ETHICS IN ACTION

Ethics in Action An Assignment Submitted by Name of Student Name of Establishment Class XXXX, Section XXXX Course Name and Number Instructors Name Date submitted

ETHICS IN ACTION Abstract

The paper shortly outlines basis for business ethics. Being a multi-level phenomenon, business ethics includes proper decision-making process, ways to avoid unethical behaviour, necessity to lead ethically, etc. The paper provides simple examples to demonstrate how each of these factors is dealt with in specific situations.

Key words: business ethics and behaviour, decision-making.

ETHICS IN ACTION Ethics in Action

Business ethics seeks for balance between social requirements and ones own goals of gaining profits (Mallor et al, 2009). It goes without saying that one cannot ignore values established within society; otherwise, conducting business will turn into something hostile, dangerous, illegal and extremely costly. Business ethics includes a number of components which require our close consideration. First of all, let us focus on common characteristics of poor decision-making. A good decision, generally, is a logical and well-grounded one, i.e. based on some reliable information and reflecting needs and requirements of decision-maker (Harris, 2012). On the other hand, a bad decision can also be identified by certain features. Quast (2011) defines the following characteristics of poor decision-making: Overconfidence of employees. Though businesspeople should display confidence when conducting their business, it is important at the same time not to get overwhelmed and avoid illogical rationalizations. Mistreating the complexity of the issues. In my opinion, this is the most frequent problem when making decisions. For example, if someone decides to set up a clothes store and is looking for appropriate site, there is a plenty of questions to be answered: How big should it be?, Should it be situated in the downtown or on the outskirts?, Is it in good condition or requires additional repairs?, Does it have a parking area for customers?, etc. Too weak or non-existent corporate governance structures. One should never overlook the importance of business control: if, for example, there is no responsible person keeping track of orders, certain items of clothing may not be delivered on

ETHICS IN ACTION

time. As a result, there is a loss of money and more extra complicated decisions to make. Sometimes a businessperson may be tempted to make unethical decision, especially when, at first glance, it seems time-saving or less complicated. However, it is essential to keep in mind that such an action may prove to be disastrous for your business anyway. Thats why let us analyze some of the ways of how to resist requests of acting unethically (Beatty&Samuelson, 2009): Recognize unethical requests and those bosses inclined to unethical behaviour. This is, obviously, the simplest piece of advice: if you are asked to do something improper as far as business ethics is concerned, at least you should be able to identify it. For example, if you are asked to take part in questionable bank transaction, it may be classified as violation of business ethics. Try to find mentor or peer support group. This way you will be able to share your problems with someone who has already experienced a similar situation. Besides, I think, this will help to release some of psychological tension produced by unpleasant situation. Try to find a win-win solution. In my view, there is nothing better than opting for a compromise that will satisfy both conflicting sides. For example, if you are an employer trying to make your shop-assistant more responsible when selling clothing, a good way would be not to fire him/her at once, but use some encouragement techniques in order to achieve your goal. As a result, the worker will not lose the job, and you will not have to waste time by searching another candidate.

ETHICS IN ACTION

Finally, the last point of discussion is the ways one may choose to lead ethically (Quast, 2011): To begin with, you should act ethical. As an employer, you should become a real role model. If you want your employers not to make hasty decisions, demonstrate them your sensible and reasonable way of making proper decisions. To communicate companys or organizations true values. It would be useful in preventing poor decisions, if a boss could clearly voice code of behaviour. For example, as a store owner you may declare that delivering new supply of clothing on time is the most important objective of the work in the store. To encourage proper ethical behaviour and introduce punishments when necessary. For instance, in the case of store, if new supplies of clothing are not delivered on time, it may result in salary decrease for those responsible. To conclude, business ethics is an essential part of conducting any business. In order to reduce the frequency of poor decisions, one should keep in mind main features of bad decisions, how it is possible to resist unethical actions and how an employer may play a vital role in leading ethically.

ETHICS IN ACTION References

Beatty, J. F., Samuelson, S. S. (2009). Introduction to Business Law (3rd ed.). Stamford, Connecticut: Cengage Learning Harris, R. (2012). Introduction to decision Making, Part 2. VirtualSalt.com. Retrieved from http://www.virtualsalt.com/crebook5b.htm Mallor, J. P., Barnes, A. J., Bowers, L. T., Langvardt, A. W. (2010). Business Law: Business Law: The ethical, global and ecommerce environment (14th ed.). New York City: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Quast, L. (2011). How to Prevent Poor Ethical Decision-Making. Forbes.com. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/lisaquast/2011/12/19/how-to-prevent-poor-ethical-decisionmaking/