Ethics in Management Practices

8/9/2019 Ethics in Management Practices

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JODHPUR NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, JODHPUR

A

Seminar Report

ON

Titled

ETHICS IN MANAGEMENT PRACTICES

Submitted in partial fulfillment for the

Award of degree of

Master of Business Administration

Submitted To

Mr. Vivek Rajpurohit

Submitted By

Tarun Soni

Ravishek Ramdev

Nishant Piyoosh

MBA Part II

Jodhpur Institute of Management(A Constituent of Jodhpur National University, Jodhpur)

2008-2010


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JODHPUR NATIONAL UNIVERSTIY, JODHPUR 2

CONTENTS

S. No Particular Page No.

1. INTRODUCTION 1

2. OVERVIEW OF ISSUES IN BUSINESS ETHICS 4

3. ETHICS IN DIFFERENT MANAGEMENT PRACTICES 5

4. OBJECTIVES OF ETHICS 9

5. 10 MYTHS ABOUT BUSINESS ETHICS 10

6. THEORETICAL ISSUES IN BUSINESS ETHICS 14

7. BUSINESS ETHICS IN THE CORPORATE FIELD 17

8. SOURCES OF ETHICAL NORMS 19

9. BENEFITS OF MANAGING ETHICS IN THE WORKPLACE 20

10. UNETHICAL MANAGEMENT 25

11. CONCLUSION 26

12. BIBLOGRAPHY 27


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INTRODUCTION

"What is Ethics?"

Simply put, ethics involves learning what is right or wrong, and then doing the right thing

-- but "the right thing" is not nearly as straightforward as conveyed in a great deal of

business ethics literature.

Ethics includes the fundamental ground rules by which we live our lives. Philosophers

have been discussing ethics for at least 2500 years, since the time of Socrates and

Plato. Many ethicists consider emerging ethical beliefs to be "state of the art" legal

matters, i.e., what becomes an ethical guideline today is often translated to a law,

regulation or rule tomorrow. Values which guide how we ought to behave are

considered moral values, e.g., values such as respect, honesty, fairness, responsibility,

etc. Statements around how these values are applied are sometimes called moral or

ethical principles.

So What is "Business Ethics"?

Business ethics is a form of applied ethics that examines ethical principles and moral

or ethical problems that arise in a business environment. It applies to all aspects of

business conduct and is relevant to the conduct of individuals and business

organizations as a whole. Applied ethics is a field of ethics that deals with ethical

questions in many fields such as medical, technical, legal and business ethics.

In the increasingly conscience-focused marketplaces of the 21st century, the demand

for more ethical business processes and actions (known as ethicism) is increasing.

Simultaneously, pressure is applied on industry to improve business ethics through new

public initiatives and laws (e.g. higher UK road tax for higher-emission vehicles).


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Businesses can often attain short-term gains by acting in an unethical fashion; however,

such behaviours tend to undermine the economy over time.

Business ethics can be both a normative and a descriptive discipline. As a corporate

practice and a career specialization, the field is primarily normative. In academia

descriptive approaches are also taken. The range and quantity of business ethical

issues reflects the degree to which business is perceived to be at odds with non-

economic social values. Historically, interest in business ethics accelerated dramatically

during the 1980s and 1990s, both within major corporations and within academia. For

example, today most major corporate websites lay emphasis on commitment to

promoting non-economic social values under a variety of headings (e.g. ethics codes,

social responsibility charters). In some cases, corporations have redefined their core

values in the light of business ethical considerations (e.g. BP's "beyond petroleum"

environmental tilt).


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3

Ethical Problem

Ethical

Problem

Societys

Expectations

of Business

Ethics

Actual

BusinessEthics

1950s Early 2000sTime

Business Ethics: Today Vs. Earlier Period


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OVERVIEW OF ISSUES IN BUSINESS ETHICS

GENERAL BUSINESS ETHICS

y Corporate social responsibility or CSR: an umbrella term under which the ethical

rights and duties existing between companies and society is debated.

y Issues regarding the moral rights and duties between a company and its

shareholders: fiduciary responsibility, stakeholder concept v. shareholder

concept.

y Ethical issues concerning relations between different companies: e.g. hostile

take-overs, industrial espionage.

y Leadership issues: corporate governance.

y Political contributions made by corporations.

y Law reform, such as the ethical debate over introducing a crime of corporate

manslaughter.

y The misuse of corporate ethics policies as marketing instruments.


