Business ethics

Business ethics is a branch of applied ethics. Ethics in business means the application of moral principles in commercial activities. Right livelihood is the key towards a balanced and successful life. Business should have a conscience like everything else. Man encounters many moral challenges in context with his moral responsibilities towards self and society, when actively engaged in commerce.

The term Business ethics takes a normative mode when considered in relation with corporate ethics. It is like social activism in corporate practices. In academics the same concept can be viewed from a descriptive point of view. Here it becomes an ethical theory with wide social implications. Ethical Business means a tremendous flexibility, which aligns with time and circumstance of different commercial practices, always looking for overall good with profit. Considerations of profit in business should not tamper over the basic ethical principles of life. Social values should go hand in hand with mans economic practices.

Corporate ethics came into its own as a way of doing business after nineteen eighty. Big businesses are now more focused non-commercial social work, charities, environment and humanitarian considerations Ethics became came to be incorporated in business studies around the same time to sensitive business mangers to social need.

Business ethics in the corporate culture comes with a very big package of moral principles. It can mean an entire philosophy of work. The lure of profit has to be sacrificed again and again for moral and social considerations. Big companies are constantly pitted against temptations because of their power quotient. Human greed is put to test in their day to day affairs.

Corporate social responsibility can be interpreted as the relationship of a company with the general public and its shareholders. This comes with a baggage of financial, legal, moral and social responsibilities. It requires an enterprise to be true to itself and work very hard for others. Competition between companies raises other moral question. Corporate espionage, hostile takeovers and unhealthy competition should be eliminated for healthy business practices and national growth.

Next comes the concept of corporate leadership. Companies are responsible towards the well being of their employees. There should be no exploitation of other human beings. Justice in terms of growth opportunities, working conditions and pay should be ensured. The public relations department of corporate should ensure no discrimination on the basis of gender, caste, age and religion. Employees should be given their due in terms of representation in company affairs. There are many laws in this regard.

Corporate responsibility comes with a humanitarian tag .There should be no gross misuse of ethical norms for profit in the marketing practices of a company. Charity should be genuine. Companies are also supposed to give back to society what they take from it. Money power can influence politics in a big way. The onus of appointing the right leaders and ensuring purity in politics falls on businessmen in many ways. History is replete with incidents of corporate crimes. The extent and nature of such incidences give us an idea of corporate power all over the world. Corporate crime and business abuse has ruined lives all over the globe from time to time.

Ethical considerations should be the norm in all business professions because money affects one and all. Business professionals can make a vast difference to the prosperity of society with clean practices. Some of the popular business professionals are managers, accountants, financial planners and analysts. Malpractices in terms of bribery, account manipulations, insider trading, kickbacks, trading and releasing misleading information for personal gain can have a terrible impact on society and economic health. Human life and property has been ruined from time to time due to frauds, financial scams and unethical business practices. There should be justice and fairness while drawing employment contracts. Balance of power between the employer and the employed is a must. Employee safety, healthy work environment, dignity, security, occupational safety, and proper working hours, adequate returns for work are the responsibility of all business houses. There are labour and employment laws in this regard all over the world.

Business ethics makes it imperative for companies to maintain quality and standard of products in their manufacturing practices. Companies should also adhere to ethical norms while marketing their products. This means right information and pricing. Media plays a big part in this field. Information should not be manipulated with money power, political influence and wrong advertising. It harms society, which is the ultimate consumer. Healthy competition between companies should be ensures through efficiency and frequent up gradation to benefit the consumer. It is unethical to produce and sell addictive and harmful products. Companies should be sensitive towards environmental issues like pollution and carbon emission before deciding on their manufacturing strategies. Human and animal rights should be taken into consideration before testing products. Technologies which are harmful to the environment should not be put to use for profit.

Another aspect of ethical business practices is in the assurance of proper intellectual rights to individuals and enterprises. Ownership of skill and know-how can be extremely difficult to identify. Copyright infringement, patent infringement, misuse of trademarks, employee raiding is commonly seen in industry circles. Sometimes talent is bought by companies to ensure monopoly.

Last but not the least, the world view of commercial activities raises ethical issues regarding international business practices. Technology has made the world very small, and nations can make a big impact on each other through their commercial behavior. The entire globe has become one big market. Universal values are being charted by business communities since the eighties. This is to create and maintain a healthy international climate. There are various fundamentals to ascertain responsible commercial behavior internationally. Religion, geography, culture and currency along with other differences have to be taken into consideration while making transactions across the borders. Globalization, child labour, human traffiking, humanitarianism, cultural imperialism, outsourcing of products and services and biopiracy are all aspects which have to be dealt with while talking about international business ethics.

To sum-up, business ethics can be seen from many angles. The angle of the company, employee, individual and society as a whole. Circumstances and situations can arise where there is a clash between the interests of different parties. These conflicts should be resolves ethically by keeping the larger good in mind.