Business Ethics: The Ethical Code Of Ethics In Business

Short Paper: Ethics

Introduction

“The term ‘ethics’ can commonly refer to the rules and principles that define right and wrong conduct of individuals” (Robbins, Bergman, Stagg and Coulter, 2003, p.150). Ethical Behavior is accepted as “right” or “good” in the context of a governing moral code. Virtually all societies have developed rules and regulations about how business should be transacted and how business organizations should be managed. In concept, business ethics is the applied ethics discipline that addresses the moral features of commercial activity. In other words, it is a moral code that people conducting any sort of business should feel honorably obligated to follow. People are definitely morally responsible to follow a code of ethics and should never cheat each other. Parts of this code of ethics should be honesty, integrity, fidelity, charity, responsibility, and self-discipline. Those ethics should apply

Ethics is so important in business because it gives a company credibility. When a company has credibility the consumers trust the company and will tend to buy from the company more regularly. Employees become loyal and are motivated to drive the business forward. According to Schermerhorn (2004), “an individual that feels secure in a working environment can move on to being more focused on an organization’s goal.” Creditors and investors show their commitment and confidence by funding company development and consumer confidence is positive. Ethical business practices build fundamentals of trust with colleagues, competitors, staff, customers and every other individual and entity. The result of an unethical practices can be declining profits and a loss of market share. However, ethics are cultural specific. “What it is considered ethical in one culture may be considered unethical in another (Chiu,