Marketing Gimmick Or Business Ethics Tool: Understanding Business Ethics And Its Implementation

Code of Ethics

Discuss About The Marketing Gimmick Or Business Ethics Tool?

Ethics is a term that defines proper moral philosophy. It can be conceptualised as the rules which defines the philosophy behind a conduct. These set of rules when projected in a business, several viewpoints are generated. From these viewpoints various codes can be found out that set the principles of working. These principles set the values for an organisation along with its vision and mission. Ethical codes are something that set the principles of any professional to run the business in an honest and appropriate way. Integration of honesty is the major objective of ethical codes[1]. The values of an organisation are constructed step by step with the proper application of ethical codes. These codes must be followed by each individual of the organisation. There is no certainty that all the ethical codes must be same for every organisation but overall it remains almost same. These codes are generally set up by the management of any organisation.

The study of appropriate policies, strategies and activities regarding any business is called business ethics. These policies may be general or may be an approach to solve any issue related to that organisation. Different issues inside an organisation can be reduced by applying ethical codes, such as discrimination, insider trading, corporate and social responsibilities, corporate governance and others[2]. Ethical codes develop a general framework for all kind of businesses to become publicly accepted. The relationship between a customer and a business organisation is constructed through these codes of business ethics.

Purpose of this essay is to understand different codes of ethics related to businesses and to gain a proper knowledge about them. This knowledge will develop a proper insight of business ethics and its implementation.

Codes of ethics are necessary for a business as it develops the pathway to govern the conducts of all the members related to a business. The culture and viewpoint of any organisation is set by these codes of business ethics. Governance of conducts of members set the standards of their behaviour and generates expectation of the authority[3]. Moreover, marketing and management of any organisation depends on this tool as any consumer will prefer an organisation that has similar values. Ethical codes are philosophical endeavours rather than legal terms. It can be a co-incident that law exactly coincide with a code of ethics. In case of any business, to integrate the ethical codes, rules and regulations should be made in accordance with the ethical codes followed by the business.  

Need for Code of Ethics

Core values of any organisation are reflected by codes of business ethics. Different concerns like developing satisfactory community relationship, protecting intellectual property, practicing safety measures for business or business related issues, different responsibilities and activities regarding nature, developing respect for the laws and customs of any country and response at the time when there is any conflict are the reflection of implementation of ethical codes[4]. Core values of business like employee relation management, human resource management, standards of compensation, accounting and commercial management, and regulatory compliance is maintained by the ethical codes that are used to build the business policies.

A system is referred by ethics where a definite set of rules are developed as per the standards, values and believes of an organisation. The codes of ethics generally refer to a set of conducts which must be followed in order to achieve success.  Ethical codes are generally set by the management of any organisation in order to be followed by the employees of that organisation. These ethical codes can be generated on the basis of various factors. A major objective of ethical codes is to set the principles of conduct within the organisation and related to business[5]. These principles are set as per the codes of ethics based on compliance. These codes just not only set those principles, but also set the punishment in case of ant violation to the guidelines. Different business industry like banking and others use compliance based ethical codes to govern their employees and maintain a follow up that all the legalities are maintained or not. These organisations generally have a department consisting compliance officers who are responsible to maintain the policies developed by ethical codes and monitoring the conduct of the employees[6]. Noncompliance creates just not only unethical issues for an organisation, but also various legal, professional and social issues for that organisation. Due to noncompliance the reputation of any company is affected, whereas the employee or employees have to undergo through an amount of penalties. These codes are mainly built on some well-defined, straight forward rules and penalties for noncompliance. These codes does not monitor the conducts of any employees, authority of the organisation does that. Therefore moral responsibility of any organisation does not get reflected by these codes.

The set of values of any organisation is the definition that reflects the beliefs and culture of nay organisation and set the vision and mission of it. Public relation and environmental friendliness is developed using these kinds of ethical codes[7]. Major requirement of these codes are self-regulation rather than regulation of compliance. Value based ethical codes are consisted of both compliance and value based languages.

