247E-Book Lecture: Lesson On Ethics

DEFINATION OF ETHICS



Ethics is what is right or wrong or moral. Firm should be careful in d way they are carrying out business so to be sure they do it ethically.

Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong conduct.


Examples of Business Ethics

Cheating the Company

A solid ethics policy should clearly outline the procedure employees should follow if they need to take time off, leave early or start late.
If you don't spell out these procedures, employees might be tempted to handle these matters on their own. They might claim to be meeting a client at the end of the workday when instead they are leaving early to catch a ballgame on TV. They might claim to be at a workshop for the first half of the day when instead they are sneaking in some extra sleep.
Make sure your ethics policy contains a provision telling your employees how they can request time off even for personal matters.
Open communication is a far better alternative than the sneaking around required when employees try to cloak the reasons for their late starts or absences.

Working With Clients

Your ethics policy also should make it clear that your workers must treat clients and customers fairly and honestly. This means prohibiting employees from lying to potential clients or providing them with misleading information.
Employees shouldn't hide the true price of a service, policy or product in an effort to trick customers into signing up. They also shouldn't promise more than their service or product can deliver. Employees should never bully or harass potential clients. Your ethics policy should state how often your workers can contact potential customers, at what times of the day and what exactly they can and cannot say during their conversations.


Abusive Behavior

Any effective ethics policy forbids abusive behaviour in your workplace. This kind of behaviour can take many forms. Employees might engage in sexual harassment, bully other workers, tell inappropriate or offensive jokes, display pornography on their computer screens or steal from co-workers or the company. Your ethics policy must explicitly state that all such actions are forbidden at work. It also needs to spell out the punishments or repercussions of such actions.

Undue Credit

Some employees might try to rise in your company by taking credit for work that others employees actually performed. This can have a negative impact on morale if it goes unquestioned. Make sure your ethics policy prohibits this behaviour, too. Take seriously employee complaints that their fellow workers are stealing their ideas or taking credit for the reports, proposals or sales they complete.


Source of Ethics
Law
Interest
Rationality
Religion
Right
Relationship
Pain and pleasure
Professional code of conduct
Culture
Character

Why practising Ethics?
- Because the owner want it that way
- It helps to attract more investor (shareholder)
- It helps to attract more employees
- It help to attract more consumers
- Profitability
- A higher moral within your employees and the organization
- It builds higher customer loyalty
- It reduces the risk of negative press or backlash caused by doing “the wrong” things
- It helps to make a positive impact on the community


Why not practising Ethics
- The other people are practising it.
- It will cause biz extra money
- There is not agreement on what is ethical