By: Todd Long
Submitted: 2010-05-05 13:35:03 | Word Count: 439
Business ethics are standards that are applied to examine certain behaviors in business processes of corporations. Companies are held accountable if they do no follow ethical guidelines in terms of societal welfare, environmental benefits and other ethical values. The companies that do not have any sense of responsibility about their societies are considered as unethical companies. When it comes to societal welfare, there is a term named corporate social responsibility (CSR), it is often observed that people are more diverted to those organizations that opt for sustainable development considering the society’s benefits is what ethical. Through this kind of ethical decisions people also appreciate the company’s efforts and become more loyal towards it. Some corporations take decisions that have short term profits but in the end, there are only sufferings that companies have to face. Through unethical things companies can have a profit in short term but that is not sustainable and results in loss of sales as well as reputation. Because of the cultural diversity there are a lot of other ethical issues rising in corporations today, one of the most important issues is discrimination and others are occupational segregation, racism, gender biasness.
If a company wants to take ethics seriously, it needs to identify core values and then translate those values into guidance for all employees on how to act responsibly in all circumstances. Usually company uses 'ethical code' and 'code of conduct’ interchangeably. However, a code of conduct usually address to employees about general issues. It usually provides guidance and sets out restrictions on different behaviors. A code of ethics starts by setting out values that underpin the code of conduct and will describe a company's obligation to its stakeholders ("Institute of Business Ethics", n.d.).
Today, there is hardly any room for mediocrity in the corporate environment. To survive in the present economic market, it is turning inevitable for the corporate sector to explore and incorporate more creative and flexible human resource plans in order to increment profitability and achieve stability. Corporate ethics is being seen as a vital step in this direction. Good ethics make a good leader company. The word leader itself implies very extraordinary style and power displayed and achieved. Leadership qualities along with ethics are an essential prerequisite for a leading corporation. It is this quality which gives it a reputation by which it is recognized. Since it bears the welfare of its country and organization at heart, it also criticizes the wrong policies that prevail.
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sses can increase their profit margins by showing a true account of their activities in various ways (Okuto, 45).
