The ethics of work and success:
The meaning of work to individuals has important influences on their behavior in organizations. They derive their basic values and beliefs about work from society at large, the family, their educational experiences, and many other sources.
The Puritans, who were Calvinists by religious faith, brought what is known as the work ethic to the United States. The work ethic, sometimes called the Protestant Ethic because of its origin in religion, holds that labor is good in itself and good for the person’s soul; the person helps both himself and others by the act of working. This ethic thrived during the country’s industrial growth and the expansion of its frontiers. It flourished under successive waves of immigrants in search of security and the good life. The Great Depression reinforced the work ethic through the security of available work; wars made work a patriotic duty.
Today work has lost much of its religious significance, and labor is seldom regarded as good in itself. Yet the work ethic remains, in a different form. Drudgery and menial work are widely rejected, as are monotonous, routine, and meaningless tasks. Whereas work was formerly the avenue to financial success and higher social status, it is more and more valued today for its intrinsic worth to a problem-burdened society, and for the extent to which it corresponds to newer ideals that transcend material affluence as the measure of success. Work to attain wealth is no longer the motivation it was when the Puritan work ethic was more dominant. Young people today question their parent’s pursuit of money through work. Leisure, and even hedonism, are important values, even though these are made possible mainly by wealth produced by our busi...
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... pollution, urban decay, and poverty. Crimes like bribery, corruption, embezzlement, and theft are dealt with by laws, but the processes of legal action are slow and often uncertain. More difficult are problems, in which the corporation itself must be regulated, controlled, or punished. Standards of proper conduct of business firms are hard to set, but these too are being rapidly codified into regulatory and other laws.
Although some people think that ethics do not exist in present business world and it is impossible for an ethical company, to become profitable too. But it is not true; it is actually a distortion based on the cynical views of those frustrated by the newer attitudes toward work. There are several ethical and yet profitable companies to prove that ethics do exist in business, and rather business and ethics runs hand in hand in the present scenario.
It's difficult not to be cynical about how “big business” treats the subject of ethics in today's world. In many corporations, where the only important value is the bottom line, most executives merely give lip service to living and operating their corporations ethically.
Ethics is a principle or a moral value every business should have. The way a business runs keeping in mind how the workers are being treated, how its products affect people and whether or not it’s is sustainable in the environment falls under
Business ethics is one of the most important aspects of business. It consists of the moral/underlying principles of conduct that must be practice...
A Discussion and Analysis Of some of his Contributions As Well as their Social, Political and Economic Impacts Since the Thirteen Colonies first united, the United States has had one of the strongest economies in the world. Over the years, many theorists have had varying opinions concerning the reason for this nation's strong economic standing. One reason that has often been overlooked is that a great many of this nation's workers have been influenced by the Protestant work ethic. The philosophy behind this work ethic has driven many workers to attain as much as possible at their jobs during their lifetimes. If one man were to be given credit for the development of the Protestant work ethic it would have to be Martin Luther. In the course of the next several pages this researcher will examine the ethic that has had such a great impact on the United State's economy and on the economies of other nations. It has been suggested by such writers as Weber and Smith that the Protestant work ethic first developed around the word "calling." Basically, this term has a religious connotation which is a task set by God. However, gradually this term was expanded to the point where it covered many of man's activities. During the Protestant Reformation, the term "calling" started to take on a new meaning. Fulfilling one's duty in worldly affairs became a task of extreme importance. gradually, fulfilling one's duty was not only important but it became the moral obligation of every individual (the highest form of moral activity). Before the Reformation, the Catholic Church did not believe that everyday world activities had a religious significance. As a result of Luther these world activities were quite important in adhering to God's wishes. Rather than devote one's life to worshipping God through prayer, and instead of sacrificing all worldly goods to follow Christ, the Protestants believed that the task of every person is to fulfill (to the best of his/her ability) their tasks on earth. This unique conception of the word "calling" was developed by Luther during his first active decade as a reformer. At first he believed, like many other theologians, that everyday world activities were activities of the flesh. Although these activities were willed by God, they were nonetheless morally neutral. However, gradually Luther began to protest against ...
Ethics as an invisible rule exists in our society, and it help us to examine what the right or wrong is. Ethics is not a law, but it seem like an invisible law to control everyone whose behavior. Business ethics always applies into trading or some competitors behaviors. According to the case, I have been catch up five points of ethical dilemmas for business ethics：
Incorporating ethics into everyday decisions in the business world can greatly reduce the scandalous behavior that has as of late has run ramped. Obviously, we have seen the results and consequences of business conducted absent any moral or ethical boundaries. When decisions are made without the consultation of ethics there is no direction from the moral compass and surely consequences will follow. Choices contemplated by managers may often seem difficult, but assessing the options against ethics can assist the manager in making the best decision.
