business are very essential as they help all the staff to work in a standard manner and hence understand each other reducing chances of conflicts in the work place. This is a positive aspect as it enhances productivity and prosperity and more so helps build trust and loyalty among the clients of the business enterprise. The ethics also act as a standard on which the morality of a work place can be based and also a guide towards professionalism in behavior hence helping the people involved to act in a good manner and not to emphasize much on money and profits at the expense of treating each other in unethical manner. It advocates for respect for all people that are connected to the business enterprise in one way or the other for instance the managers, junior employees, clients and the general society irrespective of their age, gender, race or any other discrimination criteria. The business enterprise should also have the society in mind and consider the benefits that the society can draw from it for instance its participation in community and social projects that help raise the living standards of the society. This acts as a way of appreciating the society support to the business through corporate social responsibility.
There are various concepts that are associated with business ethics for instance business morality, contemporary ethical issues and corporate social obligations. The specific topics related to the above named issues are; racism, sexism, environment, unemployment, age discrimination, and the impact of technology and society
Racism in business
Racism entails discrimination on the basis of differences in race, color, descent or ethnicity for instance between the Whites and the Blacks. It is usually associated with prejudice and hostility hence hindering the recognition and enjoyment of equal opportunities and freedom among the victims in the business work place. The employees and the clients should be treated equally and with respect irrespective of their race since all of them are equally important in making the business a success. Treatment of people based on their racial differences is an act of violating business ethics.
In my stay at the Spa Company, I had a lot of responsibilities as the owner and founder of the company. The responsibilities involved recruitment of new staff, training of the appointed employees, dealing with travel arrangements, and management of the employees, preparation and maintenance of budgets, monitoring the progress reports, and dealing with clients, some aspects of records management, administrative issues and building a teamwork culture in the business organization among others. Apart from this, I was involved with other basic issues since the business was being established. This involved the development of a business plan, identification of its location, sourcing for capital and the general layout of the premises. Being in charge of all the above duties lead to a lot of pressure and I could find myself being tempted to compromise ethical issues at the expense of carrying out the activities as fast as possible and also generating as much profits as I could but I fought hard and always maintained the business ethics. A good example of where my understanding of business ethics was challenged is in the recruitment process. Racism was back in my mind but I needed to recruit qualified personnel without discrimination which I did. To my surprise, most of the applications were not from my community and race but from other nationalities, since most of them were migrants, but with the required qualifications. The problem was with the other employees from the local community as they found it difficult to cope with the others and wished that I had recruited people from the community. I, however, solved this issue using my knowledge on business ethics telling them that we should treat all people equally based on qualification and not on race. The outcome was attractive as the hired personnel worked diligently and led to the increased productivity of the business as opposed to when I would have gauged my recruitment on age, race, sex and other discriminations.
Sexism
Sexism is the discrimination or prejudice based on sex or gender especially against women. It entails the behaviors and attitudes that promote stereotypes of the roles assigned to different members of a business enterprise or the services rendered to different clients or customers based on their sex. Business ethics stipulates that all the stakeholders including the employees and clients should be treated equally and given equal opportunities according to their qualifications and not on gender. It is common to give lower status jobs to women and to accord high ranked posts for instance management to men. This is unethical as all people should be treated equally. In my duty of organizing for travel arrangements, I was also challenged in making the decision on who should attend some functions and who should not. I sometimes found myself considering those people with whom I was close at the expense of leaving out those with whom we did not interact and associate well. At some points my decisions were ethically challenged by my colleagues and I ended up changing my plans and acting on ethical grounds. Some of my women employees also expected that I could have a soft spot on them and offer them the chances but I opted to maintain my stand and not allocate the chances based on gender
Environment
The environment is a very important element in the business field as it is the ground in which the business operate. The business should consider the environment that surrounds it and make sure that it operates for its good. For instance if the business is a production or industry oriented it should not cause a lot of pollution that will harm the environment and the community at large but rather make sure that it controls its processes for the benefit of all involved. It should also undertake projects that aim at conserving the environment, since it operates and benefits from it. Conducting the business activities without considerations of the effects on the environment is unethical and should always be avoided. The businesses in which I operated observed this business ethic well.
