One more time now …. do business ethics exist?
November 29, 2010 1 Comment
Do business ethics exist?
Yes business ethics exist but they are not what we think them to be.
In what way?
They are not a code of proscribed activities, ‘thou shalt nots’ or impositions that make business harder than it needs to be. They are not King III, company value systems or regulatory affairs ‘tick boxes’.
Why is the field of business ethics so complicated. How about a nice sound bite (or is that byte)?
The term business ethics is overly complicated because it seeks to address both the normative (interpersonal relationships) and descriptive (action driven) nature of business activity. The term seeks to combine morality with professional codes of conduct, decision making responsibility and organisational ethics – the result being an intricate and complex way to explain human behaviour in the workplace.
Come on, give it a try … define business ethics in one sentence….
Business ethics are a way to recognise the existence of ethical issues in business and to provide a framework for their resolution. They also provide an opportunity to reflect on what has been decided/action taken. Was it the right course of action? Commercially? Ethically? Now what are you going to do about it? If anything?
One more time now … do business ethics exist?
They do and as moral beings we all care very much about how we, and the organisations we work for, behave in the marketplace.
Is there a link between reputation and sustainable competitive advantage? Does 'brand citizenship' exist? And in the crazy world of social media networking can reputation be managed? Sound interesting? Then welcome to a world in which brands and branding are defined by their reputation, the commercial sustainability of which depends on people like you and me.
Here’s my one sentence definition :
“Business Ethics” is the third episode of the fifth season of the television series The Office, and the show’s seventy-fifth episode overall which aired in the United States on October 9, 2008 on the National Broadcasting Company (NBC).