Evaluation of Ethical Codes

The requirement of ethical codes in business can further be discussed elaborately. Apart from deducing standards of any organisation, ethical codes are also majorly used in resolving many issues related to business. Business malpractices can be named such an issue. Different malpractices like harmful and duplicate product selling, black-marketing, artificial price hiking, cheating consumers with altering weigh and measures of products are some common example of business malpractices associated with product or service selling[8]. Confidence of a consumer can be enhanced by appropriate ethical policies of an organisation. Reflection of these policies must be shown into the quality and quantity of services and products of the business as that will build up customer trust. Customer’s right can be maintained with the use of ethical codes and this is another approach to build up customer trust. The perspective of this kind of ethical codes is to develop and maintain strong and trustworthy relationship between the consumer and the business organisation. Furthermore, this helps to develop a good image of the business organisation to the society. A good set of ethical rules makes an organisation easily acceptable to a society and communities.

 Business survival is another prospect of developing and implying ethical codes. Without appropriate ethical rules a business can survive for a short period of time, but in long run the business ultimately collapses. Without proper ethical codes, consumers can easily be cheated, employee relations inside an organisation can easily degrade, the vision and mission of an organisation can easily be misunderstood and moreover the driving force of the business can easily be corrupted. This heavily affects the productivity and publicity of the business and organisation falls short in market competition. To stay in the business competition one must follow the proper ethical codes of conduct. Finally, in order to maintain the productivity of the organisation and balance the work environment, employees of any organisation must be dealt with proper ethical codes. Employees must be provided with proper wages, incentives, good working conditions and appreciation from the managers. Facilities associated with welfare also should be provided to the employees.

Depending on the principles, values, visions and missions of any organisation a business organisation can follow many ethical codes of conducts. An ethical code, at first builds the trust and credibility for any organisation. Success of any business depends on the confidence and trust that an organisation earns from its employees, shareholders and consumers[9]. An organisation can gain credibility from its firm attachment to its commitments and integrity, displaying honesty in its approach to achieve all the goals with proper strategies. This ethical code is the base for building a sustainable working environment as well as for building the pathway to strong customer trust. From my viewpoint this ethical code is mandatory as there is no meaning of business without customer satisfaction.

Individual respect is another important ethical code to be mentioned. All the employees as well as manager of any organisation must be treated with respect and dignity. It is an ethical code that must be implemented as it brings out the full potential of any individual in his or her work. Work discrimination or any kind of harassment should not be encouraged in a work place and authority of that business organisation must take immediate actions to prevent it. I can say that respect and dignity are the key points of ethical codes that need to be implied on any business for its stability.

Application of ethical codes into any business has a major objective is to enhance and maintain business communication. Every person regarding the business must speak freely or else many viewpoints get suppressed. The ultimately narrows down the pathways for a business and limits its progress[10]. Often it creates dispute inside a business organisation. Managers of any organisation are responsible in creating an environment where all the employees feel comfortable to share their views, raise their queries and submit their complaints. Many times it has been seen that an organisation has been affected by the improper and unethical behaviours of its employees. Authority of that organisation must settle those issues instantly by communicating with the employees[11]. From my understanding, open communication resolves any kind of problems and this one of my most preferable ethical codes.

Behaviour or conduct of each employee cannot follow the ethical codes without the activity of the management. Responsibility of defining the ethical codes and showing their relevance and effects are the fundamental job for the management department of any organisation[12]. It can be said that demonstrating ethical codes efficiently is an ethical code itself. This code is a direct result of open communication. If I become the manager of any organisation, my priority will be to maintain my employee’s knowledge about the ethical codes that are fundamental for the organisation. I have to guide them strictly so that no violation can happen. Employees must be encouraged to follow the codes of ethics in order to gain their benefits and must be made aware about the consequences of violating any code.

Benefits of implementing ethical codes into business can be clearly viewed from the organisational metrics and reports. Financial reports and public documents are the example of benefits. Increase in productivity indicates a steady work environment and a steady work environment indicates proper implementation of ethical codes[13].  

Among several ethical codes, twelve most common codes are discussed here. These codes are honesty, integrity, trustworthiness, loyalty, fairness, respect, others’ concerns, excellence commitment, leadership, following law, accountability and morale and reputation. These ethical codes are very common and from my viewpoint every business organisation must integrate these codes with its operation.

