Ethics in Business

Group Name: “The Tycoons”

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 Business Ethics
The study of moral obligation involving the distinction
between right and wrong.

Business Ethics: right or wrong in the workplace –

value management.

Business ethics is a set of laws about how a business

should conduct itself. In general, for any business to be
successful, it must operate legally and humanely.

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 Why is Business Ethics Importance?

Fair &
Determine Dealing
Protect Reasonable
Obligation with
Reputation Business
and Roles Customer
Transaction

© 2013 Cengage Learning. All Rights Resrved. 3

The Role of Ethics in Business Performance

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 Business Ethics Contributes to Employee Commitment

Employee willing to make personal sacrifices for the organization:

 The more company dedication to ethics, the greater the employee

dedication
 Concerns include a safe work environment, competitive salaries and
benefits packages, and fulfillment of contractual obligations

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 Business Ethics Contributes to Investor Loyalty

Ethical climates in organizations provide a platform for:

Efficiency

Productivity

Profitability

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Business Ethics Contributes to Customer Satisfaction

Being good can be profitable:

 Customer satisfaction dictates business success

 A strong organizational ethical climate places customers’
interests first
 Research shows a strong relationship between ethical
behavior and customer satisfaction

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 Business Ethics Contributes to Profits

 Corporate concern for ethical planning is being integrated

with strategic planning
 Maximizes profitability

 Corporate citizenship is positively associated with

 Return on investment and assets
 Sales growth

 Studies have found a positive relationship between corporate

citizenship and performance

© 2013 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. 8

THE ROLE OF SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN BUSINESS ETHICS

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Common Causes of Unethical Behavior

Pressure

Misuse of
organizational assets

Following boss’s
directives
Meeting overly
aggressive business
objectives

Sexual Harassment

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 The Reasons for Practicing Business Ethics

 Having good individual values/morals is not enough

to stop ethical misconduct

 Ethics training helps provide collective agreement in

diverse organizations

 Business ethics decisions can be complicated

 Studying business ethics helps identify ethical issues

to key stakeholders
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 HOW GOOD BUSINESS ETHICS CAN CHANGE
WORKPLACE MORALE FOR BETTER OR WORSE

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Ethical Tips for Organizations

Develop a code of
ethics.

Communicate code
and bake it into
culture

top-down.

Treat ethics as a
process.

Create open lines of

communication.

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