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ETHICS IN DIFFERENT MANAGEMENT PRACTICES

ETHICS OF ACCOUNTING INFORMATION

y Creative accounting, earnings management, misleading financial analysis.

y Insider trading, securities fraud, bucket shops, forex scams: concerns (criminal)

manipulation of the financial markets.

y Executive compensation: concerns excessive payments made to corporate

CEO's and top management.

y Bribery, kickbacks, facilitation payments: while these may be in the (short-term)

interests of the company and its shareholders, these practices may be anti-

competitive or offend against the values of society.

ETHICS OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

The ethics of human resource management (HRM) covers those ethical issues arising

around the employer-employee relationship, such as the rights and duties owed

between employer and employee.

y Discrimination issues include discrimination on the bases of age (ageism),

gender, race, religion, disabilities, weight and attractiveness. See also:

affirmative action, sexual harassment.

y Issues arising from the traditional view of relationships between employers and

employees, also known as At-will employment.


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y Issues surrounding the representation of employees and the democratization of

the workplace: union busting, strike breaking.

y Issues affecting the privacy of the employee: workplace surveillance, drug

testing. See also: privacy.

y Issues affecting the privacy of the employer: whistle-blowing.

y Issues relating to the fairness of the employment contract and the balance of

power between employer and employee: slavery,[4] indentured servitude,

employment law.

y Occupational safety and health.

The entire above are also related to the hiring and firing of employees. An employee or

future employee cannot be hired or fired based on race, age, gender, religion, or any

other discriminatory act.

ETHICS OF SALES AND MARKETING

Marketing, which goes beyond the mere provision of information about (and access to)

a product, may seek to manipulate our values and behavior. To some extent society

regards this as acceptable, but where is the ethical line to be drawn? Marketing ethics

overlaps strongly with media ethics, because marketing makes heavy use of media.

However, media ethics is a much larger topic and extends outside business ethics.

y Pricing: price fixing, price discrimination, price skimming.

y Anti-competitive practices: these include but go beyond pricing tactics to cover

issues such as manipulation of loyalty and supply chains. See: anti-competitive

practices, antitrust law.


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y Specific marketing strategies: greenwash, bait and switch, shill, viral marketing,

spam (electronic), pyramid scheme, planned obsolescence.

y Content of advertisements: attack ads, subliminal messages, sex in advertising,

products regarded as immoral or harmful

y Children and marketing: marketing in schools.

y Black markets, grey markets.

ETHICS OF PRODUCTION

This area of business ethics deals with the duties of a company to ensure that products

and production processes do not cause harm. Some of the more acute dilemmas in this

area arise out of the fact that there is usually a degree of danger in any product or

production process and it is difficult to define a degree of permissibility, or the degree of

permissibility may depend on the changing state of preventative technologies or

changing social perceptions of acceptable risk.

y Defective, addictive and inherently dangerous products and services (e.g.

tobacco, alcohol, weapons, motor vehicles, chemical manufacturing, bungee

jumping).

y Ethical relations between the company and the environment: pollution,

environmental ethics, carbon emissions trading

y Ethical problems arising out of new technologies: genetically modified food,

mobile phone radiation and health.

y Product testing ethics: animal rights and animal testing, use of economically

disadvantaged groups (such as students) as test objects.