Executives or employees of any company must be honest in their objective and with their work. Any kind of deceptive or misleading activities like telling half-truths, showing misinterpretations or delivering overstatements or selective omissions must not occur inside an organisation.

Fairness in work is another important code of ethics. Power inside an organisation cannot be misused or used arbitrarily. From the study of ethics I can say that many times it has been seen that within an organisation many people take advantages of others’ obstructions or mistakes, which is totally unethical not only in businesses but also in any sector of life. Fairness is an ethical code associated with justice rather organisational justice. Each individual should be treated equally.

Nature and smoothness of human life heavily depends on trust. Thus trustworthiness has been proved to be an important ethical code. An organisation must keep their promises in every aspect. This task is same for employees as well management for any organisation. The prospect of trustworthiness can be viewed from a larger viewpoint. Any business can be successful with supports of the consumers and in order to gain supports of consumers a business needs to be trustworthy[14]. This ethical code prevents the escape from any commitment by means of unreasonable agreements.

Loyalty develops from trust. Confidentiality of any organisation is maintained with loyalty. Neither employees nor managers of an organisation should share delicate and confidential information related to business of that organisation that can affect the organisation[15]. Avoiding various conflicts of interests among the individuals loyalty can be maintained. There are certain times when an employee wants to leave an organisation for the sake of improvement. That also can be performed loyally. The employee should give a notice to the organisation providing his or her reasons. Loyalty is self-work is the key to progress. More a person remains loyal to his work and to the organisation where he or she works, more quickly he or she progresses.

Any work should be integrated with personal abilities and personal thoughts. Every person has the right to integrate their viewpoints in their work and this improves the quality of the work. I found that when personal ability is combined with company resources the work of any individual enhances by a good amount.

Necessary ethical codes should associate two very important codes, which are concern and respect for the others. A workplace can improve in a better way when if each individual has concern and respect for each other[16]. Any problems can be solved very easily in this manner, ego clashes will reduce and employee relations can improve a lot from this way. Mutual respect enhances the quality of communication within an organisation and outside of an organisation.

Executives of an organisation must follow the basic rules and regulations of business along with the specific rules provided by the organisation. Any violation in this case will not only hamper the reputation of the organisation but the individual or individuals will have to face the consequences[17]. This brings up another code which is the reputation of any organisation. I think that primary morale of any organisation is to maintain its reputation. Responsibility of setting the morale of any organisation lies with management and the responsibility to maintain those lies with the employees. Legal requirements that are associated with the rules and regulation of are competition, selective disclosure, proprietary information and health and safety.

Commitment to excellence is a necessary ethical code for any business. An organisation consisting of more excellent employees progresses fast. Leadership skill is necessary to discover the excellence[18]. People must accept their responsibilities according to their positions so they can create ethical role models. Lastly, accountability for own decisions and work is another general ethical code that can be described as a code of ethics[19]. A person should always acknowledge his or her works and its consequences, good or bad. Apart from that, accountability is also related with the policies developed by the management of any organisation.

Employment and organisational behaviour is closely related with conflicts. Any kind of conflict at workplace effectively reduces the productivity of an individual or an organisation[20]. It corrupts the work environment and creates dispute among employees and manager. From this concept, another ethical code can be discussed which is avoiding conflicts. Less the number of conflicts inside an organisation, more the employees are determined and pleased with their work.

Improper application of codes of ethics leads an organisation or any individual to severe consequences. These consequences can have short or long effects. Unethical works result in many legal and social issues[21]. Breakdown of integrity immediately causes a big loss in a business. Therefore a business needs to be protected from unethical issues. This can be done preparing effective management plan.

Reasons behind poor application of ethical codes or unethical behaviour are many. These are excessive workloads, huge stress in work, poor management, personal grudge and many more[22]. There are many effects that caused by the non-conduction of ethical codes. Primary effect is a decrease in productivity of any organisation or any individual[23]. Unethical behaviours reduce the depth and integrity in employee relation. It also affects the relationship between a customer and an organisation. Reputation of an organisation or an individual is also affected along with the productivity. Managers of any organisation lose the respect of the employees which affects the work-force of any organisation[24]. An organisation loses its reputation as well as credibility in the market and it loses its position in the competition. The trusts of customers break rapidly with the increase of unethical issues in an organisation. Many severe legal issues with penalties and punishments are the direct results of improper implementation of ethical codes.

