Business Ethics
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Running Head: MANAGING BUSINESS ETHICS
Managing Business Ethics in Today’s Economy
Joe August
University of Phoenix
Managing Business Ethics in Today’s Economy
All businesses use ethics, whether correct or not, as a guideline to how the company is most often ran. Ethics, defined simply as “a set of moral principles or values” (Trevino & Nelson, 2007, chp 1), is a simple definition but also very controversial because every individual has their own set of beliefs. A few issues this can cause in the workplace can be different forms of discrimination, conflicts of interest, and using company resources in ways other than intended. Employees are challenged on a daily basis to uphold their own and their company’s code of ethics.
Different forms of discrimination whether they are related to race, gender, or age, are found in all businesses and are all frowned upon ethically and can also lead to legal trouble. Discrimination means “treating people unequally because they are, or appear to be, different” (Trevino & Nelson, 2007, chp 2). Discrimination challenges the values of fairness in the workplace and is telling individuals that they are wrong for being themselves. Not only do these open many doors for lawsuits, but also set a low reputation and standard for any company and its employees. All employees are treated equally, no matter how high up the corporate ladder they may be.
Conflicts of interests are another ethical issue and occur more often than one might think in all work environments. Along with fairness in an organization, trust is also very important and most often considered as one of the main values to any company and its management team. While some individuals pride themselves on following the company code of ethics, others can’t resist the temptation of the rewards they receive for going against a set of values and morals. Conflicts of interest can be as small as receiving small kickbacks on products or as large as Bernard Madoff and his...
Managing Business Ethics in Today’s Economy
Joe August
University of Phoenix
Managing Business Ethics in Today’s Economy
All businesses use ethics, whether correct or not, as a guideline to how the company is most often ran. Ethics, defined simply as “a set of moral principles or values” (Trevino & Nelson, 2007, chp 1), is a simple definition but also very controversial because every individual has their own set of beliefs. A few issues this can cause in the workplace can be different forms of discrimination, conflicts of interest, and using company resources in ways other than intended. Employees are challenged on a daily basis to uphold their own and their company’s code of ethics.
Different forms of discrimination whether they are related to race, gender, or age, are found in all businesses and are all frowned upon ethically and can also lead to legal trouble. Discrimination means “treating people unequally because they are, or appear to be, different” (Trevino & Nelson, 2007, chp 2). Discrimination challenges the values of fairness in the workplace and is telling individuals that they are wrong for being themselves. Not only do these open many doors for lawsuits, but also set a low reputation and standard for any company and its employees. All employees are treated equally, no matter how high up the corporate ladder they may be.
Conflicts of interests are another ethical issue and occur more often than one might think in all work environments. Along with fairness in an organization, trust is also very important and most often considered as one of the main values to any company and its management team. While some individuals pride themselves on following the company code of ethics, others can’t resist the temptation of the rewards they receive for going against a set of values and morals. Conflicts of interest can be as small as receiving small kickbacks on products or as large as Bernard Madoff and his...