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ETHICS OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

Knowledge and skills are valuable but not easily "ownable" as objects. Nor is it obvious

who has the greater rights to an idea: the company who trained the employee, or the

employee themselves? The country in which the plant grew or the company which

discovered and developed the plant's medicinal potential? As a result, attempts to

assert ownership and ethical disputes over ownership arise.

y

Patent infringement, copyright infringement, trademark infringement.

y Misuse of the intellectual property systems to stifle competition: patent misuse,

copyright misuse, patent troll, submarine patent.

y Even the notion of intellectual property itself has been criticised on ethical

grounds: see intellectual property.

y Employee raiding: the practice of attracting key employees away from a

competitor to take unfair advantage of the knowledge or skills they may possess.

y The practice of employing all the most talented people in a specific field,

regardless of need, in order to prevent any competitors employing them.

y Bioprospecting (ethical) and biopiracy (unethical).

y Business intelligence and industrial espionage.


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OBJECTIVES OF ETHICS

Study of human behavior and makes evaluative assessment about moral or

immoral.

Establishes moral standards and norms of behaviour.

Makes judgment upon human behavior based on these standards and norms.

Prescribes moral behaviour and makes recommendations about how to or hownot to behave.

Expresses an opinion or attitude about human contact in general.


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10 MYTHS ABOUT BUSINESS ETHICS

Business ethics in the workplace is about prioritizing moral values for the workplace and

ensuring behaviours are aligned with those values -- it's values management. Yet,

myths abound about business ethics. Some of these myths arise from general

confusion about the notion of ethics. Other myths arise from narrow or simplistic views

of ethical dilemmas.

1. Myth: Business ethics is more a matter of religion than management.

Diane Kirrane, in "Managing Values: A Systematic Approach to Business

Ethics,"(Training and Development Journal, November 1990), asserts that

"altering people's values or souls isn't the aim of an organizational ethics

program -- managing values and conflict among them is ..."

2. Myth: Our employees are ethical so we don't need attention to business ethics.

Most of the ethical dilemmas faced by managers in the workplace are

highly complex. Wallace explains that one knows when they have a significant

ethical conflict when there is presence of a) significant value conflicts among

differing interests, b) real alternatives that are equality justifiable, and c)

significant consequences on "stakeholders" in the situation. Kirrane mentions

that when the topic of business ethics comes up, people are quick to speak of the

Golden Rule, honesty and courtesy. But when presented with complex ethical

dilemmas, most people realize there's a wide "gray area" when trying to apply

ethical principles.


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3. Myth: Business ethics is a discipline best led by philosophers, academics and

theologians.

Lack of involvement of leaders and managers in business ethics literature

and discussions has led many to believe that business ethics is a fad or

movement, having little to do with the day-to-day realities of running an

organization. They believe business ethics is primarily a complex philosophical

debate or a religion. However, business ethics is a management discipline with a

programmatic approach that includes several practical tools. Ethics management

programs have practical applications in other areas of management areas, as

well. (These applications are listed later on in this document.)

4. Myth: Business ethics is superfluous -- it only asserts the obvious: "do good!"

Many people react that codes of ethics, or lists of ethical values to which

the organization aspires, are rather superfluous because they represent values to

which everyone should naturally aspire. However, the value of a codes of ethics

to an organization is its priority and focus regarding certain ethical values in that

workplace. For example, its obvious that all people should be honest. However,

if an organization is struggling around continuing occasions of deceit in the

workplace, a priority on honesty is very timely -- and honesty should be listed in

that organizations code of ethics. Note that a code of ethics is an organic

instrument that changes with the needs of society and the organization.

5. Myth: Business ethics is a matter of the good guys preaching to the bad guys.

Some writers do seem to claim a moral high ground while lamenting the

poor condition of business and its leaders. However, those people well versed in

managing organizations realize that good people can take bad actions,

particularly when stressed or confused. (Stress or confusion are not excuses for

unethical actions -- they are reasons.) Managing ethics in the workplace includes


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all of us working together to help each other remain ethical and to work through

confusing and stressful ethical dilemmas.

6. Myth: Business ethics in the new policeperson on the block.

Many believe business ethics is a recent phenomenon because of

increased attention to the topic in popular and management literature. However,

business ethics was written about even 2,000 years ago -- at least since Cicero

wrote about the topic in his On Duties. Business ethics has gotten more attention

recently because of the social responsibility movement that started in the 1960s.