For a company to be successful ethically, it must go beyond the notion of simple legal compliance and adopt a values-based organizational culture. A corporate code of ethics can be a very valuable and integral part of a company’s culture but I believe that it is not strong enough to stand alone. Thought and care must go into constructing the code of ethics and the implementation of it. Companies need to infuse ethics and integrity throughout their corporate culture as well as into their definition of success. To be successfully ethical, companies must go beyond the notion of simple legal compliance and adopt a values-based organizational culture.
In an organisation ethics are supposed to set standards as to what is the right thing to do in conduct and decision making however this is not always the case. Over the years different scandals have occurred which have shown that companies and in particular the people that run them are not at all ethical and only seek to maximize profits. Economical analysts throughout the years have suggested that the way to avoid such incidents is by either having a code of ethics along with ethics training or through strong ethical leadership.
The concept of business ethics refers to a set of guiding principles that encourage individuals in an organization to make decisions based on the company’s stated beliefs and attitudes toward business practices within its industry (Lisa McQuerrey., 2016). Ethical and Unethical business decisions have long been a predicament encountered by organisations, these practices are concerned with how the companies interact with the global business world, and to their one-on-one dealings with individuals (Garry Crystal, 2016.) The concept of ethics and social responsibility emerged into the business world in the early 1970s after the end of World War I, saw these organisations become more profit driven resulting in negative impacts on society at large.
Importance of ethics in the business world is superlative and global. New trends and issues arise on a daily basis which may create an important burden to organizations and end consumers. Nowadays, the need for proper ethical behavior within
As legal scholar and philosopher David Luban explains, “You can’t teach good judgment through general rules, because you already need judgment to know how rules apply. Judgment is therefore always and irredeemably particular” which means, ethics are not alone enough to make a legal organization. Though ethics are morally influences us lot it is needed. Ethics in business is very important because it affect not only to the employees and employers of the organizations but also to the whole society is affected by it. Though ethical organization can attract and keep investors it is not the only benefit of it. Investors can invest their valuable money peacefully with confident of their money is save. Employees know that they are not allowed with unethical behaviors and finally customers can buy products which are worth to the money they spend. Ultimately, one of the most difficult assets of the company, reputation, can be built through ethics very easily without wasting extra money on unnecessary promotional
Ethics are the driving force behind good business. Every ethical choice made by a professional can and will have a much different outcome than any unethical choice. Bad ethics can ruin many aspects of a business and as (Gaye-Anderson, 2007) states how quite easily the lives and professional reputation of the employees can even be severally damaged (para. 3). Everything from morale to motivation can be severely affected by poor ethical choices. Customers will take their business elsewhere. Employees will abandon ship. Other, competing businesses reap the benefits of the bad moral choices. Ultimately, the entire business can be brought down by one poor ethical choice.
In the business world there are many fundamental aspects and situations that can lead to several issues. In order to find an optimal and professional solution, business decision makers need to apply moral and ethical standards. And it is at that moment in which business ethics perform its role. Business ethics, which is in charge of examine how companies and individuals should act in business situations, is very essential in order to reach a common agreement and to work within the laws of business and solve an arisen dilemma. Working of the hand of ethical business companies, employees, investors, directors, and even individual officers can be beneficiated and obtain most favorable outcomes.
Business ethics are a set of moral rules that govern how a business operates, how people should be treated within an organization, and how business decisions are made. They are a crucial part of employment and in managing a sustainable business, mainly because of the serious consequences that can result from decisions made with a lack of regard to ethics. Even if you don’t believe that good ethics don’t contribute to profit levels, you should realize those poor ethics have a negative effect on your bottom line in the long-run. Every business in every industry has certain guidelines to which its employees must stick to, and regularly outline such aspects in employee handbooks.
It is said that in the workforce the struggle of control plays a major role, this is solely on the basis of work ethnic in one’s opinion. Many principles govern the organisation of work. Before elaborating further on this topic, it is important a clear explanation of work is given. As stated before work is now done on the basis of receiving an income only but of a broad nature. “Work is divided into two aspects, the first one being of a task-based activity and secondly on the notion of receiving an income”, (Watson 2008:2-3). In any workplace, work the organisation of work differs. Work organisation is determine by factors such as qualification, working conditions, type of work etc. but getting back to the topic on hand which is the problems of control of work in the workplace.