Ethics in business & the professions R3101 Lecture, Week 5 (Dr.

Margaret Mishra) The secret of success in business is honesty and fair dealing, if you can fake that, youve got it made (Groucho Marx) The profit motive? Historically, the ethical view of business has largely been negative: trade = profit Aristotle: approved of household trading but said that trade for profit lacked virtue & those who engaged in such practices were parasites View 1: Life in business is competitive & isnt always fair or ethical (capitalism & the profit motive) View 2: (1980s) Life in business is competitive but it can also be co-operative (it rests on shared interests & mutually agreed-upon rules) Business is a social practice with implications for public good (social responsibility is crucial) An approach to business ethics which fails to serve the common good and the public interest is unethical, chiefly because it fails to understand that business, like all human activity, is dependent on lifes interconnectedness (Preston, 173) Work ethics & professional conduct Work ethics are values based on the moral virtues of hard work & diligence An employees attitude, behavior, respect, communication and interaction towards others Honesty, integrity, care, professionalism, confidentiality, accountability, reliability & initiative Ethic of response/social responsibility The ethic of response approach highlights the importance of respecting life, acting fairly and being true to obligations with the wider community Whistle-blowing A whistle-blower is an informant who exposes wrongdoing within an organization in the hope of stopping it Internal whistleblowers External whistleblowers

Reactions to whistle-blowing Dobber or snitcher sometimes there is a shoot the messenger reaction to whistle-blowers More serious reactions include retaliation (e.g. termination of job, suspension, demotion, wage garnishment and/or harsh mistreatment by other employees) Legal protection for whistle-blowers In some countries (e.g. US & UK), legal protection is offered for individuals who disclose information exposing malpractice This can protect whistleblowers from victimization or dismissal: antiretaliation laws Fiji is still considering protection for whistle-blowers, as yet there are no anti-retaliation laws www.adb.org/Documents/Books/Public-Procurement-AsiaPacific/fij.pdf

Unprofessional conduct Harassment: unwanted, offensive & intrusive, physical or verbal behavior that may be linked to race, sex, sexual orientation, religion or disability Bullying: a more aggressive behavior pattern triggered by the bullys own sense of insecurity Discrimination: to treat one particular group of people less favourably than others because of their race, colour, sex, nationality Extortion, bribery & Corruption Extortion: offense of illegally obtaining money or other benefit through coercion, specially by a public officer acting in his or her official capacity Bribery: something given or taken with an intention to influence the conduct or judgment of the person receiving it Corruption: includes bribery, insider trading, money laundering, embezzlement, tax evasion and accounting irregularities Malpractice Professional wrongdoing that results in injury or damage Negligence or substandard care by a professional such as a doctor, lawyer or engineer in the performance of professional duties newyorkinjurylawyers.wordpress.com/2008/07/25/glossary-of-legal-terms/