7. Myth: Ethics can't be managed.

Actually, ethics is always "managed" -- but, too often, indirectly. For

example, the behavior of the organization's founder or current leader is a strong

moral influence, or directive if you will, on behavior or employees in the

workplace. Strategic priorities (profit maximization, expanding marketshare,

cutting costs, etc.) can be very strong influences on morality. Laws, regulations

and rules directly influence behaviors to be more ethical, usually in a manner that

improves the general good and/or minimizes harm to the community. Some are

still skeptical about business ethics, believing you can't manage values in an

organization. Donaldson and Davis (Management Decision, V28, N6) note that

management, after all, is a value system. Skeptics might consider the

tremendous influence of several "codes of ethics," such as the "10

Commandments" in Christian religions or the U.S. Constitution. Codes can be

very powerful in smaller "organizations" as well.

8. Myth: Business ethics and social responsibility are the same thing.

The social responsibility movement is one aspect of the overall discipline

of business ethics. Madsen and Shafritz refine the definition of business ethics to

be:


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1. an application of ethics to the corporate community,

2. a way to determine responsibility in business dealings,

3. the identification of important business and social issues, and

4. a critique of business.

Items 3 and 4 are often matters of social responsibility. (There has been a great

deal of public discussion and writing about items 3 and 4. However, there needs

to be more written about items 1 and 2, about how business ethics can be

managed.) Writings about social responsibility often do not address practical

matters of managing ethics in the workplace, e.g., developing codes, updating

polices and procedures, approaches to resolving ethical dilemmas, etc.

9. Myth: Our organization is not in trouble with the law, so we're ethical.

One can often be unethical, yet operate within the limits of the law, e.g.,

withhold information from superiors, fudge on budgets, constantly complain about

others, etc. However, breaking the law often starts with unethical behavior that

has gone unnoticed. The "boil the frog" phenomena is a useful parable here: If

you put a frog in hot water, it immediately jumps out. If you put a frog in cool

water and slowly heat up the water, you can eventually boil the frog. The frogdoesn't seem to notice the adverse change in its environment.

10. Myth: Managing ethics in the workplace has little practical relevance.

Managing ethics in the workplace involves identifying and prioritizing

values to guide behaviors in the organization, and establishing associated

policies and procedures to ensure those behaviors are conducted. One might call

this "values management." Values management is also highly important in other

management practices, e.g., managing diversity, Total Quality Management and

strategic planning.


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THEORETICAL ISSUES IN BUSINESS ETHICS

CONFLICTING INTERESTS

Business ethics can be examined from various perspectives, including the perspective

of the employee, the commercial enterprise, and society as a whole. Very often,

situations arise in which there is conflict between one or more of the parties, such that

serving the interest of one party is a detriment to the other(s). For example, a particular

outcome might be good for the employee, whereas, it would be bad for the company,

society, or vice versa. Some ethicists (e.g., Henry Sidgwick) see the principal role of

ethics as the harmonization and reconciliation of conflicting interests.

ETHICAL ISSUES AND APPROACHES

Philosophers and others disagree about the purpose of a business ethic in society. For

example, some suggest that the principal purpose of a business is to maximize returns

to its owners, or in the case of a publicly-traded concern, its shareholders. Thus, under

this view, only those activities that increase profitability and shareholder value should be

encouraged, because any others function as a tax on profits. Some believe that the only

companies that are likely to survive in a competitive marketplace are those that place

profit maximization above everything else. However, some point out that self-interest

would still require a business to obey the law and adhere to basic moral rules, because

the consequences of failing to do so could be very costly in fines, loss of licensure, or

company reputation. The noted economist Milton Friedman was a leading proponent of

this view.

Some take the position that organizations are not capable of moral agency. Under this,

ethical behavior is required of individual human beings, but not of the business or

corporation.


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Other theorists contend that a business has moral duties that extend well beyond

serving the interests of its owners or stockholders, and that these duties consist of more

than simply obeying the law. They believe a business has moral responsibilities to so-

called stakeholders, people who have an interest in the conduct of the business, which

might include employees, customers, vendors, the local community, or even society as

a whole. Stakeholders can also be broken down into primary and secondary

stakeholders. Primary stakeholders are people that are affected directly such as

stockholders, where secondary stakeholders are people who are not affected directly

such as the government. They would say that stakeholders have certain rights with

regard to how the business operates, and some would suggest that this includes even

rights of governance.

