Business Ethics

 

Business ethics are policies and procedures that are established to govern particular behavior to ensure it doesn’t become illegal behavior. Things like bribery, discrimination and insider trading are one of the many things that happen within a company that could possible encourage business ethics to become illegal practices. Business ethics usually have the law to watch over them and provide guidance to maintain order within their company.

Most businesses wants the consumers to trust them, therefore they have to implement some form of ethic practices. Many businesses have gotten a bad reputation because their business is only focused on making money and not following protocol. Although the reason a person opens a business is to make money, but when it comes to doing the right thing and ensuring the employees are conducting themselves according to the ethic procedures laws and rules have been put into place, and not everyone follows the rules and that is where the problem may occur. 

When a reputable business does business with a non-reputable business, that has done unethical things, it seems to leave a stigma that is not desired for their business. The question may be asked that if a business that is legitimate does business with a business that is unethical, does it give the business less creditability or does it do any harm at all? I don’t think that a business should be punished because of the other company’s misbehaving. It’s like saying a person is guilty by association.  I know a lot of business practice is done under the table, but I also know that a lot of them are also done in accordance to the law.

I also realize that all businesses should practice good ethic procedures, but being realistic, it’s not always done that way. I think that if a person works for a company who practices unethical behavior, and they see it being done, they practice the behavior that is displayed. The company may hire people who have strong ethic beliefs, but once they see that the rules aren’t being followed, they fall into the category of going along to get alone. It’s like saying, “do as I say, not as I do.” It’s the same thing that is taught to children. We teach them what is right and wrong, but we do opposite of what has been taught, and wonder where the behavior came from. Therefore, who is to blame for unethical behavior, the company or the employee?

At the end of day, it should be the company’s responsibility to ensure that ethics are adhered to at any cost. All businesses want to make a massive amount of money, but it should not be more important than doing the right thing ethically. Sure, some companies will turn their head and pretend not to know what is going on until an investigation has been initiated. However, turning your heard does not make money forever. At some point, a company should want to stand on or for something and ethics should be part of the business disposition. Honesty should always prevail.