Business Ethics - Environmental Challenges
Ethical issues arise in every stage of business. There is a considerable effect of environment on the application of business ethics. Let’s see how the environment and various stages of business affect the application process of business ethics.
Ethics, Economics, and Politics
It is now an accepted fact that there is an integral relationship between ethics, economics, and politics. That is the reason, they should be understood when it is integrated and should not be studied in silos.
Economics is the study of individual pursuit of prosperity through markets. There are three dimensions of economic goal of prosperity, which are efficiency, growth, and stability.
Politics is concerned with the community's pursuit of justice through the government. The goal of their justice has three dimensions, namely individual freedom, equity in the distribution of benefits and burdens, and social order.
Economic and political environment can both help and distract the application process of ethics. Ethics that doesn’t have support of economics and politics has no means to achieve the community ends.
Workplace-Safety Issues
Businesses need to know the legal bindings related with workplace safety. It is a very important part of business ethics and not knowing the rules may prove to be costlier than usually perceived.
Legal Liability
Harming customers or members of the public may make you liable for damages. The organizations must act in a legal manner to solve the legal issues. If they are unaware of the legal outcomes, they may cease to become a leading organization in their industries.
Image Problems
Reputation and the image of a business is a very important factor for the organization. It may make or break a company. It has been proved that the more the reputation, the more are the profits. Therefore, image problems associated with legal process are very important for organizations.
The Reach of Law
Usually, governments establish rules and procedures for business processes. Businesses that do not follow the guidelines often face large fines or penalties. Breaking law can lead to costly legal battles which may be fairly larger than the cost of maintaining legal standards. Additionally, executives at companies who break the law and engage in unethical behavior could find themselves facing criminal charges.
During Business Formation
Even before the business influences the business plan to potential investors, there could be ethical issues already piling up. All the co-founders of an organization must share the same business values, principles, and ethics. If they are of conflicting principles, they will face difficulty in securing funding or even finding clients.
Before Employment
Hiring and selection procedures also affect the company's ethics which can be a challenge. The organizations must be ethical in employment aspects so that they can employ the right candidate without any discrimination or partiality.
While Complying with Law
A company, its management and staff must conduct business in a manner that according to certain business standards and principles. Compliance has to do with the oversight regarding certain rules and regulations, written laws or common laws. It is a very sensitive issue for businesses as not conforming to laws may make the organization obsolete.