Some theorists have adapted social contract theory to business, whereby companies

become quasi-democratic associations, and employees and other stakeholders are

given voice over a company's operations. This approach has become especially popular

subsequent to the revival of contract theory in political philosophy, which is largely due

to John Rawls'A TheoryofJustice, and the advent of the consensus-oriented approach

to solving business problems, an aspect of the "quality movement" that emerged in the

1980s. Professors Thomas Donaldson and Thomas Dunfee proposed a version of

contract theory for business, which they call Integrative Social Contracts Theory. They

posit that conflicting interests are best resolved by formulating a "fair agreement"

between the parties, using a combination of i) macro-principles that all rational people

would agree upon as universal principles, and, ii) micro-principles formulated by actual

agreements among the interested parties. Critics say the proponents of contract

theories miss a central point, namely, that a business is someone's property and not a

mini-state or a means of distributing social justice.

Ethical issues can arise when companies must comply with multiple and sometimes

conflicting legal or cultural standards, as in the case of multinational companies that

operate in countries with varying practices. The question arises, for example, ought a


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company to obey the laws of its home country, or should it follow the less stringent laws

of the developing country in which it does business? To illustrate, United States law

forbids companies from paying bribes either domestically or overseas; however, in other

parts of the world, bribery is a customary, accepted way of doing business. Similar

problems can occur with regard to child labor, employee safety, work hours, wages,

discrimination, and environmental protection laws.

It is sometimes claimed that a Gresham's law of ethics applies in which bad ethical

practices drive out good ethical practices. It is claimed that in a competitive business

environment, those companies that survive are the ones that recognize that their only

role is to maximize profits.


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BUSINESS ETHICS IN THE FIELD

CORPORATE ETHICS POLICIES

As part of more comprehensive compliance and ethics programs, many companies

have formulated internal policies pertaining to the ethical conduct of employees. These

policies can be simple exhortations in broad, highly-generalized language (typically

called a corporate ethics statement), or they can be more detailed policies, containing

specific behavioral requirements (typically called corporate ethics codes). They are

generally meant to identify the company's expectations of workers and to offer guidance

on handling some of the more common ethical problems that might arise in the course

of doing business. It is hoped that having such a policy will lead to greater ethical

awareness, consistency in application, and the avoidance of ethical disasters.

An increasing number of companies also require employees to attend seminars

regarding business conduct, which often include discussion of the company's policies,

specific case studies, and legal requirements. Some companies even require their

employees to sign agreements stating that they will abide by the company's rules of

conduct.

Many companies are assessing the environmental factors that can lead employees to

engage in unethical conduct. A competitive business environment may call for unethical

behavior. Lying has become expected in fields such as trading. Examples of this are the

issues surrounding the unethical actions of the Saloman Brothers.

Not everyone supports corporate policies that govern ethical conduct. Some claim that

ethical problems are better dealt with by depending upon employees to use their own

judgment.


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Others believe that corporate ethics policies are primarily rooted in utilitarian concerns,

and that they are mainly to limit the company's legal liability, or to curry public favor by

giving the appearance of being a good corporate citizen. Ideally, the company will avoid

a lawsuit because its employees will follow the rules.

Sometimes there is disconnection between the company's code of ethics and the

company's actual practices. Thus, whether or not such conduct is explicitly sanctioned

by management, at worst, this makes the policy duplicitous, and, at best, it is merely a

marketing tool.

To be successful, most ethicists would suggest that an ethics policy should be:

y Given the unequivocal support of top management, by both word and example.

y Explained in writing and orally, with periodic reinforcement.

y Doable....something employees can both understand and perform.

y Backed up by clearly stated consequences in the case of disobedience.

y Remain neutral and non-sexist.

RELIGIOUS VIEWS ON BUSINESS ETHICS

The historical and global importance of religious views on business ethics is sometimes

underestimated in standard introductions to business ethics. Particularly in Asia and the

Middle East, religious and cultural perspectives have a strong influence on the conduct

of business and the creation of business values.