Employment
Business is closely related to employment. There are various activities associated with employment for instance, recruitment of new employees, training and the general monitoring of the employees. Business ethics advocates for fairness and justice in the processes of recruitment, training and checking the performance and progress of the employees. The recruitment for example should be done strictly on the stipulated rules like the qualifications and experience needed for a specific post and not on any form of favoritism. The training and performance evaluation should also be done objectively based on facts. The business organizations should also take the responsibility of providing employment opportunities to the society especially where people are educated but lack employment opportunities. This could be through training and assimilation of the people into the companies hence reducing the level of unemployment. Training was a major issue that I encountered in the Spa business. This is because training is a very complicated but important process in any organization as it helps instill various skills required in carrying out various business practices to the required standard. It also enhances the process of managing the human resource in the business by ensuring that they are effective and efficient in undertaking their practices through adhering to the specific codes of ethics of the particular business. There should be regular training of the employees to ensure that they are well equipped with relevant skills and knowledge that goes hand in hand with major social, economic, political and even socio-cultural changes in the society. It is through the training programs that the business ethics are imparted into the employees to make sure that they behave in a good manner when dealing with each other and also with the clients and the general society. Management of the employees including all the administrative issues linked with the employees like the expenses incurred, payrolls, bills, supplies among others was also a challenge I faced in my business ventures. There is the need to follow the stipulated business ethics in all the above named process but human nature is vulnerable to neglect this fact. I, however, tried as much as possible to adhere to the business ethics by providing the required supplies and making payments for the expenses and bills in time to facilitate smooth operations hence high performance and satisfaction of the employees. In managing the employees at the Spa Company, I experienced ethical issues especially in the training process as I found myself not giving enough skills needed in carrying out the processes in the organization making it difficult for the employees to perform effectively. I could also find myself inclined more towards training the young employees as I saw them as the future pillars of the organization forgetting that even the older ones were equally important and the training would enhance their performance.
Age discrimination
Age discrimination is another issue of ethical concern in businesses. The activities and practices should not be based on age rather on the capabilities of individual employees. The clients served by the business should also not be discriminated on the basis of age as all people are important to the business organization in a way irrespective of their age and everybody should feel recognized and appreciated as opposed to feeling discriminated and undermined. The business opportunities and chances should also not be accorded based on age as it is unethical.
My experience at Superior Homes Real Estate Company was quite different from that in the Spa Company due to the difference in my post and the responsibilities that were attached to me. Here, I served as a real estate agent where I was charged with responsibilities like; ensuring that the financial goals of the business are met successfully, undertaking office and field work, negotiating and transacting with various people concerned with the business activities on behalf of the business, for instance the lawyers, banks, and clients among others, selling of properties, attending appointments and meetings and giving reports, identification of potential buyers and locating properties for investments among others. In my work I had to always protect the interests of my clients and not that of the business without any discrimination especially on age. Some of my responsibilities put me in challenging situations where I was tempted to consider undermining the business ethics but I kept that in mind and observed the business ethics strictly in my efforts towards ensuring that the financial goals of the business are met successfully. I made sure that I engaged in the right projects for instance while sourcing for finances. In some instances, clients wanted some favors, for example I remember one client stating that I should sell some property to him since he was aged but I insisted on following the rules and not to discriminate on age basis. In the You-Spa company, the age discrimination aspect came in the recruitment process where as the chief executive I preferred employing the young people leaving out the older ones who had the qualifications. I however used my knowledge on business ethics as a guide in the recruitment process and hence overcame this problem giving all people equal chances irrespective of age.
Impact of technology and society
Technological advancement is inevitable and should not be underemphasized in both the business environment and in the general societal world. The process of adoption of technology in the business should be carried out in an ethical manner following all the stipulated laws and rules and also proper training should be given to all the staff involved without any form of discrimination to help them to utilize the technologies to the maximum. The society should also not be left out but should be given a chance to enjoy the fruits of technological advancement. The process of adopting new technology (digitization) in the business was carried out in ethical ways where the copyright issues concerning the software and hardware were observed.
Business Morality
Morality entails conformity to the rules of good conduct. Morality should always be adhered to irrespective of the circumstances faced. Business morality entails aspects like sexual relationships between the bosses and the employees or even among fellow employees. Sexual relationships may also occur between the employees and the clients. In most cases the bosses usually threaten the junior staff to engage in sexual relationship or suffer as a result of rejecting their requests for example from being fired or lack of opportunities that they deserve promotions. This puts the victims at risk of accepting the relationship with the fear of facing the consequences of rejecting the requests making them work without the freedom they ought to have. Failure to report the cases makes it worse as no necessary actions are taken and chances of their occurrence even in future become high. This is unethical as people should have consent in regard to any sexual relationships and force or threats should not be used to coerce any individual in entering in any sexual relation. The clients should also not be engaged in any immorality behavior and business ethics should always be adhered to. In the real estate company, there was a female co-worker who was coerced by the boss to in a sexual relationship with him. She was against the ides and she protested after which the boss threatened to fire her. Due to desperation and lack of any other alternative employment chance, she found herself giving in to the boss’ request. This did not work out well for her as the working environment was not conducive and she had to do everything to please the boss maintaining both the official work-relationship and the sexual relationship and it reached a point where she could not take it anymore and hence quit the job. This was very unethical of the boss as it led to loss of job and dignity of the employee.
