Section A
Question one: Explain the importance of ethics and values in business sustainability?
Introduction:
Ethics is concerned with what is good for individuals and the society according to (BBC ethics 2014). Ethics in general builds a person’s character which is portrayed by his/her behaviour. Business ethics can be defined as a way of which people and institutions should behave in the world of commerce. Most businesses are profit driven and by examining constraints or profit for self-interest when the actions of individuals or firms affect others most according to (Chris MacDonald 2014). Business ethics can also be defined as a culture which is practised within a business which enables a business to make decisions and actions which are according to the principles of an organisation. Business ethics are important as they define the morals and behaviours of an organisation (Nieuwenhuizen and Oosthuizen T.F.J. (ed) 2014:93).
Academics and business leaders have an agreement with certain issues with regards to business ethics in South Africa. It states that South Africa is shedding the racist apartheid legacy that has held South Africa from uniting and that South Africa is growing in to a democratic country where rights of individuals are protected. Issues of business ethics are of a normative kind which shows that academic discipline is still in its early stages of development (G.J. Rossouw 1997). Businesses have codes of ethics which are formally written to guide employees on how to behave within a business which mostly consists of normative ethics for guidelines (Schwartz, 2005).
There has been international debates surrounding the role of businesses in the apartheid South Africa, were an important driver of the growing cor...
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...e’, viewed 22 April 2014, from: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10551-009-0293-8
• Rossouw, G.T, 1997, `Business Ethics in South Africa’, viewed 22 April 2014, from: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A%3A1005858930223
• Sabine Sczesny, Jane Basak, Denial Neff, Birgit Schyns, 2005, `Gender Stereotypes and the Attribution of Leadership Traits: A Cross-cultural Companies, viewed 25 April 2014, from: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11199-004-0715-0
• Tommi P. Auvinen, Anna-Maija Lämsä, Teppo Sintonen, Tuomo Takala, 2013, `Leadership Manipulation and Ethics in Storytelling’, viewed 3 May 2014, from: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10551-012-1454-8
• Trainingzone, Importance of Leadership Effectiveness, viewed 4 May 2014, from: http://www.trainingzone.co.uk/blogs/sudhakarprabu/blog-sudhakar-i-prabu/importance-leadership-effectiveness
Ethics is discovered by a Greek philosopher named Socrates, he viewed ethics as knowledge as the right reasons to make during any situation supported by the right reasons. Ethics is how an individual behaves, it is also the standards of behavior which can promote human welfare and also ‘The Good’, this extends to animal welfare, the physical environment and how an individual serve human welfare. Ethics is also how we treat one another and even the people we don’t really know like strangers etc. What ethics is not? Ethics is not feelings and not what other people do. While business carry an almost similar concept from ethics but in the field of business. It’s how we behave in the field of business as business men and women. Business ethics is
Kirkpatrick, S. A., & Locke, E. A. (2001). Leadership: Do traits Matter? Academy of Management Executive,5,, 48-60.
Business ethics are moral principles on how a business should behave. Law regulations play a crucial factor in business and generally a business should establish a trust relationship by taking into consideration the needs of stakeholders, shareholders and the government. (http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/anglo-american/business-ethics-and-corporate-social-responsibility/what-are-business-ethics.html#ixzz2z4gH4Vl9)
Turner, Rebecca A. "Leadership Success: Does Personality Matter?" Leadership Success: Does Personality Matter? (n.d.): n. pag. Web. 16 June 2014.
The over-reaching question however is what is ethics? Ethics is defined as, an area of study that deals with ideas about what is good and bad behavior: a branch of philosophy dealing with what is morally right or wrong (Merriam-Webster, n.d.). Granted this a rather broad definition. However, ethics are the cornerstone upon which businesses must be built on.
Business ethics simply can be defined as the application of business values in the business practice of a company (Seawell 2010, p. 2). For a multinational company, business ethics is one of the critical aspects need to be taken into account in business decision-making processes. Failure to give attention on ethics may bring consequences on company’s reputation (Meyer & Jebe 2010, p. 159). The company is expected not only to pursue its own profits but also contributing to the environmental and social welfare of the community where it operates (Svensson & Wood 2008, p. 308).
Business ethics has to do with the ethical behaviour and decisions of the entire organisation as a whole. This means that the decision to behave or act ethically is a moral one. Decision making that happens within a business is made by individuals or groups that need to make the decision on whether or not to act ethically, this may mean avoiding a decision that could produce the most profit for the organization because it is unethical and does not uphold the values of the organization or business.
Business ethics is described by means of studying how terms are connected with ethics used in relation to business. So business ethics invites us to take into consideration what right and wrong consist of in relation to business activity; about your goodness and badness associated with specific business situations; concerning the rights, responsibilities, obligations and duties that have to govern business relationships; in what a fair distribution from the benefits and burdens associated with business activity might contain; and about what takes its virtuous business or a virtuous business person (Fryer, 2015).
Business ethics are moral principles that distinguishes right from wrong and help determines an individual’s action as well as guide the way a business behaves. Oxford Dictionary of Economics definition of business ethics states it as ‘the study of what standards business should observe in their dealings over and above the compliance with the letter of law’. From this, it can be assumed that following the law, although a key starting point, might not be enough in order to behave ethically but it might be require to give up some business interests. Business try to meet this demand by setting out their core values and standards in their own statement of Business Principles. As well as this, many companies have created voluntary codes of practice that regulate practices in their industrial sector. These codes are drawn up in consultation with governments, employees, local communities and other stakeholders.
By definition, ethics refers to "a set of principles of right conduct." It is also defined as "the rules or standards governing the conduct of a person or the members of a profession," (www.thefreedictionary.com) and in business may be considered the standards governing the conduct of people in the business environment. Business ethics is the behavior that a business adheres to in its daily dealings with the world. It relies on values as a way of guiding behaviour in business.
Business ethics defines how a company integrates core values - such as honesty, trust, respect, and fairness - into its policies, practices, and decision-making. Business ethics is, in part, the attempt to think clearly and deeply about ethical issues in business and to arrive at conclusions that are supported by the strongest possible arguments. Ethical principles are the rules of conduct that derive from ethical values. For example, honesty is a value that governs behavior in the form of principles such as: tell the truth, don’t deceive, and don’t cheat.
Ethics are the morals principles that we obtain through various means, such as religion, culture, etc., that people live by. Values are the way we feel about honesty, wrong-doing, etc. Ethics and values help determine the way employees and members of the business should act and how they should act to show how what the business stands for. The business has a number of ways in which it helps employees can use ethics and values to show the importance in business sustainability.
Business ethics is described as the study of how personal values and principles are applied in a business situation.
‘Business ethics can be defined as written or unwritten codes of principles or values that govern decisions and actions in the organisation’ (Nieuwenhuizen & Oosthuizen, Ed, 2014:93). Business ethics therefore attempt to outline the responsibilities and ethical duties of organisations, whereas ethics, in general, are concerned with what is moral and right for the society (Sustaining business ethics, n.d.)
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.