Examples include:

y Islamic banking, associated with the avoidance of charging interest on loans.

y Traditional Confucian disapproval of the profit-seeking motive.

y Quaker testimony on fair dealing.

y


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SOURCES OF ETHICAL NORMS

THE

INDIVIDUAL

CONSCIENCE


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BENEFITS OF MANAGING ETHICS IN THE WORKPLACE

Many people are used to reading or hearing of the moral benefits of attention to

business ethics. However, there are other types of benefits, as well. The following list

describes various types of benefits from managing ethics in the workplace.

1. Attention to business ethics has substantially improved society.

A matter of decades ago, children in our country worked 16-hour days.

Workers limbs were torn off and disabled workers were condemned to poverty

and often to starvation. Trusts controlled some markets to the extent that prices

were fixed and small businesses choked out. Price fixing crippled normal market

forces. Employees were terminated based on personalities. Influence was

applied through intimidation and harassment. Anti-trust laws were instituted.

Government agencies were established. Unions were organized. Laws and

regulations were established.

2. Ethics programs help maintain a moral course in turbulent times.

As noted earlier in this document, Wallace and Pekel explain that attention

to business ethics is critical during times of fundamental change -- times much

like those faced now by businesses, either non-profit or for-profit. During times of

change, there is often no clear moral compass to guide leaders through complex

conflicts about what is right or wrong.

3. Ethics programs cultivate strong teamwork and productivity.

Ethics programs align employee behaviors with those top priority ethical

values preferred by leaders of the organization. Usually, an organization finds

surprising disparity between its preferred values and the values actually reflected


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by behaviors in the workplace. Ongoing attention and dialogue regarding values

in the workplace builds openness, integrity and community -- critical ingredients

of strong teams in the workplace. Employees feel strong alignment between their

values and those of the organization. They react with strong motivation and

performance.

4.Ethics programs support employee growth and meaning

Attention to ethics in the workplace helps employees face reality, both

good and bad -- in the organization and themselves. Employees feel full

confidence they can admit and deal with whatever comes their way. Bennett, in

his article "Unethical Behavior, Stress Appear Linked" (Wall Street Journal, April

11, 1991, p. B1), explained that a consulting company tested a range of

executives and managers. Their most striking finding: the more emotionally

healthy executives, as measured on a battery of tests, the more likely they were

to score high on ethics tests.

5.Ethics programs are an insurance policy -- they help ensure that policies are

legal

There is an increasing number of lawsuits in regard to personnel matters

and to effects of an organizations services or products on stakeholders. As

mentioned earlier in this document, ethical principles are often state-of-the-art

legal matters. These principles are often applied to current, major ethical issues

to become legislation. Attention to ethics ensures highly ethical policies and

procedures in the workplace. Its far better to incur the cost of mechanisms to

ensure ethical practices now than to incur costs of litigation later. A major intent

of well-designed personnel policies is to ensure ethical treatment of employees,

e.g., in matters of hiring, evaluating, disciplining, firing, etc. Drake and Drake

(California Management Review, V16, pp. 107-123) note that an employer can

be subject to suit for breach of contract for failure to comply with any promise it


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made, so the gap between stated corporate culture and actual practice has

significant legal, as well as ethical implications.

6. Ethics programs help avoid criminal acts of omission and can lower fines.

Ethics programs tend to detect ethical issues and violations early on so

they can be reported or addressed. In some cases, when an organization is

aware of an actual or potential violation and does not report it to the appropriate

authorities, this can be considered a criminal act, e.g., in business dealings with

certain government agencies, such as the Defense Department. The recent

Federal Sentencing Guidelines specify major penalties for various types of major

ethics violations. However, the guidelines potentially lowers fines if an

organization has clearly made an effort to operate ethically.

7. Ethics programs help manage values associated with quality management,

strategic planning and diversity management -- this benefit needs far more

attention.