Another form of business immorality is where some people are not given the respect they deserve while others are treated in a special manner rather than balancing all the people in the business. While in “You-The Spa” I hired an employee, who became very valuable to the company within a very short period of time. She achieved excellence in her work and became enormously wanted by many customers. From the moment she joined our staff as a hair dresser and a make-up artist, business sales were sky rocketing. A few months later, I noticed that I treated her in a special way, as if she was the only employee in the company, without considering the rest of my staff, and without any thoughts of the consequences to my behavior. My behavior was expressed by opening the door for her into my personal life. She used to come to my house for family dinners and other personal family events. Although, it took me quite a while to understand that this was unethical , I learnt my lesson and understood that as an employer, I should have had clear boundaries and avoid any discrimination. My conclusion was that carrying out business activities without following the right procedures also amount to business immorality.
The process of sourcing for capital to start and maintain my business, the Spa Company, was another issue of concern to me. I had to look for alternative sources while at the same time adhering to ethics, for instance I had to make sure that the terms and conditions that were set to guarantee my acquisition of the funds were met and maintained under all circumstances. Temptations to engage in unethical means in order to secure enough capital were very high, though I managed to set and maintain some limits. Negotiating and transacting with various people concerned in the business activities on behalf of the Real Estate Company was not a major problem as I had some experience in it, since I had been trained on the skills of public relations and convincing people on a particular issue. However, just as any other human being, I was susceptible to neglect business ethics and be ruled by the urge to make more money through commission but opted not to do so, but rather maintain the business ethics.
Selling of properties and identification of potential buyers was also a challenge especially where there was time limit or a deadline to be met. For example there was an instance when the chief executive officer of the Superior Homes Real Estate Company gave me a task of selling a particular property where the reward would be determined by the amount of time taken in selling it, the lesser the time, the higher the reward and vice versa. This made me try my best and meet the target as fast as possible at the same time maintaining the ethical issues despite the fact that the property was valuable and hence the earnings associated with it could be much higher and attractive. I embarked on the process of identifying the potential buyers by first scrutinizing the documents that regarded the property to check on any irregularities. I noted some faults and reported it to the manager who insisted on proceeding with the process due to the benefits accrued to it. In mind, I knew this was unethical since it could bring problems to both the business and the clients and hence I insisted on not doing the work. The work was assigned to someone else who collaborated with the manager and the business faced some law- related issues as the buyer realized the mistakes in the documents and took the matter to court. This was very unethical of them and although they learnt their lesson it was too late as the business suffered too much, an issue that could have been solved by adhering strictly to the business ethics.
Corporate Social Responsibility
This is a way in which business organizations become compliant with the stipulated laws, ethical standards and also the international norms. It also involves the continuing commitment by the business to include all aspects of ethics and contribute to the economic development as well as promoting the quality of life of the employees and their relations and the well being of the local community and the entire society. It is an aspect that fosters wealth creation among the people that are involved in one way or another in the existence and development of the particular business enterprise. The business can give back to the society through programs like donations where they can identity the less fortunate in the society and help them cater for their basic needs, sponsorships where they can engage in various community projects like those involved in provision of education facilities, health care services or even water projects among others. It is common to find business neglect this issue of corporate social responsibility as they deal much on generating much income and profits which should not be the cases. Corporate social responsibility should be taken as an ethical and social obligation by any business and should never be underemphasized. The profits gained through the various business transactions should be invested constructively through processes that are geared towards enhancing the welfare of the workforce of the business enterprise and the community at large. As the chief executive officer in the Spa Company in collaboration with other staff, I made sure that some of the profits gained went back to the society through establishing a program of educating the children from poor families.
Conclusion
Business ethics are crucial and should be adhered to in carrying out of any business activity as failure to do this will lead to violation of various rights of the workforce and the society at large. This is however a difficult task as we are faced with the urge to make more money forgetting the necessary business ethics. Engagement in social corporate responsibility is particularly a very essential aspect and an obligation that all business organizations should consider fulfilling. People should also make sure that in the event of carrying out the business activities, they ensure that; they do not break the criminal law in any way; they avoid any action that may result in civil law suits against the business organization and avoid any action that may affect the business enterprise’s reputation. Emphasis in morality in business ventures also saves the company from legal and public relations problems although it is costly in terms of resources used in ensuring aspects like product safety, the environmental impacts of the business, truthful and ethical advertising and marketing and conducive working conditions among others. The business ethics can be derived from the profit motive where the business work on the principle that good business ethics results to good business hence good profits, it can also be based on following the law where the business works on the principle that moral obligations in business are restricted to the expectations of the law. Finally business ethics can be derived from the general moral obligations where the aspect of morality is taken as a factor separate from the law and profit motive. This is the most common principle that is undertaken by most business.