Conclusion:

Therefore, from the above essay, we have a clear view of business ethics and implementation of ethical codes into individual or organisational businesses. The discussion clearly gives a view of ethics and its codes that can be related with business. Ethics gives a description of what is right and what is wrong. In many cases we notice that due to the work pressure of our lives we embrace some activities which are not right as per the moral values. Ethical codes can be implemented to any business in order to make it successful. Without application of ethical codes, a business can face many issues. Each and every organisation has some ethical codes integrated with its working principle. Managers as well as employees must obey all the codes as these codes are the keys to maintain the stability of working environment. Performance of any organisation depends on the proper implication of the ethical codes. Any unethical issue inside the organisation reduces its productivity as well as its reputation. Improper implementation of ethical codes, moreover the disregards of employees in following the codes of conducts develop several disputes which can result in a collapse of the business of the organisation. Following different ethical codes of conducts an organisation can stay ahead in competition. The business can prosper the people in the business can stay effective.

References:

Baden, D. (2014). Look on the bright side: A comparison of positive and negative role models in business ethics education. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 13(2), 154-170.

Banks, S. (2012). Ethical issues in youth work. Routledge.

Bello, S. M. (2012). Impact of ethical leadership on employee job performance. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 3(11).

Bishop, W. H. (2013). The role of ethics in 21st century organizations. Journal of Business Ethics, 118(3), 635-637.

Carroll, A., & Buchholtz, A. (2014). Business and society: Ethics, sustainability, and stakeholder management. Nelson Education.

Collis, J., & Hussey, R. (2013). Business research: A practical guide for undergraduate and postgraduate students. Palgrave macmillan.

Crane, A., & Matten, D. (2016). Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and sustainability in the age of globalization. Oxford University Press.

Davidson, B. I., & Stevens, D. E. (2012). Can a code of ethics improve manager behavior and investor confidence? An experimental study. The Accounting Review, 88(1), 51-74.

DesJardins, J. R., & McCall, J. J. (2014). Contemporary issues in business ethics. Cengage Learning.

Durkheim, E. (2013). Professional ethics and civic morals. Routledge.

Ferrell, O. C., & Fraedrich, J. (2015). Business ethics: Ethical decision making & cases. Nelson Education.

Ford, R. C., & Richardson, W. D. (2013). Ethical decision making: A review of the empirical literature. In Citation classics from the Journal of Business Ethics (pp. 19-44). Springer Netherlands.

Hartman, L. P., DesJardins, J. R., & MacDonald, C. (2014). Business ethics: Decision making for personal integrity and social responsibility. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Hoffman, W. M., Frederick, R. E., & Schwartz, M. S. (Eds.). (2014). Business ethics: Readings and cases in corporate morality. John Wiley & Sons.

IDA, R. N., Law, P. A., & Law, P. O. (2016). Code of Ethics.

Jennings, M. M. (2014). Business ethics: Case studies and selected readings. Cengage Learning.

Lawrence, A. T., & Weber, J. (2014). Business and society: Stakeholders, ethics, public policy. Tata McGraw-Hill Education.

Myers, M. D. (2013). Qualitative research in business and management. Sage.

Rittenburg, T. L. (2016). Cowboy Ethics: Marketing Gimmick or Business Ethics Tool?. In Thriving in a New World Economy (pp. 31-35). Springer, Cham.

Shaw, W. H., & Barry, V. (2015). Moral issues in business. Cengage Learning.

Terec-Vlad, L., Trifu, A., & Terec-Vlad, D. (2015). The decisional moment and ethics. Ecoforum Journal, 4(1), 11.

Trevino, L. K., & Nelson, K. A. (2016). Managing business ethics: Straight talk about how to do it right. John Wiley & Sons.

Union, N. S. T. (2014). Code of ethics. private copy supplied by Bruce Kelloway, assistant executive director, NSTU.

Wachs, M. (Ed.). (2017). Ethics in planning. Routledge.