Ethics programs identify preferred values and ensuring organizational

behaviors are aligned with those values. This effort includes recording the

values, developing policies and procedures to align behaviors with preferred

values, and then training all personnel about the policies and procedures. This

overall effort is very useful for several other programs in the workplace that

require behaviors to be aligned with values, including quality management,

strategic planning and diversity management. Total Quality Management

includes high priority on certain operating values, e.g., trust among stakeholders,

performance, reliability, measurement, and feedback. Eastman and Polaroid use

ethics tools in their quality programs to ensure integrity in their relationships with

stakeholders. Ethics management techniques are highly useful for managing

strategic values, e.g., expand marketshare, reduce costs, etc. McDonnell

Douglas integrates their ethics programs into their strategic planning process.


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Ethics management programs are also useful in managing diversity. Diversity is

much more than the color of peoples skin -- its acknowledging different values

and perspectives. Diversity programs require recognizing and applying diverse

values and perspectives -- these activities are the basis of a sound ethics

management program.

8.Ethics programs promote a strong public image.

Attention to ethics is also strong public relations -- admittedly, managing

ethics should not be done primarily for reasons of public relations. But, frankly,

the fact that an organization regularly gives attention to its ethics can portray a

strong positive to the public. People see those organizations as valuing people

more than profit, as striving to operate with the utmost of integrity and honor.

Aligning behavior with values is critical to effective marketing and public relations

programs. Ethical values, consistently applied, are the cornerstones in building a

commercially successful and socially responsible business.

9. Overall benefits of ethics programs:

Managing ethical values in the workplace legitimizes managerial actions,

strengthens the coherence and balance of the organizations culture, improves

trust in relationships between individuals and groups, supports greater

consistency in standards and qualities of products, and cultivates greater

sensitivity to the impact of the enterprises values and messages.

10.Last - and most -- formal attention to ethics in the workplace is the right thing

to do.


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OTHER BENEFITS:

There are numerous benefits in formally managing ethics as a program, rather than

as a one-shot effort when it appears to be needed. Ethics programs:

Establish organizational roles to manage ethics

Schedule ongoing assessment of ethics requirements

Establish required operating values and behaviours

Align organizational behaviors with operating values

Develop awareness and sensitivity to ethical issues

Integrate ethical guidelines to decision making

Structure mechanisms to resolving ethical dilemmas

Facilitate ongoing evaluation and updates to the program

Help convince employees that attention to ethics is not just a knee-jerk reaction

done to get out of trouble or improve public image


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UNETHICAL MANAGEMENT

Corrupt or unethical practices within and between individuals or enterprises are a

serious issue. They pose the risk that services will be provided under unfavorable

conditions, and/or that services will not be of the optimal, or even required,

quality.

Unethical Behavior in Organization by individuals

Lying

Greed

Free-riding

Employee crime

White collar crime

Fraud

Sexual harassment

Bribery


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CONCLUSION

1. As we have seen the different aspects of Ethics in Business Practices but in real

life it is the subject of only theory.

2. In practice, ethics are never used in any organisation.

3. Ethics is only historical and hypothetical things.

4. Business system as a subsystem to the social system should promote ethics for

improving health and wealth of the society consistently.

5. Codes of conduct, pledges of morality and other ethical charters have been with

us from the beginning of time, yet there are humans who adopt lives by these

codes knowing full well that others may not.

In the end, it may be up to the public to make sure that a company adheres to

correct business ethics. If the company is making large amounts of money, they may

not wish to pay too close attention to their ethical behavior. There are many companies

that pride themselves in their correct business ethics, but in this competitive world, they

are becoming very few and far between.


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BIBLOGRAPHY

1. R.V. Badi and N.V. Badi, Management by Values, Himalaya Publication, New

Delhi

2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethics

3. http://managementhelp.org/ethics/ethxgde.htm

4. http://www.enotes.com/business-finance-encyclopedia/ethics-management

5. http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-217450482.html

6. http://web-miner.com/busethics.html

7. http://www.imanet.org/about_ethics_statement.asp

8. http://www.enotes.com/business-finance-encyclopedia/ethics-management

9. http://managementhelp.org/ethics/ethxgde.htm

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