Business Ethics and Their Role in Organizational Development

Business Ethics and their role in Organizational Development Brett Ballesteros National University In business today there are many different forms of operation and ways of achieving a successful firm. Organizational behaviors are key to insuring a business withstands the test of time and does so through the individual employees that are the foundation to firms around the world. These individuals must live and work by a set of ethics that the company and their everyday lives have instilled in them. Ethics can either make or break a company through employees application of this concept in the workplace.

Ethics can be defined as a “moral philosophy involving systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior” (Fieser, 2003). In business, these ethics need to reflect the ideology and morals a company is built upon through the individuals and groups that represent a firm. The code of ethics for any business is put in place to ensure that their position on integrity and conduct are not compromised. A business must maintain a certain level of integrity in order to be trusted not only by consumers, but its employees as well, as this is the cornerstone for corporate relationships.

This code of ethics is typically based on the basic principles of right and wrong, whereas the individual must be able to differentiate between the two when formulating decisions that will directly affect the companies integrity. These decisions may not be entirely clear due to the nature and uniqueness to the different possible situations that may arise. Business ethics are there to make sure the business itself is governing good behavior. That’s why there are certain laws to prevent companies from over-working employees, or making sure children are not working for them as well.

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When companies use business ethics, it gives them a chance to show their morals. Every company should have a set of morals that they conduct their business by. Having these moral beliefs in a company gives the business something to set the rules by. It makes it much easier for managers employees to make their decisions based on their set of business ethics because that way they have a set of morals they can abide by when handling business decision-making. “Consequential theories of ethics emphasize the consequences or results of behavior.

John Stuart Mill’s utilitarianism, a well-known consequential theory, suggests that right and wrong are determined by the consequences of the action. “Good” is the ultimate moral value, and we should maximize the most good for the greatest number of people” (Nelson & Quick, 2012). It’s only obvious that good business ethics include having good moral as is. No one person wants to work for a company that they fell has bad morals. According to the company, Levi Strauss & Co. they set their business ethics up to: honesty, promise-keeping, fairness, respect for others, compassion, and integrity.

They state, “As we seek to achieve responsible commercial success, we will be challenged to balance these principles against each other, always mindful of our promise to shareholders, that we will achieve responsible commercial success” (Stillman). A smart business knows that it must set ethics, character, and personal integrity inside each of its employees. This way each employee knows what is expected of them and that they are comfortable in their workplace. Not every job that I have attained has had good business ethics, but the ones that do are the ones that have stuck with me.

If the employer treats their employee right it can only reap great reward. If an employee loves working for their company they are going to want that business to succeed, so they will promote the place and receive more sales that way. When it comes down to it, every person wants to work for a company who has great morals. Whether people actually abide by these “good” morals in life, they always tend to want to find a company who will keep these business ethics in mind. Good business ethics plainly mean that the people working there are going to have good morals.

Having good business ethics means the company is going to receive trust of their employees which is going to build business partners and clients alike. In order for companies to attract and retain valuable employees, good ethic treatment is necessary. Every company has a code that they set their ethics to, and as long as they abide by those codes they are going to have people who are willing to work hard for them, also when these employees work hard it makes sense that the company should provide ethic praise.

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